Southwestern College

Career-Starter Degrees at Southwestern College

Southwestern College appears in our ranking of the 30 Best Online Bachelor’s in Psychology Programs at Private Colleges. Southwestern College in Kansas has a unique approach to its degree programs. They are tailored to give students a jump-start to a career. The school has a good assortment in:

• undergraduate
• graduate
• doctoral
• certificate programs

The program listings begin with degrees and certificates in Business and Leadership. There are bachelor’s programs in:

• accounting
• business administration
• general studies
• human resource management and more

The Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice, for instance, is a 124 credit-hour program. It gives students an overview of the organizations that make up the criminal justice system in the US. It is offered in a traditional format or online. It prepares students to become:

• corrections officers
• law enforcement officers
• crime scene investigators and more

Students admitted to the program must have completed a minimum of six post-high school credits. The Bachelor of Arts in Education: Early Childhood Education is a 124 credit-hour program. It combines courses in teaching children from birth to age eight with special education coursework. This program is offered on campus or online. Graduates are eligible to sit for the licensure exam in Kansas. The college maintains a childcare center and an after-school program for children up to 13 years of age. It allows students  to observe teaching methods. This program includes a practicum. The Bachelor of Arts in Education: Elementary Education includes college-requisite general education as well as courses in the major. The program requires completion of 124 credits and a capstone. The Bachelor in Healthcare Administration degree is a 124 credit-hour degree program. Students applying to this program are required to have prerequisite courses in statistics and probability and college algebra. There are 11 courses in the major including:

• Accounting in Healthcare
• Managing Healthcare Human Resources
• Healthcare Information Systems, and others.

There are also bachelor’s degrees in:

• computer programming
• information systems
• psychology, and other areas.

The school has several master’s degrees available as well. For instance, there are master of science degrees in:

• business and related fields
• leadership in management
• education and teaching and other areas.

The Master of Business Administration is a 30 credit-hour online program. There are two prerequisite courses:

• Essential Economics of Business
• Essential Accounting and Finance for Business

There are 12 required courses including:

• Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management
• Business Law and Ethics
• Technology and Innovation Management and others

Students are required to complete a graduate project. The Master of Education is available with concentrations in:

• Curriculum and Instruction
• Special Education-High Incidence
• Special Education Low Incidence

These are 36 credit-hour programs, and applicants must be currently licensed teachers. They are intended for teachers who want expertise with special education needs. High incidence here refers to the frequency with which teachers encounter the impairments in the classroom. It includes students with:

• cognitive disorders
• communication disorders
• emotional or behavioral disorders
• other impairments

Low incidence refers to students who are blind-deaf or have significant cognitive impairments among other designations. Program applicants who want an endorsement instead of a degree can earn the credential with 33 credit hours. Teachers can earn endorsements for early childhood or for elementary education. In addition to several graduate and undergraduate certificates, there is a doctoral program: the Doctorate of Education (EDD). The program includes a required summer residency. It can be earned on a licensure or non-licensure track. The licensure track adds an advanced leadership endorsement.

About Southwestern College

This is a small private school affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1885 as the Southwest Kansas Conference College. It changed its name in 1909 to Southwestern College. Its first class graduated in 1889. Southwestern has a main campus and a distance-learning component. It is called a “lap-top community” because every student at the school gets a lap-top computer. The emphasis at the school is on service learning. This means that students interact with the community in projects for the common good. Southwest has an affinity for adult learners. It has six professional study sites as well as its main campus and online programs. The professional study focus allows students to complete pragmatic programs that target career-necessary skills. The college has a total enrollment of 1,514. The US News and World Report ranks the school as #117 through #153 of Regional Universities Midwest. The average class has fewer than 20 students. The student/faculty ratio is 10:1.

Southwestern College Accreditation Details

• Higher Learning Commission
• University Senate of the United Methodist Church
• National Association of Schools of Music
• Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation
• Kansas State Department of Education
• Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education
• National Association for the Education of Young Children
• Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

Southwestern College Application Requirements

First-time freshman applicants complete the online application form. They must pay the non-refundable application fee of $25. They arrange for their high schools to submit their official transcripts to the college. Additionally, the agency which administered the SAT or ACT test should send those official results to Southwestern. Students applying as graduate students will find that each program has its own requisites. But there are some generalities. Graduate students will apply online as well. They must pay the application fee of $25. They must arrange for the school where they earned their bachelor’s degrees to send those official transcripts to the college. Additionally, they will need to submit:

• a resume
• three letters of recommendation
• a personal essay

Tuition and Financial Aid

Undergraduate tuition for the 2019-2020 school year was $31, 650. Including room and board, supplies and personal expenses, the total undergraduate cost-of-attendance is about $42,821 per year. Many students attend through distance learning at this school. The per-credit cost for an undergraduate course is $527. Graduate courses vary by program. For instance, the MBA program is $730 per credit hour while education courses average $562. Most students at Southwestern College receive some type of financial aid. The college website stresses that aid comes from four sources:

• the federal government
• the state government
• the institution
• outside resources

The first step in getting help is completing the FAFSA form. Kansas has a few state government grants and many grants and scholarships that the state administers for private donors. These can be found by checking the Kansas Board of Education website. Southwestern College has available scholarships and grants as well, including some from the Methodist Church. Loans and part-time jobs are another way of financing a degree program. Because of the high-interest rate, credit cards should never be used to pay for a degree program at Southwestern College.

Related Resources:

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