Overview
Arcadia University, founded in 1853, is a comprehensive university committed to providing an education that integrates liberal learning with career preparation. The University operates one of the country’s largest campus-based centers for study abroad and supports a wide array of cultural, intellectual, and recreational activities.

Graduate enrollment at Arcadia University consists of approximately 1,750 students. The majority of students study part-time. The genetic counseling, forensic science, international peace and conflict resolution, and physician assistant programs require a two-year, full-time commitment. The Doctor of Physical Therapy requires a 2½-year, full-time commitment.

The Location and Community
The University is located in Glenside, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, 14 miles from the center of the city. Theaters, museums, and the Philadelphia Orchestra are half an hour away by train or car. On campus, there are always a variety of lectures, concerts, and plays.

Programs of Study and Degree Requirements
The Master of Arts (M.A.) degree is offered in counseling psychology, English, and humanities. The M.A. in counseling psychology prepares students for work in schools (elementary and/or secondary) or in community, hospital, business, or industry settings. The M.A. in English offers three tracks in the following specializations: professional writing and teaching writing, writing and communications, and literary and critical studies. The M.A. in humanities provides an interdisciplinary study of one of the following areas: literature and modern language; fine arts, theater, and music; or history, philosophy, and religion. The Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.) offers areas of concentrations in art, computer education, English, environmental education, history, mathematics, music, psychology, theater arts, and written communication. The environmental education program offered in cooperation with the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education can also lead to Pennsylvania certification.

The Master of Education (M.Ed.) includes areas of concentration in art, computers and technology, early childhood education, educational leadership, elementary education, language arts, mathematics education, reading, school library science, science education, secondary education, and special education. Pennsylvania certification is available in all of the above areas except computer education and language arts. Secondary certification includes biology, chemistry, English, general science, mathematics, and social studies. Principal K–12, ESL, superintendent’s letter of eligibility, and supervisory certification are also available. The Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) is offered in special education. This three-year, part-time program is designed to increase the level of professional expertise among practitioners in the field and find ways to effectively implement best-practices programs in school settings.

The Master of Science in Forensic Science (M.S.F.S.) is earned through a two-year, full-time program operated in partnership with the Fredric Rieders Family Renaissance Foundation (FRFRF) and in collaboration NMS Labs, one of the nation’s premier forensic science laboratories. Arcadia’s M.S.F.S. program focuses primarily on criminalistics, forensic toxicology, and forensic biology and, secondarily, on technical investigation. The Master of Science in Genetic Counseling (M.S.G.C.) is earned through a two-year, full-time program that includes a combination of scientific, medical, psychological, and clinical courses and practical experiences. The program, which is accredited by the American Board of Genetic Counseling, prepares counselors to deal with the new medical technologies related to human genetics and reproduction and to apply knowledge from the natural sciences and psychology in order to address the needs of patients, community lay groups, and health and human services professionals.

The Master of Science in Public Health (M.S.P.H.) is an entry-level degree in the field of public health. It trains graduates to work effectively as public-health professionals in a wide array of health-related organizations. Both the Master of Science (M.S.) degree in health education program and the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in health education program are designed for school health and physical education teachers and community health educators. Both degree programs provide a breadth of knowledge in health education and train health educators to assess needs and plan and implement programs within the school and community settings. The Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.) is earned through a full-time, entry-level program that provides the academic study and clinical experience required by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for work as a professional physical therapist. The program consists of 2½ academic years of formal course work integrated with clinical internships. The program is accredited by the APTA. The Transitional Doctor of Physical Therapy (T.D.P.T.) is a transitional pathway for practicing clinicians intending to make their final education congruent with students graduating from entry-level D.P.T. programs.

The Master of Arts in International Peace and Conflict Resolution (M.A.I.P.C.R.) features a year of study and fieldwork experience abroad and prepares students for career positions in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs). The Master of Medical Science (M.M.S.) physician assistant studies program consists of a two-year educational program, divided into didactic course work, clinical instruction, and clinical rotations. Dual-degree programs combine the M.M.S. degree with either the M.S.P.H. or M.S. degree in health education. The Certificate of Advanced Study (C.A.S.) program is a post-master’s program that allows specialization and research in an area of education but does not lead to a graduate degree. The Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) with an international perspective is a part-time, accelerated program that is completed in eighteen months. The program couples academic course work with leading industry technology and a focus on international business, which includes two separate one-week study-abroad sessions—one studying business in a developed economy and one in a developing economy.

Facilities & Resources
The Landman Library has 139,203 volumes, more than 57,000 units of microfilm, and 798 print periodical subscriptions. Students have access to several online bibliographical databases, and materials are made available through interlibrary loan and through membership in a cooperative group of academic libraries. For students of science and psychology, there are excellent laboratory facilities in Boyer Hall. Internet services for students include a campuswide wireless network, Telnet, file transfer protocol (ftp), and e-mail. Student laboratories are located in Boyer Hall, which houses three PC labs and one Macintosh lab; Landman Library; Brubaker Hall; and the Educational Enhancement Center in Taylor Hall. In addition, some academic departments (such as fine arts, biology, and psychology) maintain computer equipment for their specific disciplines. All instructional buildings house PC-equipped teaching classrooms. Specialized library material is available in different programs’ resource centers as well as an online medical library.

Expenses and Aid
Tuition is $850 per credit. Tuition for the physical therapy, genetic counseling, physician assistant, forensic science, and international peace and conflict resolution programs ranged from $23,840 to $31,500 per year.

Housing/Living Expenses:
There are a variety of housing options in proximity to the University.

Financial Aid:
Arcadia offers several partial-tuition scholarships to its top applicants in each of the full-time graduate programs. A limited number of graduate assistantships are available to full-time students, and all students enrolled in one of the full-time programs or those matriculating in any graduate program and taking at least 6 credits per semester may apply for a Federal Stafford Student Loan. Several alternative loans are also available, as is a ten-month interest-free payment plan through Key Education Resources.

How to Apply
Admission to graduate programs is based on an overall evaluation of credentials, including the applicant’s undergraduate record, which should show a B average or better in the major field. Applicants to programs other than genetic counseling, international peace and conflict resolution, and physical therapy should apply at least six weeks before the semester in which they plan to enroll. A $50 application fee must accompany the application. Applicants to the genetic counseling and physical therapy programs must apply by January 15. All applications for the physician assistant studies program are processed by the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) at http://www.caspaonline.org. Applications are not accepted by CASPA after January 15. The deadline for the doctorate in special education and the forensic science program is February 15 and the deadline for the international peace and conflict resolution program is April 1. Applicants who do not fulfill admission requirements or who have undergraduate deficiencies may be admitted conditionally.

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