Philosophy
The basic philosophy of the Master of Science in Education and the Master of Science in Educational Administration is to impart to its students’ knowledge in academic fields, special skills in research, and sharpened powers of independent thought. The program is designed to develop individuals who exercise leadership qualities to improve their effectiveness in education both personally and professionally, regardless of the area of emphasis, i.e., supervisor, elementary principal, secondary principal, assistant superintendent, or superintendent.
The purposes and objectives of the Master of Science in Education are in keeping with Franciscan University of Steubenville’s mission as well as being responsive to the interests and needs of teachers. The faculty and administration who support the Master of Science in Educational Administration express compatibility of the program with the mission, goals, and convictions of Franciscan University of Steubenville.
The graduate program, through its faculty, seeks to create and maintain the academic milieu for excellence in graduate work. Therefore, its influence and encouragement extend first to its own members and their scholarly activities. Educators completing the Franciscan University of Steubenville Master of Science in Educational Administration Program are individuals who bring to their position knowledge in academic fields, special skills in research, sharpened powers of thought, and leadership abilities and qualities that include lifelong learning skills, problem solving, appropriate decision making, maturation, coping abilities, responsibility, interpersonal skills, and effective time management. Yet, while the program gives them the resources, the guidance, and the inspiration of a scholarly staff in its classrooms, laboratories, and libraries, it expects the students themselves to bring marked initiative and energies to their work and to assume full responsibility for the progress of their studies.
In short, graduate work, for the student at Franciscan University of Steubenville, has for its purpose an integrated program of advanced study based on adequate undergraduate preparation in a specific field. It presupposes academic and personal maturity and makes more than an average demand upon the initiative, the industry, and the scholarship of the candidate for an advanced degree.
Men and women graduates of approved colleges or universities who hold the bachelor’s degree are eligible for admission. Applicants must have had adequate undergraduate preparation in their proposed fields of study and must show satisfactory promise for pursuing higher studies.
Franciscan University of Steubenville accepts into its graduate program applicants who can present undergraduate records showing them capable of meeting the standards of graduate work. An applicant must hold a teacher’s certificate or a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, unless specific exceptions are granted, i.e., individual departmental evaluations by the Director of graduate education, and must have attained an undergraduate quality point average of at least 2.75 of a possible 4.0.