This school appears in our ranking 20 Most Affordable MBA Online Programs at Small Colleges 2018.
Johnson and Wales University is a large university that owns several campuses across the country. The university, which many call JWU or Johnson & Wales, has a strong reputation as a training school because it offers degree programs that prepare and train students for working in a set industry or area. Established in 1914 as Johnson & Wales Business School, it offered opportunities for students who wanted to focus on business studies. Many of its original students came from Rhode Island and other areas of the northeast. JWU became a full university in 1988 and began offering online classes and programs in the late 1990s.
The main campus owned by the university is in Providence, Rhode Island. It now operates campuses in North Carolina, Florida and Colorado as well. Each campus is in a major city such as Denver or Charlotte that help busy students get to class every day. Students with even more commitments can enroll in an online program. Though JWU offers degrees in a number of fields, many know it for its culinary arts program. Tyler Florence, Michelle Bernstein and Graham Elliot are some of the famous chefs who attended JWU early in their careers.
Johnson and Wales University Accreditation Details
The main branch of JWU has regional accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. This is important for graduate students because it lets them carry credits from the university to another school and bring in the credits that they already earned. NEASC accreditation also allows those who need it to apply for financial aid. Students will learn that some of its degree programs in business and other fields also have accreditation.
Johnson and Wales University Application Requirements
As JWU graduate programs follow an eight-week schedule, the university allows students to apply up until the start of any session. Students can start classes in August, October, January, March, May or July. The university offers an online application that takes most students around 30 to 60 minutes to complete. There is no application fee, but students will need to sign an electronic request form. This authorizes the university to contact any schools the student attended prior to applying and request official transcripts from those schools. This helps the university make sure that the student has a bachelor's degree in a similar or related field and lets it see the grades that student received.
The university also asks for a statement of purpose and two letters of recommendation. JWU has an online system that allows references to submit the letters they wrote online. A student's references can also submit their recommendation letters through the mail. In the statement of purpose, students have 500 words to answer a few questions. They need to talk about their professional careers and how the skills they have will help them in graduate school. It should also address why they want to attend JWU and how earning a graduate degree from the university will help them on their career paths.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Online graduate students pay $742 per credit hour to attend JWU. This brings their costs up to $2,225 per class and includes all fees. This is slightly more than what traditional students pay because of the technology fees that they face. The cost to take classes on any of its regional classes outside of Rhode Island is a little less.
Any graduate student who cannot afford the cost of attending JWU should complete the FAFSA. Unlike undergrads who will use their parents' tax records, graduate students will use their own tax returns. The federal government offers unsubsidized loans and requires that students go through loan counseling before they receive any funds. They will also go through exit counseling before leaving grad school to make sure that they understand how they can pay off their loans over time.
Those who need more help and those who do not want to use loans can look for outside scholarships designed for graduate students. These scholarships have requirements such as essays that students must write. Graduate students can also take out loans from other sources. Many different companies offer alternative and private student loans. Those loans usually only go to students with high credit scores and those who apply with cosigners.
Online Degrees Available
JWU offers Master of Science, Master of Public Administration and Master of Business Administration degree programs online. Its MBA program allows students to earn a general degree and study various areas of business or to choose one of the available concentrations. Those concentrations include finance, human resources management, hospitality and organizational psychology. One of the more unique MBA concentrations available is in sport leadership and teaches students how to lead and manage others in a sports business. MBA students take eight-week classes, including Business Information and Decision Making and Event Leadership and Planning.
Master of Public Administration
The university's Master of Public Administration program teaches students some of the same things but focuses more on working in positions with the general public. It is available with a concentration in nonprofit management or criminal justice and as a general program. The general program includes classes such as Strategic Planning and Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations, Program Evaluation and Public Policy Analysis.
Master of Science
There are nine Master of Science programs available in different fields from JWU too. The university's sport leadership program allows students to learn more about working in sports without focusing entirely on the business side of things. They will learn from professors who have real-life experience, including some who competed at the professional or national levels and those who worked with professional athletes. JWU asks students in this program to take classes that include Global Issues in Sports Leadership, Effective Communication Strategies in Sport and Sports and Entertainment Venues and Events, Development and Management.
Master of Science in Organizational Psychology
Organizational psychology, which focuses on how individuals use different items and how they work, is another field that graduate students can study at JWU. Its Master of Science program teaches students how to evaluate situations and problems and how to make decisions based on the information available. Coaching and Consultation Skills, Leadership Theory and Practice and Organizational Theory and Change are some of the program's required courses. Johnson and Wales University offers a number of online graduate programs that include courses for professional students.