The Graduate College
Masters Degrees (page 3 of 3)
Masters Degrees (page 3 of 3)
[link to Full Graduate Catalog]
[link to Program Listing, Alphabetically]
[link to Program Listing, by College]
Master of Science in Medicine in Physician Assistant
The Department of Physician Assistant offers a professional entry-level program leading to the Master of Science in Medicine in Physician Assistant. This program is solely intended as a full-time professional education curriculum, accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), allowing graduates to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, required by most states for licensure to practice.
Master of Arts in Medieval Studies
The Medieval Institute of Western Michigan University offers an interdisciplinary program leading to the Master of Arts in Medieval Studies. Students may choose either Option I (Theses) or Option II (Non-Theses), depending on their career plans, personal interests, and intellectual orientation. Either option provides a broad background in medieval history, languages, literatures, palaeography, philosophy, religion, the arts, and in research methodology.
Western Michigan University offers an academic environment appropriate for the study of the Middle Ages. The University library houses extensive holdings of books and periodicals in all areas of Medieval Studies, and the Institute of Cistercian Studies library contains unique collections of early manuscripts and rare books in the field of monastic and Renaissance history and thought. Western Michigan University is the host institution for the annual International Congress on Medieval Studies, and Medieval Institute Publications publishes various series of books and several journals in the field of Medieval Studies. The Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies and Manuscript Research offers further opportunities for research and study.
Master of Music
The Master of Music is designed to enhance the student's teaching, performing, research, and creative abilities in music. The School of Music offers course work leading to a Master of Music degree in five different areas of concentration: Performance, Composition, Conducting, Music Education, and Music Therapy. Western's School of Music is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music and all areas of concentration carry curriculum approval from that accrediting association. The Music Therapy program is approved by the American Music Therapy Association.
Master of Science in Nursing(MSN)
The purpose of the graduate nursing program is to prepare nurses with advanced education in the discipline of nursing, in scholarship and in a selected area of study. Two areas of study are particularly timely in our local social context: 1) the preparation of nurse educators who are able to serve as faculty, practice preceptors, and teachers of other health professionals in a variety of settings, and 2) the preparation of nurse leaders/managers who function in complex health care systems that promote the health and well being of populations. Consideration of other areas of study to be offered in the future will address emerging community and professional needs.
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy
The Department of Occupational Therapy offers three graduate programs which lead to the Master of Science: The 4 + 1 program for entering freshman and transfer students, the graduate professional program (entry level) for non therapists—i.e., those with a post-professional baccalaureate degree in an area other than occupational therapy—and the graduate program for certified therapists (advanced level).
THE 4 + 1 PROGRAM
The occupational therapy department accepts applications to a 4 + 1 or five-year academic program leading to a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. Students entering as freshmen or admitted as transfer students will complete 122 credit hours of undergraduate study in a dedicated occupational therapy curriculum in the Interdisciplinary Health Services Program through the College of Health and Human Services. Completion of this curriculum will culminate in
a Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Services. Students will then enter the Graduate Program and complete a six month internship followed by the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program. Students will obtain a Master
of Science in Occupational Therapy at the end of five years which is required by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education for the practice of occupational therapy by 2007. Please refer to the undergraduate catalog for more information.
THE GRADUATE–PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM
This entry-level program for non-therapists is designed to prepare the student to treat clients with various disabilities, and to be eligible for certification as an occupational therapist after successful completion of the Master of Science.
This twenty-eight month program of combined academic and clinical education is intended for the student who has a baccalaureate degree in an area of study other than occupational therapy. It consists of seventy-three semester credit hours with thirty-seven semester hours in professional undergraduate courses and thirty-six semester hours of graduate courses. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. A.C.O.T.E. Accreditation Department, 4720 Montgomery Lane, P.O. Box 31220, Bethesda, MD 20824-1220, 301-652-2682. Graduates are eligible to take the National Board for Certifi cation in Occupational Therapy and are eligible to apply for licensure/
registration in those states regulating the practice of occupational therapy
THE GRADUATE POST PROFESSIONAL PROGRAM
This advanced level program for the certified occupational therapist leads to the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and is designed to enhance growth in professional leadership potential by developing skills in administration, program development, theories and practice, professional issue identification and resolution, and research.
