Fort Hays State University

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Fort Hays State University

Fort Hays State University is a large public institutional of higher learning in Kansas. Originally established as the Western Branch of the Kansas State Normal School, it started life as a teaching college affiliated with a larger school. As the area had little funds to build a new campus, classes initially met and took place on the remains for Fort Hays, a historic battlefield that shut down years before. It took two years before the state gathered the funds necessary for and completed construction on a new campus for the school.

Though its original focus was on education, it didn't take long before the university expanded into other subjects. It developed one of the largest and most well known agricultural programs in the state and in the Midwest. That program actually provided Kansas schools with fresh milk and other dairy products for students in need all across the state. In more recent years, the university attempted to take over a small community college and turn it into a four year college. After plans fell through, FHSU announced plans to potentially build a satellite campus in Dodge City. The university also has its own natural history museum on campus, which has one of the largest collections of fossils and animal specimens in the world. Many locals know the university for its annual celebrations that take place on homecoming weekend and around Oktoberfest.

Fort Hays State University Accreditation Details

The term accreditation refers to the recognition that a college or university receives from a specific organization. This may refer to program or institutional accreditation. Institutional accreditation is the same as regional accreditation and allows the school to offer programs that culminate in students receiving a college degree. Fort Hays State University has this type of accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. It also has program accreditation, which applies to some of the degree programs offered by the university and covers both online and campus programs. Students enrolling in nursing, social work and other programs may want to learn more about this type of accreditation. Program accreditation that FHSU has comes from:

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  • National Association of Schools of Music
  • Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
  • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
  • Council on Social Work Education Office of Social work Accreditation
  • Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology

Fort Hays State University Application Requirements

Fort Hays State University has different application requirements in place because it wants to ensure that it offers admission to the best students possible. Completing the official application is only the first step. This application, which is available online, asks simple questions regarding a student's history, including where he or she attended college and whether the student has any fieldwork experience. A $40 application is also required, but those applying from outside of the country will need to pay an international fee of $50. Students will need to show proof that they attended and graduated from an accredited university via an official college transcript. This transcript must show that the student obtained a bachelor's degree. Many of the departments on campus have other requirements as well, including one to three letters of recommendation, a resume or personal statement and a score from the GRE.

Two other requirements in place for all new graduate students surround their grade point average and field of study. All students applying must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on a traditional 4.0 scale, and they must show that they maintained a 2.5 GPA over the course of the last 60 credits of classes they took. FHSU requires that a student's transcript shows that he or she took a large number of courses in the field they want to study in graduate school.

Tuition and Financial Aid

FHSU offers four different types of tuition rates and charges tuition based on the number of credit hours that an individual takes each semester. Florida residents pay around $214 per credit hour, while out of state residents pay around $543 per credit hour. The virtual college, which offers a number of graduate programs, charges a little over $250 per credit hour. FHSU also has a deal in place that gives students living in neighboring states a discount on their tuition. Those students pay around $300 per credit hour. The university estimates that students will pay between $1,900 and $4,900 for a full course load of nine credit hours taken during a single semester.

Assistantship positions are open to graduate students who live on or near campus. They make accept a position as a research or teaching assistant and help a professor working within their program of choice. These positions often pay for a student's total tuition, but students will need to apply first. They may need to do a phone interview or an interview on campus as well. Graduate students can also get help paying for college through the use of government loans and alternative loans from private lenders.

How Much Debt Can I Expect to Incur for a Master's Degree?

Master of Arts in History without Thesis

Many graduate level history programs have a thesis component, but Fort Hays State University offers a non-thesis route. This program requires the completion of 30 to 33 credit hours of history classes that are at the 600 level or higher. This must include the historiography course that the university offers, which shows students how to gather information and research done by others and create a paper based off existing work in a specific topic. Those who do not do a thesis must also take two seminar classes that are worth six credit hours total. Those courses ask that students do independent research and write a paper that is shorter than a traditional thesis.

Those entering the non-thesis track must also complete three additional requirements. They must submit a paper that they received a high grade on in one of their classes to the department to show their research and writing skills. Students will take 21 credit hours of electives and complete the written comprehensive examination. This examination typically takes eight hours to finish and requires that students answer essay questions relating to the field of history they studied in their classes. Fort Hays State University offers programs that let history majors do internships and complete work away from campus too.