This school appears in our ranking 20 Most Affordable MBA Online Programs at Small Colleges 2018.
Established in 1940, Bryan University is one of the oldest schools in the United States with an emphasis on distance learning and education. Named after its founder, the university opened as the Bryan Stenotype School and offered classes that met in the living room of the owner's home. This school would later shift from a focus on stenography to other types of learning. It added more degree programs, which led to the school becoming Bryan College. Alta Education, LLC purchased the original campus and decided to open new branches. There are now two campuses in California, one in Arizona and another in Canada.
Though these campuses offer full degree programs and individual classes for students, many Bryan University students actually take classes online. The university primarily offers programs in healthcare and exercise science, but it now offers a few legal programs and other fields. Bryan believes that its students and their needs should always come first, which is why it assigns online students an advisor who will walk them through the process of applying to the university. Those advisors will also help students with any issues they have once they enroll. Thousands of students now attend Bryan University every year.
Bryan University Accreditation Details
Bryan University is a very small school that does not have as many accreditations as other schools may. The only accreditation it has comes from the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, which is a form of national accreditation. Students should contact the university to learn whether they can still apply for financial aid and if they can transfer any credits into a Bryan program. The credits they earn at Bryan may not transfer to other schools.
Bryan University Application Requirements
Applying to a Bryan University graduate program is easy because the application itself is only one page in length. When a student completes this form, the university will actually hold his or her spot until the next start date for the program. This also puts the student in the running for any of the scholarships available from the university.
The application includes multiple sections, but students only need to complete a few of those sections. They need to enter their full names, country of birth, what country they are a citizen of and when they want to start classes. Another section asks for their contact information, but some of this information is optional. They must also list details about the colleges they attended where they earned their undergrad degrees. Bryan asks for the name of the school, the degree earned, the student's major and the date he or she graduated.
Bryan also asks that any student applying to its Master of Public Health program write an essay of at least 500 words. This essay must cover why the student wants to earn that degree and how he or she will use that degree to help others or benefit a community at large. Students can also write about their own hobbies or interests and any public health experience they have. They can pay the $100 application fee when they submit their applications. Bryan requires a resume and unofficial transcripts, which students can submit online. They will then email the university two letters of recommendation.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The estimated cost of attending Bryan University is roughly $12,000 a year. Though this includes the tuition that students pay and all other fees. It does not include their living expenses. The university estimates that students will pay close to $20,000 a year for everything they need. Bryan claims that Master of Public Health students will pay $23,000 for all their supplies, fees and tuition to complete the program. As the university has a tuition lock guarantee, students do not need to worry about rising costs. Bryan charges the same rate for all students, no matter where they live or their status. It also offers a discount that reduces the amount students pay every year based on how long they are in school.
Military students can use their GI Bill benefits when attending Bryan University. They can talk to a financial aid counselor or a military rep to learn more about this works and the amount of funding available for them. There are two scholarships available for Master of Public Health majors. One program provides students with scholarships that cover half of their tuition costs. There is a second program that covers the total cost of earning that degree. Students typically need some healthcare experience and have an interest in public health. The university awards scholarships to those who can commit fully to the program too.
Online Degrees Available
Though Bryan University offers 11 online degree programs, only one of those is a graduate program. It offers a Master of Public Health that allows students to study the health care system in America and different aspects of public health. Instead of following a standard 16-week schedule, this program features eight-week classes and allows students to take two of these classes at a time. They can complete four courses in just 16 weeks.
Each of the classes in the MPH program is worth three credits. Students will take a total of 42 credits before they graduate. Those who took graduate classes before can submit their transcripts and find out if any of those credits will transfer into the program. Bryan graduates work in jobs as health services managers, community health educators and community health specialists. A small number of students also work as secondary school teachers, but those graduates most typically need a teaching license in the state also.
All of the 14 classes in the MPH program focus on a specific area of health care or public health. Analytics Tools I and II are two courses that look at some of the tools that students will use to analyze health data, while Reporting and Analyzing Relational Data focuses on how they can analyze and report that data to others. Students will also take a Public Health Capstone course that requires they work in an online laboratory and create a final project that they will present in the class. The Bryan University Master of Public Health program also includes courses such as Social and Behavioral Public Health, Improving the Public's Health, Epidemiology and Environmental and Occupational Health.