Graduate Education Vision & Values
Vision
To be a vibrant learning community where faculty, staff, and graduate students collaborate and engage in scholarly activities to improve professional practice, society, and the world.
Mission
Graduate Education at Franklin University provides a high quality, engaging, and applied learning experience preparing a diverse community of learners to achieve their goals, enrich their professions, and strengthen their communities.
Philosophy
Since 1993, Franklin University has been serving the needs of graduate students who are pursuing an advanced degree to grow as leaders in their organizations, professions, and communities.
The cornerstones of graduate education at Franklin University are:
- Ensuring a high quality, engaging, and practice oriented educational experience.
- Fostering a vibrant and collaborative learning community
- Providing co-curricular opportunities for academic and professional growth
- Responding to the need for leaders in the professions, community, and world.
Graduate Student Admission
The admission process reflects Franklin University’s efforts at clearly identifying the performance standards that can help predict student success in graduate level study. The selection criterion for Franklin’s graduate programs, as determined by faculty, emphasizes academic ability, contributory work experience, admission essay, and personal qualities and characteristics.
Requirements for admission to a masters degree include having earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution with at least a 2.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale* (No particular previous course of study is required to apply). The candidate’s work history, and other personal qualities and characteristics will be considered as well. Submission of official transcript from the educational institution where the bachelor’s degree was earned is required. A student classified as degree seeking will not be permitted to register for courses in their initial term of registration until unofficial domestic transcripts or official transcripts are received. Official transcripts must be received before registering for the second term. *Applicants to the Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner must have at least 3.00 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
Domestic applicants seeking enrollment into a Franklin University Masters Program who do not meet the minimum entrance requirements may be considered for conditional admission into a program. An applicant must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution to be eligible for conditional admission. The applicable graduate faculty may grant conditional admission, if the candidate shows evidence of graduate potential after a comprehensive review of the candidates’s transcript(s), admission essay, resume/work experience, and references. Applicants who are conditionally admitted to a graduate program are required to achieve a final grade of B (3.0 GPA) or better in their first course at Franklin in order to remain in that program and as a University student.
If an applicant has earned a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution, but the GPA is below 2.75 (on a 4.0 scale), then an evaluation of the GMAT or GRE scores (varies by program) may be required. The candidate’s work history, references, and other personal qualities and characteristics will be considered as well.
Prospective doctorate students must meet the following requirements for acceptance into any doctorate program:
- A completed master’s degree from a regionally accredited institution
- Master’s degree cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
- If an applicant’s GPA is below 3.0, then the Graduate Management Admittance Test (GMAT) will be required.A combination of the GPA and GMAT score will be used to evaluate acceptance for admission. The GMAT must have been taken within the last five years
For applicants who are not U.S. citizens and for whom English is not their primary language, all graduate programs require a score of 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based) or 79 (Internet-based) or higher on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), a score of 6.5 on the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or ACCUPLACER ESL scores of 101 (Reading Comprehension) and 5 (WritePlacer). There is a listing on the Franklin University website that exempts students from English-speaking countries outside the United States http://www.franklin.edu/getting-started/international-students/international-requirements.
Prospective students for a the masters degree listed below must successfully complete the course prerequisites before being fully admitted into a specific graduate program. Graduate prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of "B-" or better. Undergraduate prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of "C" or better.
Master of Science in Accounting requires completion of Financial Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting I, Intermediate Accounting II, and Auditing courses.
Master of Science in Business Analytics: A program requirement, MATH 601, has a prerequisite of MATH 215 Statistical Concepts, or equivalent.
Master of Science in Computer Science: A minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale in Computer Science courses, (GRE Computer Science Subject Test will be considered in lieu of a Computer Science undergraduate degree and/or prerequisites)
- Students with an undergraduate degree in computer science will be admitted without future prerequisites. However, the students will be expected to possess intermediate Java programming skills as determined by completing COMP 121 or COMP 502, having a Java SE 8 programmer certification from Oracle, or a portfolio of Java-related examples that would include the fundamentals of object-oriented programming, linear and non-liner data structures (stacks, queues, lists, etc.)
