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College of
Liberal Arts & Sciences enthusiastic about growth of combined
bachelor/master degree programs
By Megan Armstrong '06
In colleges and universities across the nation, a
growing number of undergraduate students are opting to pursue graduate
studies after graduation in lieu of immediately entering the business world.
This trend has become increasingly visible over the past decade,
exemplifying the change in society’s expectations of higher education –
namely, a bachelor’s degree has become the expected degree in most
professions but is no longer considered adequate for a growing number of
careers. Instead, many industries require a graduate degree for entry level
positions. In response to this trend, the University’s College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences now offers combined bachelor/master’s degree programs in
five-year formats.
The College launched a five-year program in biology
(BS/MS) in 2001. Since then, the college has introduced the following six
programs: classical studies (BA/MA), computing science (BS/MS), liberal
studies (BA/MA), political science (BA/MA), Spanish (BA/MA), and mathematics
(BS in mathematics/MS in applied statistics). There are several additional
programs under consideration for the near future.
The University’s academic strategic plan adopted
approximately 1˝ years ago set the stage for the advent of these programs.
This plan aimed to dictate the direction of the institution for the
remainder of the decade. The University outlined four specific goals, the
second of which concerns enhanced graduate education by striving to link
undergraduate and graduate education more carefully. “Villanova is
responding to these greater societal demands and expectations,” said Dr.
Gerald Long, dean of Graduate Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
“We’ve had graduate education at the University since the 1850s, but we also
have this wonderful undergraduate education at Villanova. It’s not that we
do two different things at the institution; perhaps they should be better
linked, especially now that we know that so many seniors, something like
92-94 percent of our graduating seniors in the last survey of that type I
saw, expected to [pursue graduate education].”
To be admitted into the majority of these five-year
programs, a candidate who meets a minimum GPA requirement and has entered
the University with a sufficient amount of advanced placement credits is
invited to submit an application at the end of sophomore year or the
beginning of junior year. If accepted, the student can begin taking courses
for his or her graduate degree as early as senior year. Upon completing the
program, the student will have earned the adequate number of credits
required for both the bachelor’s and master’s degrees, in just 1 to 1˝
additional years. Although the time frame of earning the degrees is
accelerated, there is no reduction of credit requirements. “Anything that we
might do that would lessen the reputation [of the University] would hurt us
in the long run, and we have to be very sensitive about that,” said Long.
The success of students who emerge from these
programs is not yet qualified, because the first participants in the
accelerated biology program have not graduated. The University, however, is
optimistic. Long has observed the departments that offer these programs have
been very pleased thus far. “There has been a kind of a change in the
intellectual climate of the department. You have graduate students,
undergraduate students, and then this interesting cohort group…that will
have the opportunity to work with the faculty for a longer period of time.
The hope is there will possibly be more publications that will be
forthcoming because of that, and a more intensive relationship,” said Long.
Long addressed the concern that may arise about a
student receiving both his or her undergraduate and graduate degrees from
the same institution. This practice is sometimes frowned on in higher
education as being too homogenous because the student is exposed to the same
faculty at the same institution which could inhibit his or her growth. “I
don’t have those qualms with the accelerated bachelor/master’s degree
programs, especially given the fact that more and more people expect a
master’s degree now; the bachelor’s degree is more readily morphing into the
master’s degree,” cited Long. “Any individual could raise the concern about
a student working with the same people at the master’s level as he or she
did at the undergraduate level, but that’s more than compensated for by the
arguments I hear in the other direction saying that that is the benefit of
the program.” Long also suggested additional benefits of these programs,
such as the elimination of the acclimation period that typically accompanies
any introduction to a new institution. Students are really able to “hit the
ground running,” with an easy transition from undergraduate to graduate
studies, he added.
The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences continues
to monitor the progress of these programs, and faculty and staff are excited
about the prospects of implementing additional accelerated programs in more
departments within the College, as the University continues its mission to
enhance the benefits of a Villanova undergraduate education by marrying
undergraduate coursework with challenging graduate work. |
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