Master of Science in Operations Research
The Master of Science in Operations Research is an interdisciplinary program permitting the student to build a flexible plan of study emphasizing the relationship between operations research and his or her professional field. The participating departments are Economics, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Management, Mathematics, and Statistics. The responsibility for administering the program is with the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering.
The objective of the program leading to the Master of Science in Operations Research is to provide the student who has an undergraduate degree in one of the involved disciplines with a basic knowledge of the philosophy and techniques of operations research. The student's program will be based on his or her undergraduate preparation, work experience, and occupational goals.
Master of Arts in Orientation and Mobility
The thirty-six hour Orientation and Mobility (OMS) degree program prepares specialists who teach adults who have blindness or low vision, the conceptual and physical processes involved in moving independently, safely, and efficiently in their homes and communities. One may also earn dual degrees in Orientation and Mobility and in Rehabilitation Teaching, which can be accomplished in two additional semesters.
Master of Science in Paper and Imaging Science and Engineering
The Master of Science in Paper and Imaging Science and Engineering is designed to provide theoretical, laboratory, and pilot plant experiences which are basic to the development of professional competence in pulp, paper, and printing science and engineering. The department has leadership in the areas of pulping and beaching, recycling and deinking, papermaking, coating, and printing, and it is internationally recognized in the fields of paper coating and coating rheology. Its laboratories and equipment are the most complete of any similar academic institution featuring a semicommercial-sized thermomechanical pulper, complete recycled fiber pilot plant, papermachine, coater, and printing presses.
A Theses Option and a Non-Theses Option are available. While the program requirements for each option differ, the admission requirements for both options are identical.
Master of Fine Arts in Performing Arts Administration
This professional degree program leading to a Master of Fine Arts is designed to prepare graduate students to function effectively in administration positions. The program of study is designed to provide students with skills and knowledge
of administration in dance, music, or threatre in areas of planning, budgeting, volunteerism, public relations, leadership, fund raising, and evaluation. Under the guidance of the Director of the M.F.A. program, students will be placed for their practicum experience with local arts organizations. The Field Experience entails placement in disciplines of choice for an extended internship with national arts organizations.
Master of Arts in Philosophy
The Master of Arts in Philosophy offers advanced study in the main subject areas and historical periods of philosophy.The department offers graduate courses in philosophy in three Concentration Areas– Metaphysics and Philosophy of Mind, Epistemology and Philosophy of Science, and Theoretical and Practical Ethics. Students must declare concentration by the end of their fi rst semester, but may, with departmental approval, change this at a later date.
Master of Arts in Physical Education
The Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation offers a Master of Arts in Physical Education which prepares teachers, coaches, supervisors, and administrators to assume leadership roles in the following: Pedagogy, Special Physical Education, Sport Management, and Sports Studies.
Master of Arts in Physics
The Department of Physics offers a graduate program
leading to the Master of Arts in Physics. The objective of the program
is to enable students to acquire the knowledge and technical skills
needed in physics-related occupations and in graduate study at the doctoral
level. Thirty semester hours of graduate credit are required. An additional
requirement is either to pass the Doctoral Qualifying Examination at the master's
degree level or to complete a Master's Theses. Participation in research
may occur in one of three areas:
1. Theoretical Physics - astrophysics, atomic physics, nuclear structure,
nuclear reactions, or condensed matter.
2. Experimental Physics - astronomy, atomic physics, nuclear physics, condensed matter physics, or materials analysis with accelerated ions. Campus facilities available for experimental research include a Van de Graaff accelerator and laboratory, and a low-temperature physics laboratory.
3. Computer and Instrumentation Physics - software and hardware development for computer data acquisition and analysis, or instrumentation development for physics research.
4. Or any combination of these, or some interdisciplinary areas.
Master of Arts in Political Science
The Master of Arts in Political Science offers the student a variety of options to prepare him/her for various career goals: (1) positions in the public service and quasipublic agencies; (2) further professional training in political science and related professions, such as law; (3) teaching positions in community colleges; and (4) general positions in the business world.
