This school appears in our ranking 20 Most Affordable MBA Online Programs at Small Colleges 2018.
Established in 1950, Thomas University is located in Thomasville, Georgia and is a four-year, private school. There are approximately 1,012 students attending classes at the university, which grants associate, bachelor, and master's degrees. Some of the popular areas of study at the university include business, education, the arts and sciences, criminal justice, and health & human services. The university focuses on providing academic programs with professional career development classes baked into the degree programs. The school's mascot is the Night Hawk, and the main building of the university was once part of the Birdwood Plantation. The school was initially chartered by the Primitive Baptist Church and had just nine students attending when it opened its doors.
The school would become non-sectarian and independent in the late 1970s, and the school's administration would change its name to Thomas College in 1988. A decade later, the school would receive approval from the regional accrediting agency Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer graduate degrees and would become a university. In 2012, the university opened an additional campus located a mile away from its main campus with a 19,000 square foot building featuring faculty offices and extra classrooms.
Thomas University Accreditation Details
The primary accrediting agency for Thomas University is the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. The organization has accredited the university to award degrees at the associate's, baccalaureate, and master's levels. Institutional accreditation ensures students can qualify for federal student aid, as well as transfer their credits to other institutions and continue taking classes elsewhere or in more advanced degree programs after graduation. Programmatic accreditations are also held by many of the programs at Thomas University. Accreditors include the Council on Rehabilitation Education, which has accredited the Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences, which has accredited the Bachelor of Science in Medical Laboratory Science. The university is also affiliated with the Commission for Independent Education, the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, and the Council on Social Work Education.
Thomas University Application Requirements
First-time applicants at Thomas University will need to complete the official application, submit a non-refundable application fee of $35, send official high school transcripts or GED scores, and submit standardized test results from the SAT or ACT. Students must have a minimum 2.0 GPA to qualify for admission. Students may need to take a remedial math class or English class if they don't score high enough on the SAT in its critical reading and math sections. Graduate applications to Thomas University require many of the same items required for first-time students. Those items include the official application, a $50 non-refundable application fee, and transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools attended. Graduate students must also submit a detailed resume and a personal statement explaining the student's future career goals and reasons for entering a graduate program. Students must also submit letters of professional or academic reference and may also need to submit program-specific items as required by the student's chosen program.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Thomas University is a private university and charges the same tuition for all students regardless of their state of residence. Undergraduate tuition per semester is $7,970 or $630 per credit hour. Graduate tuition is charged $655 per credit hour. Military students pay a reduced rate of $250 for undergraduate tuition. Some programs charge higher tuition. The MBA Prep program is $300 per course, the Bachelor of Social Work at the Tallahassee location is $315 per credit hour, and the RN-BSN program starts at $504 per credit hour. There are also some special fees required for certain classes. Students earning credit by exam will pay $350, students taking Biology 465 will pay $30, and students in Business 417 will pay $350.
Applying for financial aid at Thomas University begins with the student's submission of a FAFSA form. After successful submission, the university will send the student a financial aid award letter that may include a combination of student loans, grants, and scholarships. Some of the scholarships students may wish to apply for include those from the Georgia HOPE and the Georgia Tuition Grant Program. Students may qualify for Federal Work Study, which provides the student with on-campus employment to assist with the costs associated with paying for college. Undergraduate students may need to provide income information from their parents, but graduate students are exempt from that requirement.
Online Degrees Available
Thomas University offers several online degrees through its online education portal, three of which are graduate degrees. Graduate degrees available online through Thomas University include a Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Science in Nursing – Master of Business Administration, which is a dual major option. Students who choose the Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling will enter an accredited program that is approved by the Council on Rehabilitation Education. The value of an accredited program is that it can help students prepare and qualify for the exam required to become a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. The program is described as rigorous and intellectually challenging. To graduate, students will need to complete 63 credit hours.
Students who choose the Master of Business Administration program will also benefit from a program that is accredited. The entire Business Division at Thomas University is accredited by the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education. Students are eligible to enter the program on campus, online, or as a hybrid model where they attend classes on campus, as well as on the internet. Students may also choose two concentrations while in the MBA program including Human Resources or Accounting. Some of the classes students will take in the MBA program include Management Information Systems, International Business, Research & Statistics, Operations Management, and Leadership & Management.
The final online graduate degree option at Thomas University is the Master of Nursing and Master of Business Administration dual-degree program. This degree is designed for Registered Nurses who are interested in expanding their career opportunities in leadership and administration. The program is open to nurses who already have an Associate of Science in Nursing or a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and students can complete the program in as little as three years. The coursework may be taken entirely online, and the program's class sizes are small to provide excellent learning opportunities with peers and faculty. Students interested in any of the online programs at Thomas University should contact the program chair of their intended program.