This school appears in our ranking Top 30 Online Master's in Special Education Degrees 2017.
The University of Arkansas was established in 1871 and is part of the state's university system. Located in Fayetteville, the school is the flagship university of the system and is also the largest university in the state with more than 27,500 students. There are more than 200 undergraduate and graduate programs at the university, which has been dubbed a school with high levels of research activity by the Carnegie Foundation. Founded as the Arkansas Industrial University, the school offered its first classes in 1872. Some of the most popular programs at the university include architecture, animal science, communication disorders, law, history, creative writing and Middle Eastern studies.
The campus covers more than 510 acres and features 378 buildings around Fayetteville. The school's athletic teams are nicknamed the Razorbacks and students play in NCAA Division I games in the Southwestern Conference. The school's official colors are cardinal and white and the mascots for the University of Arkansas are Tusk & Big Red. There is also a sidewalk at the university that has every name of every graduate who has attended the university since it opened etched in it. The founding of the university was necessary due to a provision in the state's constitution that mandated the building of a university in Arkansas.
University of Arkansas Accreditation Details
The University of Arkansas has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1924 and has been reaccredited every ten years with an official evaluation. Specific programs, degrees, colleges and departments within the university also have accreditation. For example, the nursing programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Similarly, the engineering programs at the University of Arkansas have been accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET and the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science has been accredited by the Computing Accreditation Commission of ABET. Other organizations that have accredited the University of Arkansas include the National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education.
University of Arkansas Application Requirements
For students interested in attending the University of Arkansas as freshman, minimum requirements include having earned at least 16 units in certain academic areas in high school, an overall GPA in high school of at least 3.0 and an ACT score of at least 20. Core high school classes students must take before entering college include four units of English, four units of math, three units of natural sciences and three units of social science. For graduate students, application requirements include transcripts from the college or university where the applicant earned an undergraduate degree, standardized test scores and a minimum grade point average of at least 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on the last 60 hours of course work taken before receiving a bachelor's degree. Applications for study via the university's online degree programs require the same materials as the on-campus degrees.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Tuition for undergraduates at the University of Arkansas is $9,062 and the university estimates the total cost including living expenses will be $24,916 for on-campus students and $19,564 for commuting students. Graduate students pay $11,428 for tuition for most programs. The graduate business school tuition is $15,366 and the graduate tuition for law school is $16,118. For non-residents of Arkansas, undergraduate tuition is $24,308 and graduate tuition is $27,722. One of the neat features of attending the University of Arkansas through its online program option is that all students get to pay in-state tuition, even if they're not a resident of Arkansas.
Financial aid programs at the University of Arkansas include Pell Grants, Work-Study grants, Perkins Loans, PLUS Loans, Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG). Students may also seek loans from private lenders, as well as scholarships and grants from private groups. Some aid is need-based and requires that the student or the student's parents earn less than a certain amount in income each year. Other loans, grants and scholarships aren't need-based and may be based on a student's academic performance in high school. Students are encouraged to submit their FAFSA form early to secure federal financial aid through the university.
Online Degrees Available
The University of Arkansas offers several online programs for students ranging from bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs to specialist, certificate, licensure and minor programs. Bachelor's degree programs available online include a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Graduate programs include an Executive Master of Business Administration, a Master of Education in Educational Leadership and a Master of Education in Educational Technology. Doctoral options include a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership and a Doctor of Nursing Practice. These are just a few of the available degrees at the University of Arkansas Online.
Bachelor of Arts in Communication
The Bachelor of Arts in Communication degree is ideal for students interested in employment in areas like corporate training, public relations, project management and media and social media consulting. The program is offered 100 percent online and requires a minimum of 120 hours completed. Students who enroll full-time in classes should take four years to complete their degree. Classes a student will get to take in the program include Communication in a Diverse World, Public Speaking, Introduction to Communication Research and Media, Community, and Citizenship. The program also requires a variety of core classes in general studies areas, as well as three to six credits in a foreign language and three credits in mathematics.M
Master's of Business Administration
Students who wish to earn a business degree at the graduate level may wish to explore the Executive Master of Business Administration, which offers most of its coursework online with a few required on-campus visits during the program. The Walton Executive MBA is ideal for people who are already working at the managerial level or who aspire to work at the executive level. Some of the areas where a student may focus in the program include supply chain, business analytics, entrepreneurship, retail sales, innovation and finance. The program is designed to take about two years to complete with 38 credit hours required to graduate. The program focuses heavily on the retail industry and offers specific areas of focus in retail. Students are encouraged to explore this and other programs available through the University of Arkansas Online system if they wish to attend school wholly or partially online.