- Students without a computer science degree will need to have credit for the following Franklin University courses or the equivalent undergraduate course work for the following prerequisites at a regionally accredited institution OR appropriate relevant work experience. Work experience as a software engineer, developer, or programmer analyst will be evaluated by the program chair upon request. Resumes, work samples, and personal interviews may all be used to determine the depth of knowledge in these areas:
- COMP 501 Foundations of Programming OR ITEC 136 – Principles of Programming OR COMP 111 - Intro to Computer Science & Object-Oriented Programming
- COMP 502 Foundations of Data Structures & Algorithms OR COMP 311 - Object-Oriented Data Structures and Algorithms II
- MATH 503 Foundations of Mathematics for Computing OR MATH 320 - Discrete Mathematics
Master of Science in Cybersecurity
- COMP 501 – Foundations of Programming OR ITEC 136 – Principles of Programming OR COMP 111 - Intro to Computer Science & Object-Oriented Programming
- ITEC 504 – Foundations of Networks and Systems OR COMP 204 - Principles of Computer Networks AND ITEC 400 – Linux Administration
- MATH 503 – Foundations of Mathematics for Computing OR MATH 320 - Discrete Mathematics
Master of Science in Data Analytics: A program requirement, MATH 601, has a prerequisite of MATH 215 Statistical Concepts, or equivalent.
Master of Science in Health Informatics: A program requirement, MATH 601, has a prerequisite of MATH 215 Statistical Concepts, or equivalent.
Master of Science in Information Technology:
- COMP 501 – Foundations of Programming OR ITEC 136 – Principles of Programming OR COMP 111 - Intro to Computer Science & Object-Oriented Programming
- ITEC 504 – Foundations of Networks and Systems OR COMP 204 - Principles of Computer Networks AND ITEC 400 – Linux Administration
- MATH 215 – Statistical Concepts (required for Data Analytics Focus Area only)
Master of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Nursing - Nurse Administrator, and Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner
- Applicants must hold a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree or receive Conditional Admission to the MSN program by:
- Having earned an associate degree/diploma in nursing from a regionally accredited institution with at least a 2.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale. For those pursuing the Nurse Practitioner track, at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
- Achieve a final grade of B (3.0 GPA) or better in the first course (NURS 500 Essentials of Professional Nursing) at Franklin in order to remain in the program. The student may repeat the course only one time.
- Evidence of Active Nursing License: Applicants must have an active and clear/unencumbered RN license in the U.S. or in a jurisdiction that is an associate member of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCBSN). Applicants holding the equivalent of an RN licensure or certification outside the U.S. must submit a Credential Evaluation Services (CES) Academic Report from the Council of Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS). All students must maintain licensure throughout the program of study.
Master of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Healthcare
- As an alternate to having earned a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution, admission will be granted upon successful completion of 90 semester credit hours of college-level baccalaureate degree-level courses (no developmental-level courses will count towards bachelor degree-level) and admission to a medical school. Graduation Requirement: Student must successfully complete the equivalent of 120 hours baccalaureate-level courses in addition to the MBA-Healthcare curriculum requirement (36 hours), for a total of 156 hours (not including developmental work).
Doctor of Business Administration requires a minimum of 30 hours of graduate coursework in a business-related field.
Doctor of Healthcare Administration requires a minimum of 30 hours of graduate coursework in a health-care related field.
Doctor of Professional Studies – Instructional Design Leadership requires a minimum of 15 hours of graduate coursework in an instructional design-related field or 3 years of work experience in training, instructional design, or education technology. Professional credentials, licenses, certificates, or other related advanced professional designations will also be accepted and considered as a part of the professional experience.
International Student Admission
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) defines an alien as “any personal not a citizen or national of the United States” (2015) and a nonimmigrant as “an alien who is admitted to the United States for a specific temporary period of time” (2015), including students, visitors, and temporary workers. Nonimmigrants within the United States and foreign nationals outside the United States who wish to apply for admission to Franklin University are considered international students and pursue admission through the Office of International Students and Programs. The Office of International Students and Programs can be contacted at 614.797.4700, toll-free 1.877.341.6300, or via email at: oisp@franklin.edu.
International students must submit the following to be considered for admission to graduate programs at Franklin University:
- A completed application for admission, available at https://apply.franklin.edu
- official transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended. Please note: Transcripts from institutions outside the US must be submitted to an approved transcript evaluation agency, a list of which is available at http://www.naces.org/members.html. Please request a course-by-course evaluation and request that the evaluation be submitted directly to Franklin University. Transcripts from institutions within the U.S. must arrive at Franklin University in an official, sealed envelope from the institution;
- official proof of English proficiency;
- an admission essay that serves as an essential writing sample and provides insight to satisfy admission criteria; and
- a résumé or curriculum vitae, including the names and contact information of three professional or academic references.
In addition, international students intending to enter the U.S. on an F-1 visa and/or attend Franklin University in F-1 immigration status must submit the following in addition to all other required admissions materials:
- a financial sponsorship form signed by the student and sponsor;
- financial statements from the sponsor that demonstrate sufficient funding for the student’s intended program; and
- a copy of the biographical information page of the international student’s passport.
