Minimum Requirements for a Master's Degree
Effective 02/26/04
- Minimum Requirements for a Master’s Degree
- A master’s degree is intended to prepare students for scholarly
or professional careers, for more specialized study in the discipline,
or to satisfy their desire to learn more about a subject. A master’s
degree is a respectable academic award conferred upon those who demonstrate
a level of competence and accomplishment that are substantially higher
than what is expected of undergraduate students. These include ability
to write logically and clearly, skills to analyze complex situations,
proficiency to acquire, integrate and apply knowledge, and a capacity
to recognize and deal with ethical issues according to the standards of
their particular profession.
- Students’ academic preparation in a master’s degree program
should include course work, independent research, peer interactions, and
practical experience.
- A minimum of thirty semester hours beyond the bachelor’s degree
is required for the completion of a master’s degree. The time limit
for completing a master’s degree at Park University is seven years.
No course older than seven years will be applied to a master’s degree
program.
- No more than 9 required credit hours may be transferred toward a master’s
degree at Park University. All credits transferred to Park University
must be earned at a regionally accredited institution and must be earned
at graduate level.
- Students who lack the background knowledge to pursue a graduate degree
at Park University may be required to complete the prerequisites established
by the program. Courses defined as prerequisites may be offered at the
graduate level, but do not count toward the thirty hours required for
the degree.
- No more than twelve graduate credits earned in a non-degree status at
Park University may be applied to a master’s degree program.
- A Master’s degree consists of a major field of study and an area
of specialization within it or a minor in another discipline. A minimum
of 18 credit hours in the discipline is required for the major area and
a minimum of 12 credit hours is required to constitute a specialization
within the area. Students may choose a minor in another discipline in
lieu of a specialization within the area. When a minor in another discipline
is chosen, the program or department that offers the minor must submit
questions for the comprehensive final examination if a comprehensive final
examination is chosen as the culminating activity. The department that
offers the major area is responsible for including these questions and
administering the comprehensive final examination. If another option such
as a portfolio or applied research project is chosen as the culminating
activity by the major program, the minor department or program must require
its own culminating activity. Verification that a student has passed a
comprehensive final examination or successfully completed another culminating
activity is required before being approved for graduation.
- All master’s programs require substantial knowledge of the appropriate
research methodologies and research experience appropriate to the discipline
as part of its curriculum. The required research experience must be demonstrated
either by a thesis or by a written research project in which a student
evidences an ability to understand and apply appropriate research methodologies.
Contact for Interpretation: Dean of Graduate and Professional Studies
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