Adams State University appears in our ranking of the Top 10 Most Affordable Accelerated Master’s in Coaching Online.
Adams State University Online offers eight fields of study for graduate and doctoral students. Counseling majors can earn a Master of Arts (MA) in School Counseling or Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Both tracks include 60 credits of work and have full accreditation. Students do internships to meet some of the 2,000 hours of fieldwork that the state requires licensed counselors. In the school counseling program, students become prepared to work as counselors in K-12 settings.
In the Master of Arts in Education online program, students can select concentrations in curriculum and instruction or educational leadership. While the leadership program features a principal track, the curriculum and instruction program includes a STEM track that licenses teachers. The university offers a music education major for students who want to teach music at an advanced level. It includes concentrations in performance, composition, and conducting. Also available is a Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration and Leadership. Students take two years of classes and have the option of taking the third year of courses through the university’s Executive Leadership Institute.
Adams State University offers both a Master of Humanities program and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program online too. The humanities program includes a concentration in public administration and other options. It prepares students for working in public service positions and features 36 credits of work. Some students may qualify for a department scholarship too. Students do a thesis and take an internship and also complete the humanities core, which includes Philosophy, Laws and Standards, Archaeological Theory, and Report Writing.
The university’s MBA program includes five emphasis areas for students, including finance, sports leadership, and health administration. Though students take different courses in some areas, they take core classes too that include Managerial Economics, Multinational Financial Management, Technology, and Innovation.
Also available is an online master’s degree in kinesiology that can help students work in coaching, athletic training, sports management, and health and wellness. Students do practicums that give them access to the same programs that on-campus students have. The university offers an online undergraduate kinesiology major that helps students transition into the graduate program but will also accept students who have similar bachelor’s degrees from other schools. It includes emphasis areas in application sport psychology and coaching for online students in the Master of Science program. Students who select the MA program can choose an emphasis in sports management.
About Adams State University
Adams State University is a public university that uses the abbreviation ASU for its main campus and ASU Online for its online division. Billy Adams established the university that now bears his name in 1921 as Adams State Normal School. The original programs offered training for teachers in the San Luis Valley and opportunities for those who wanted to work as teachers in remote parts of Colorado. Known as Adams State College for several decades, it became ASU in 2012.
The university still offers opportunities for students from in and around the San Luis Valley but accepts students from other states too. It has a main campus in Alamosa, Colorado that sits on 90 acres of land. This campus has residence halls, academic buildings, and athletic facilities such as Plachy Hall, which has an indoor swimming pool and a large gym. More than 4,000 students attend ASU and ASU Online every year.
Adams State University Accreditation Details
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) helps students of all types qualify for federal and state financial aid. ASU Online students can use this form because the online branch has the same regional accreditation that the main campus has, which comes from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). The university also has accreditation from the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).
Adams State University Application Requirements
ASU Online asks that students complete the online application, pay a $30 application fee and submit their required documents through the online portal. Students can submit their transcripts through the mail or use a digital record that they upload to the application. Both of the counseling programs require a personal statement and two letters of recommendation that address the strengths and academic potential of the applicant. The personal statement must be double spaced and typed. It should be between three and five pages and explain the counseling goals the student has, reasons for choosing ASU, and how an online program will benefit them.
Some programs such as the higher education administration and leadership program require a letter of intent that states the student wants to attend ASU. This program asks for two letters of reference with at least one letter coming from a direct supervisor and a resume that makes note of the student’s volunteer and professional experiences. Students may need to sign a form to show that they have a bachelor’s degree or that they will complete a degree by the time they start an online program. ASU also asks that students read through the technical requirements for its online programs before they apply.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Graduate students taking classes through ASU Online pay $452.80 per credit hour in the counseling programs, which includes their semester fees. In the education graduate programs, students pay $337.80 per credit hour in tuition and fees. The $452.80 per credit hour rate applies to MBA students too. Unlike other schools that offer online classes, ASU does not distinguish between residents and non-residents. All students pay the same rates based on the programs they choose. They can multiply the number of classes they want to take by this rate to determine their costs each semester.
Online graduate students can get financial aid from ASU when they use the university’s code on the FAFSA and submit that form. This is how students qualify for different types of government loans such as the unsubsidized loans that go to all students and the PLUS loans that go to those with a good credit history. Students can qualify for some scholarships that are available from each department too. Those who have more financial need can apply for private loans from other sources as well. The online master’s degree programs offered by Adams State University include multiple funding sources for students.
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