Education and Teaching Programs at the University of St. Mary
University of St. Mary appears in our ranking of the Top 20 Online Nursing Education Master’s Degrees.
The education and teaching programs available at the University of St. Mary include undergraduate and graduate degree options. One popular choice for undergrads is the university’s elementary education major. Majors will work with the university to select their placement schools, which is where they will do their fieldwork. Suitable for those who want to teach up through the fifth grade, this program includes a licensure track for those who want a Kansas teaching license. The university also offers secondary education major with a licensure track for students who want to teach students up through the 12th grade.
Multiple degree programs are available for graduate students such as the university’s Master of Arts in Education. Students need to choose one of three specializations: teacher leadership, adult education or English as a second language. All majors will take the 11 core classes that include Legal Issues in Education, Education and the Exceptional Learner, Leadership, /and Change in Education and Cultural Diversity and Education. They will also take multiple courses from within one of the specializations.
In the Master of Arts in Special Education program, students become better equipped to handle the needs of students with disabilities. The two specializations in this program include gifted education and high incidence education. In the gifted education, students focus on working with children who are more intelligent or talented than their peers, while the high incidence education program looks at how individual students can get help in the classroom. In addition to specialization courses, students will take core classes that include Introduction and Characteristics of Gifted Learners, Assessments for Students with Diverse Learning Needs and Leadership and Advocacy in Special Education.
Two other Master of Arts in Education programs are available with specializations in elementary education or secondary education. The elementary education program includes a practicum that is worth one credit. It allows students to gain experience in a placement center close to the University of St. Mary campus. Secondary education majors will do a practicum too. Both graduate programs include Legal Issues in Education, Instructional Technology, Methods for Teaching Diverse Learners, Reading Across the Content Areas and other courses.
The University of St. Mary also offers an online Master of Science in Nursing with a nurse educator specialization.
About the University of St. Mary
The University of St. Mary or the University of Saint Mary is a private university that offers degree programs in multiple fields. Founded in 1858 as an academy for girls and boys, it was due to the work of Catholic Sisters who used the name of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. The religious affiliation that the school formed with that organization remains today. That organization would later move the school to a new location and rename it St. Mary’s Academy. This led to the formation of St. Mary’s College, which would become the University of St. Mary. Known as one of the top colleges in Kansas for many years, the university admitted men to its distance education programs and became fully coeducational in the early 2000s.
Now known as both St. Mary and USM, the university has a campus in Leavenworth that is the flagship campus in the system. A smaller campus in Overland Park allows students to finish their degrees and earn graduate degrees through nighttime classes. There is another campus in Shawnee that offers eight-week classes for students and another campus that allows students to major in medical fields. Across all of those campuses, USM has an enrollment of fewer than 800 students.
The University of St. Mary Accreditation Details
As Saint Mary has regional accreditation, any student who wants to use the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can do so as a way to obtain financial aid from the government. Regional accreditation also lets USM accept credits when students decide to transfer to the university. This accreditation is through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). USM also has full accreditation for all of its education programs from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
The University of St. Mary Application Requirements
Prospective undergrads who want to study education at USM need a minimum score of 18 on the ACT or 970 on the SAT and a minimum grade point average of 2.5. The university requires this an unweighted GPA but allows students to submit a weighted GPA and get credit for the AP and similar courses they took. There is an application that students can access online, which charges a small fee. Students are also responsible for making sure that USM receives their official transcripts and test scores.
At St. Mary, incoming graduate students need to meet the university’s admissions requirements before they enroll, which includes a minimum grade point average of 2.75 in their undergrad classes and a bachelor’s degree. They also pay a $25 application fee and submit an application. Other requirements include two letters of recommendation, their official transcripts, and an essay. This essay should explain the student’s teaching philosophy and how their teaching experiences will help them in the program. Students granted probationary acceptance to St. Mary must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher in the first semester of work they do.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost for graduate students at USM is $410 per credit hour in all the university’s education programs. Those students can apply for a payment plan or let the university know that their employers have a reimbursement plan. They can also use the FAFSA and get financial aid, though they usually do not qualify for as many types of aid as undergrads do.
Undergrads pay $14,430 per semester for full-time enrollment or $665 per credit hour for part-time enrollment. Part-time students also pay $945 per credit hour when they take more than seven credits of classes. On-campus residents also pay at least $1,875 per semester for a housing plan and another $1,975 per semester for a meal plan. The costs that students pay can vary when they take classes online or on another USM campus. With the FAFSA, students can get all the financial aid that they need for the year. Not only do undergrads qualify for work-study and federal loans, but they can also get grants and scholarships from St. Mary. Some of the scholarships available from the University of St. Mary only go to those enrolled in an education degree program.
