This school appears in our ranking Top 30 Online Master's in Special Education Degrees 2017.
Xavier University is a large private university based out of a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio that has an affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church. Founded in 1831, it opened as a men's college with just one small campus in Cincinnati. It moved to a new location in 1840 and became St. Xavier College. The college used this name for nearly a century before becoming Xavier University in 1930. Xavier added weekend and evening programs for women in the 1940s which gave women more opportunities for higher education. The success of those programs led to Xavier becoming coeducational in the late 1960s. Xavier also grew substantially after adding graduate programs to its curriculum in later years.
Undergrads can now enroll in more than 80 degree programs, but the university also offers a number of classes for graduate students. Though Xavier gave students the chance to take online classes in the late 1990s, it only offers full degree programs at the graduate level through its online system. U.S. News & World Report ranked Xavier within the top 10 of all colleges in the Midwest on its list of the best regional schools, and Forbes ranked the university as one of the best in the Midwest and as one of the nation's best private schools. It also has one of the highest six-year completion rates out of all colleges in the Midwest. Xavier University has a total enrollment of more than 6,600 students. Many of these students are Catholic.
Xavier University Accreditation Details
All the online degree programs that Xavier offers are graduate programs that award students master's degrees. Many of these students bring credits with them that they earned on another campus. As Xavier has regional accreditation from the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, students shouldn't have any problems transferring those credits into one of its online programs. Xavier also has accreditation from a number of organizations for some of its degree programs, including accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education, Teacher Education Accreditation Council and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
Xavier University Application Requirements
Xavier University has one of the lowest acceptance rates of all graduate schools in the Midwest. It offers information sessions on its Cincinnati campus to help graduate students find answers to any questions they have and to learn more about the fields they want to study. Students can also fill out a form on the Xavier website to request more information or to speak with a representative from any department on the university's campus.
The online application is one of the requirements for those applying. They need to list details relating to the classes they took as an undergrad, where they went to college and when they earned their degrees. Though Xavier will accept students who do not yet have a bachelor's degree, those students must show the university proof that they finished their degrees before beginning one of the online graduate programs.
Different Xavier departments have requirements in place for incoming students enrolling in an online program. Those students may need to submit an official score from a graduate exam like the MCAT or the GRE and write a short essay or personal statement that lists some of the goals they hope to achieve while in grad school. Most programs ask for a college transcript, and some programs and departments will want two or three letters of recommendation.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Students studying on the Xavier campus will pay more in fees than those who enroll in one of its online programs will. The cost that online students pay starts at $550 per credit hour, but some programs charge as much as $799 per credit hour. Students can estimate their total costs based on the number of credits they want to take in a semester. Full-time graduate students usually take at least nine credits in a semester but no more than 12 credits. Students must also pay a fee of $6 per semester as a full-time student and $3 per semester as a part-time student. It typically costs at least $24,000 to complete a graduate degree through the Xavier online system.
While graduate students do not have access to as many forms of financial aid as undergraduate students do, they can still get financial aid via the FAFSA. Graduate students will need to use either their own tax records or the tax records of their parents to fill out this form. Xavier graduate students receive thousands of dollars in federal student loans each year. The university offers counseling that helps students better understand how their loans work. Online graduate students can apply for private student loans, also called alternative student loans, and their parents can apply for loans too.
Online Degrees Available
Master of Science in Nursing
Xavier University offers eight online graduate degrees that let students complete their degrees without taking a single class on its traditional campus. Its Master of Science in Nursing is just one option available to online students. The RN to MSN program is open to students who have a lower level nursing degree, while its registered nurse MSN program is open to students who have a bachelor's degree and several years of nursing experience. Those students take eight-week classes and take up to 36 credits of classes. The university offers this as a combined program that lets students study criminal justice and nursing at the same time.
Master of Business Administration
One of the more popular programs Xavier offers online is its Master of Business Administration program. Part-time students finish this program within three years, and full-time students finish their studies in just 18 months. This MBA program ranks as one of the best in the country. It features classes such as Business Law and Ethics, Strategy and Organizations, Marketing Strategy and Organizational Analysis.
Master of Science in Criminal Justice
Students can also earn a Master of Science in Criminal Justice or a Certificate in Criminal Justice Administration online. Both programs are available entirely online and feature eight-week classes. The university allows students to start the MS CJ program at any of the six sessions held each year. Some of the other online programs available through Xavier University for graduate students include those in Montessori Education, Health Economics and Clinical Outcomes Research, Special Education and Coaching Education and Athlete Development.