Online Degrees at National University
National University appears in our ranking Top 15 Most Affordable Accelerated Master’s in Communications Online.
Though National University offers more than 200-degree programs across all levels, it offers more than 50 programs for graduate students who want to take online classes. One option allows students to earn a Master of Public Health. They learn more about all aspects of the public health field. Students will take eight general public health classes and eight courses from within the health promotion or healthcare administration specialization. The university now offers a specialization in mental health too. National is one of the only online colleges with an MPH program that lets students do a final capstone project or an internship.
Many of the online programs available help students earn a Master of Arts such as the university’s English program. Designed for those who want to learn more about English literature, this program offers specializations in gothic studies or rhetoric. The university requires that English majors take five seminar courses, which allow them to work on their own writing and create works suitable for publishing. Students will take six required classes, including Introduction to Grad English Studies and Major English Seminar. They also take four courses that allow them to study subjects like poetry and film.
Those who want to work in human resources departments may find the university’s Master of Arts in Human Resource Management interesting. Though many of the students who enroll already have business experience, the university also accepts college graduates who have less experience and want to learn more about the business industry. This program goes into greater depth on what HR professionals do and how they work than standard MBA programs do. It features courses such as Theory and Practice of Human Resource Management, Seminar in Employee Relations, and Compensation and Benefits.
Unlike some of the other graduate programs offered by the university, the human resource management program has a thesis requirement. Students will take a Research Seminar and then do a capstone or a research project. National University gives students the freedom to study any HR topic including those they didn’t cover in their classes.
About National University
National University is a school best known for its online programs. Founded in 1971 as a training school, it originally offered training programs that prepared students for working in specific fields. Fewer than 30 students enrolled in the university during its first year, but enrollment grew steadily over the coming decades. The programs offered included practical training that gave students the skills that employers looked needed. It now has its academic headquarters in La Jolla, California but operates campuses and centers in 13 other cities in the state, including Los Angeles and Riverside. The university also has a campus in Nevada as well as its online campus.
Often called National, the university has a high rate of students who successfully complete its degree programs. More than 70% of undergrads and more than 60% of graduate students finish their degrees at the university. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranks National as one of the best employers in education, and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing listed it as one of the top schools for education majors because of how well its programs prepare students for teaching. More than 11,000 graduate students enroll in the online and traditional graduate programs offered by the university every year.
National University Accreditation Details
Though National University primarily offers online classes, it has more types of accreditation than other online schools do. It has regional accreditation that covers all its degree programs from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Students who previously took graduate classes can transfer their credits to the university because of this accreditation, but they can also apply for financial aid. National also has accreditation for its nursing, public health, business, and other programs.
National University Application Requirements
National University has a graduate admissions policy that looks at multiple factors when deciding which students to accept. It considers both the experiences they had in college and in the real world. Students must have at least a bachelor’s degree that came from a college or university with institutional or regional accreditation. They must also have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or higher and a GPA of 2.75 or higher in the last 90 quarter units of classes they took. The university requires that students submit a transcript that shows a GPA and the date the student earned his or her degree or the expected date that the student will complete a degree.
Students will provide the university with both a resume and an official test score. They can submit a GRE score or a score from an equivalent graduate exam. The university uses the resume to determine whether the student has any professional experience that can help him or her in a degree program. Students may need to meet with a representative from the degree program too for a short interview. The interviewer will decide if the student should get into the program based on their time together. National occasionally accepts students with a lower GPA than the one it requires but will place those students on probationary status. If the student cannot maintain a high GPA, the university can prevent the student from taking classes in the future.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Graduate students will take classes at the 500, 600, and 700 levels. They pay $416 per quarter unit. As most courses are worth quarters, students pay $1,872 per class they take. Students also pay around $200 a semester in miscellaneous fees. If a student has a negative balance on his or her account, the university can send collection agents to seek the money due. Students must also pay a $100 exam fee for each test that they take at the end of the quarter. The university requires that students take a final exam at the end of each class taken.
National encourages students to complete the FAFSA in the fall or spring before classes start. Only those who file this form can take out any of the loans offered by the federal government. There are now standard loans and graduate PLUS loans available. Many students also use alternative loans. Unlike government loans that charge all students the same interest rate, the rates on alternative loans fluctuate based on the credit score of the student.
National University Program Finder
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