Master of Arts in Psychology - Behavior Analysis
The Department of Psychology has a strong scientific
and behavior analytic orientation, which influences all of the department's
graduate degree programs. The behavior analysis program prepares students
for doctoral study or for work in applied settings.
Behavior analysis students wishing to qualify for a Limited License
to Practice as a psychologist in the State of Michigan are advised that
the General Rules of the Board of Psychology of Michigan's Department
of Licensing and Regulation lists the following requirements for a rule
7 limited license at the M.A. level: 1) one course in assessment, 2)
one course in treatment, 3) a 500-hour practicum under supervision of
a licensed psychologist, and 4) 2,000 hours of supervised, post-M.A.
experience.
Master of Arts in Psychology - Industrial/Organizational Psychology
The master's program in Industrial/Organizational Psychology prepares students for human resource management positions in business, government, and human service organizations or for entry into a Ph.D. program for advanced study.
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration (MPA) integrates research, teaching, and service in a manner that enhances leadership skills, administrative capabilities, management practices, and an understanding of environmental constraints on policy in southwest Michigan public-serving organizations. Program content emphasizes the administration of local, regional, and state government agencies; health care organizations; and other public and nonprofit agencies. Reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of the field, the MPA draws upon the diverse talents of academic departments throughout the University in addition to the faculty of the School of Public Affairs and Administration. The MPA is offered on the main campus in Kalamazoo, and at the University’s regional campuses in Lansing and Battle Creek.
Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Teaching
The thirty-nine hour Rehabilitation Teaching (RHT) degree program prepares a practitioner to offer instruction to people who have blindness or low vision in the following skills of independent living: communications, adapted computer technology, personal management, home management, minor household repairs, and leisure time activities. One may also earn dual degrees in Orientation and Mobility and in Rehabilitation Teaching, which may be accomplished in two additional semesters.
Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching
The Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching program (RCT) is jointly administered by the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies and the Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology.
The seventy-six hour Rehabilitation Counseling/Teaching degree program prepares a dually competent practitioner who is able to provide both rehabilitation counseling and rehabilitation teaching skills. Graduates receive two Master of Arts degrees that make them eligible to become certifi ed rehabilitation counselors and ACVREP certifi ed rehabilitation teachers. Graduates are prepared to provide a full range of vocational rehabilitation counseling services to individuals with physical, intellectual, cognitive, and psychiatric disabilities. As rehabilitation counselors, the graduates assist clients with career choices, manage their acquisition of work-related skills, develop jobs, and assist with placement into employment. As rehabilitation teachers, they serve people with blindness and low vision by providing instruction in the activities of daily living, communications, and recreation/leisure.
Master of Arts in Science Education
The Master of Arts in Science Education is designed for students beginning their work toward a Doctor of Philosophy in science education, as well as for secondary school science teachers who wish to expand their teaching skills.
Master of Arts in Socio-Cultural Foundations and Educational Thought
The Master of Arts in Socio-Cultural Foundations and Educational Thought is designed to enhance the knowledge and skill of reflective practitioners for a variety of educational settings. It is our belief that teachers ought to be developed as leaders, change agents, intellectuals, researchers, and learners. They should be passionate learners who embrace diversity, actively inquire and reflect upon their own practice, nurture the development of new knowledge and skills, and weave the complexities of modern society into the learning process. This is accomplished through a process of continuous professional, intellectual, and social growth within an interrelated spiral of academic content preparation, professional knowledge, pedagogical skill, and guided practice. The program is predicated on the assumption that theory, research, policy, and practice must be integrated on an equal plane to provide innovative models that lead to the improvement of teaching, learning and reflective process.
Master of Arts in Sociology
The Sociology department offers two options:
1. Disciplinary Master's: This option of the Master of Arts in Sociology is designed to give students an advanced understanding of the significant factors and processes of human society; to further the preparation of those planning to teach in secondary or higher education; to prepare students for doctoral study in sociology; and to provide professional training for a variety of occupational opportunities in government, industry, education, research organizations, social agencies and correctional systems. Each student's program is prepared individually in consultation with a graduate advisor.