Additional funding and information will be required if the international student intends to include dependents in F-2 immigration status.
Individuals who are immigrants (e.g. Lawful Permanent Residents, Political Asylees, and Refugees) and wish to apply to one of Franklin University’s graduate programs need to contact Graduate Admissions for assistance at 614.797.4700, toll-free 1.877.341.6300, or via email at graduate.admissions@franklin.edu. Immigrant applicants may be required to submit documentation of legal status in the U.S.
Accident & illness insurance coverage is required for all international students in F-1 status. Insurance premiums are billed automatically to the student’s tuition account upon registration for courses. A waiver of this health insurance coverage may be granted to students who meet the waiver requirements and submit the waiver petition and documentation to the insurance broker by the beginning of each term. Students taking a vacation trimester may elect to continue insurance coverage by completing a bridge application. Spouse and dependent coverage is also available. Forms and additional information regarding this insurance requirement may be obtained from the Office of International Students and Programs. More information is available at: https://www.franklin.edu/current-students/international-students/living-us/accident-illness-insurance
Franklin University does not provide accident & illness insurance to domestic students.
English Language Proficiency Requirements
Prospective students must demonstrate English Language Proficiency. The requirement is met through any of the following:
- The applicant is a citizen of a country where English is the official language.A list of English-speaking nations can be found here.
- The applicant has received a bachelor’s degree (or higher) from an institution located in an English-speaking country in which the courses were taught in English.*
- The applicant has earned appropriate scores on language proficiency exams taken within the last two years, as listed below.
Students applying for admission to graduate programs to be attended in the U.S. must submit official English proficiency scores from one of the approved exams: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English, or Accuplacer ESL. Minimum overall and subsections, listed in the table below, must be met.
TOEFL | IELTS | ACCUPLACER ESL | CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH SCALE |
Reading 20/30 | Reading 6.5 | Reading 100 | Reading 180 |
Writing 20/30 | Writing 6.5 | Writing 5 | Writing 180 |
Listening 20/30 | Listening 6.0 | Listening 90 | Listening 180 |
Speaking 19/30 | Speaking 6.0 | Sentence Meaning 100 | Speaking 180 |
Total: 79 | Overall: 69 | Overall: 298 | Overall: 180 |
Students applying for admission to graduate programs to be attended from outside the U.S. or offered through Global Partnerships must submit official English proficiency scores from one of the approved exams: TOEFL, IELTS, Cambridge English, or Accuplacer ESL. Minimum overall and subsections, listed in the table below, must be met.
TOEFL | IELTS | ACCUPLACER ESL | CAMBRIDGE ENGLISH SCALE |
Reading 20/30 | Reading 6.5 | Reading 100 | Reading 180 |
Writing 20/30 | Writing 6.5 | Writing 5 | Writing 180 |
Total: 79 | Overall: 6.5 | Overall: 105 | Overall: 180 |
Transfer Student Guidelines
Applicants from regionally accredited institutions of higher education (or institutions recognized as candidates for accreditation) may be granted transfer credit based on an evaluation by Franklin University of official transcripts, course descriptions, and syllabi (if available) sent directly to the University from all colleges previously attended. Normally, credit will be accepted for comparable graduate courses completed with a grade of “B” or higher (or the equivalent) and completed within the time frame established for the subject area in question. Upon approval of the Program Chair, up to twelve hours of transfer credit may be used in any masters program or up to twenty-four in any doctorate program. Transfer students must meet University residency requirements. Residency requirements equate to the total number of credit hours required for a specific program less the maximum of 12 masters or 24 doctorate credit hours that can be transferred in. For example, if the graduate program requires 30 credit hours less the 12 transfer credit hours, the Graduate residency requirements equal 18 graduate credit hours.
Graduate Non-Degree Seeking Students
Students who declare in writing that they are not candidates for a degree are designated as non-degree seeking students. The University encourages qualified persons to further their education in this manner.
Non-degree seeking students may enter the University to increase their knowledge in a specific area. College graduates enroll to develop their competence in a new field or to expand their education. Candidates who apply for graduate non-degree seeking status must meet all program admission requirements. Adequate preparation for specific courses may be demonstrated through the completion of prerequisite courses, verification for which is required through the Registrar or transcript. Waivers for course prerequisites must be approved by the Lead Faculty for the course. Students who are granted waivers of prerequisite requirements accept full responsibility for adequate preparation, and for their ability to perform the requirements of the course(s) in which they enroll.
A maximum of eight (8) credit hours may be taken as non-degree seeking status, with exceptions requiring Program Chair approval. Non-degree seeking students are not eligible for financial aid.
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