University of Nevada at Las Vegas

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The University of Nevada Las Vegas, more commonly called UNLV, is a public college located just a short drive from the Strip in downtown Las Vegas. Founded as Nevada Southern University in 1965, the college originally served as an extension of the University of Nevada Reno. Classes met at night in a local high school before raising enough money to construct a campus of its own. As the university grew, it severed ties with the Reno campus and added new departments, including a School of Dental Medicine and Institute for Security Studies. The university is also home to a popular business school and will open its own School of Medicine in 2017.

UNLV has more than 800 professors working in its departments and offers more than 200 majors for undergrads, graduate students and doctoral candidates. It ranks among the country's best colleges on reports issued by Forbes and Washington Monthly, and U.S. News & World Report ranked it as one of the world's top colleges. The Atlantic called its creative writing graduate program one of the top five programs of its type and highlighted the university's English programs too. Of the more than 28,000 students enrolled in UNLV, more than 4,500 are doctoral and graduate students.

University of Nevada at Las Vegas Accreditation Details

UNLV is one of the few public schools in Nevada that has both regional and specialty accreditation. Its regional accreditation comes from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, better known as NCCU. NCCU ensures that the university continues meeting the needs of new students through a review process that happens every decade. UNLV passed each of these reviews to retain its regional accreditation. This Las Vegas university also has specialty accreditation for a number of its degree programs. Organizations that granted it specialty accreditation include:

  • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc.
  • Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology, Inc. (ABET)
  • American Council for Construction Education
  • American Bar Association
  • American Physical Therapy Association
  • American Society of Landscape Architects
  • Council for Interior Design Accreditation
  • Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
  • National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
  • Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear Medicine Technology
  • Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration
  • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

University of Nevada at Las Vegas Application Requirements

To enroll in the UNLV freshmen class, you must meet at least one of the following requirements:

  • High school GPA of 3.0 or higher
  • SAT score of 1120 on the math and reading sections
  • ACT score of 22
  • Nevada advanced high school diploma

The university charges a $60 application fee and allows students to complete the submit the application online. You will also need to supply an official high school transcript and an official standardized test score. The graduate admissions process is fairly similar. You need to complete the online application and pay your $60 application fee either online or through the mail with a money order or credit card. Though the university lets you submit an unofficial transcript online, you'll need to supply the college with an official transcript prior to the start of classes. You must always check the requirements for each department to determine if you need to submit any additional materials. Many programs and departments ask for at least one letter of recommendation and your most recent resume. Some programs may also ask for a short essay that explains why you selected UNLV, what you hope to get out of the program and any career goals you have.

Tuition and Financial Aid

UNLV ranks as one of the most affordable state colleges in the west. All new students pay a $125 undergrad fee or a $35 graduate fee. In-state students pay around $2,900 a semester as an undergrad, and the university estimates that students pay less than $6,000 to take two full course loads, which also includes all miscellaneous fees. Non-residents pay closer to $10,000 a semester or $20,000 a year as an undergrad. If you live in Nevada and want to take graduate classes, you'll pay more than $9,000 a year. The cost of graduate school for non-residents is over $23,000 a year.

Before enrolling in an UNLV program, you can fill out scholarship applications on the university's financial aid website and complete the FAFSA. The type of aid available to you depends on your overall need, the number of credits you take and your class level. Undergrads qualify for loans and grants, and traditional students can also take part in the UNLV work-study program. Graduate students can borrow money from the federal government and may qualify for certain grant programs based on what they study. UNLV also accepts alternative student loans from private lenders, which students can also apply for online.

Online Degrees Available

The UNLV Office of Online Education is the department responsible for its online degrees. Though it offers classes in nearly 50 subjects online, it also offers one undergrad program, six graduate degree programs and three certificate programs. Undergrads can enroll in a program to earn a bachelor's in social sciences online. This program requires that students take at least 49 credits of general ed classes, 18 credits of liberal arts classes and 12 credits of core courses on statistics and research methods. Students can also select a concentration in anthropology, women's studies, sociology, political science, history or psychology.

Those who have a teaching degree and/or license can enroll in the online Master of Science in Educational Psychology program. Students learn how to develop curriculum for students, create tests based on what they teach in their classes, the importance of evaluating new research and identifying problems with students. Its graduates work in community colleges, as public school counselors and as researchers.

Related Source: 20 Most Affordable Schools for an Online Master's in Educational Psychology Degree

The university also offers a graduate certificate program in nursing education that is open to those who already have a master's degree in nursing. Advanced health assessment, pathophysiology and genetics, advanced pharmacology and genetics, and clinical synthesis are four of the classes available in this program. The University of Nevada Las Vegas also offers students in this certificate program the option of earning course credit for an independent project they do in the summer.