2. Applied Master's: This applied option of the Master of Arts in Sociology is a 47-48 hour professional degree program designed to prepare students for nonacademic careers in governmental agencies, businesses, non-profit organizations, or (in special circumstances) for a doctoral program. Graduates will be well trained for such positions as data analysts, social systems and policy analysts, survey researchers, field directors, market researchers, and directors of research. This program will prepare graduates for the changing job market and the increased use of survey techniques and quantitative analysis to evaluate programs and shape decision-making in organizations..
Master of Arts in Spanish
The Master of Arts in Spanish enables students to extend and deepen their knowledge of language, literature, and culture in the Hispanic world. The program provides advanced study for those who intend to pursue professions in Spanish or related fields as well as for those students who desire to do further graduate work.
Master of Arts in Special Education
The Master of Arts in Special Education prepares students to locate, organize, critically evaluate, and use research-based practices to provide quality education services to students with disabilities;collaborate with other educators, families, and service providers to solve problems in the fi eld of special education; and to produce new information related to the fi eld. Students develop competencies in information literacy, assessment, curriculum development, collaboration, transition education, and leadership through a curriculum aligned with professional standards established by the Council for Exceptional Children.
Master of Science in Statistics
This program will give students a combination of knowledge of statistical techniques, experience with using these techniques in applied situations, and understanding of the theoretical principles behind these techniques. Students receive excellent training for professional employment in industry or government, and at the same time obtain sufficient theoretical background to qualify them to teach elementary statistics or to continue into more advanced degree programs. The student is encouraged to apply for an internship experience (STAT 7120) where it is expected that students will collaborate with professional statisticians in an actual work environment with real problems. A minimum of thirty-two hours is required, and the resulting degree is a Master of Science in Statistics.
Master of Social Work
The Master of Social Work program in professional social work is designed to prepare students for direct service and leadership positions in the field of social welfare. The program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The curriculum is structured as an integrated and sequential set of conceptual and practicum educational experiences. In preparing students for practice, the School of Social Work recognizes a variety of theoretical paradigms and values and welcomes the challenge and benefits of intellectual and philosophical diversity. It supports students in their personal synTheses of these paradigms and values. In addition, the School stresses development and dissemination of social work knowledge and practice skills.
The graduate program prepares students for specialized and advanced levels of practice. It also incorporates a foundation curriculum, built on a liberal arts base. The foundation has two goals: To provide students with knowledge, values, and skills leading to an informed perspective on the profession of social work and its service delivery systems, and to prepare students for entry into the concentrations.
There are two methods concentrations in the graduate program: 1. Interpersonal Practice and 2. Policy, Planning, and Administration. These concentrations build on the foundation curriculum and are the vehicles through which students learn the specific advanced skills of their chosen area of concentration.
Master of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology
The Master of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology, which is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), provides academic and practicum experiences basic to the development of clinical competence in the evaluation and treatment of language, speech, and hearing disorders. Students are generally expected to meet the standards for certifi cation of clinical competence by ASHA. The master’s degree program consists of a minimum of fi fty credit hours. Supervised clinical practice is required during every term of full-time registration and includes at least two assignments to off-campus practicum sites, in addition to regular evaluation and therapy responsibilities in the Charles Van Riper Language, Speech and Hearing Clinic.
Master of Arts in Teaching Children Who are Visually Impaired/Orientation and Mobility
This dual degree program is offered through the Teaching Children Who Are Visually Impaired/Orientation and Mobility with Children program (SEO) which is jointly administered by the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies and the Department of Educational Studies.
This sixty-five hour degree program prepares a dual competency practitioner who is able to serve in the schools as a teacher of children who have blindness or low vision and as an orientation and mobility specialist. Two degrees are offered in this option: One, a Master of Arts in Teaching Children Who are Visually Impaired (from the Department of Educational Studies) and the other, a Master of Arts in Orientation and Mobility with Children (from the Department of Blindness and Low Vision Studies). Graduates of this program are eligible to become certified teachers and certified orientation and mobility specialists. It is also possible to specialize in only one of these degrees.