Colleges, Schools & Departments
The disciplines grouped together in the College of Arts
and Sciences compose the university’s traditional
core and provide most of the courses that help undergraduate
students complete their general education and liberal studies
requirements. The arts and sciences are essential to higher
education, informed citizenship, and ethical reasoning.
Their study encompasses the basic skills—writing,
speaking, critical thinking and quantitative analysis—necessary
for success in education and in work; and they nurture the
understanding of human nature, culture, history and science
that informs intelligent decision making in all areas of
experience, both public and private. It has been observed
that persons with grounding in the arts and sciences are
better able to adapt to change and therefore are more successful
in career advancement than those with a more narrowly-defined
professional education.
In a world in which change has become rapid and inevitable,
the arts and sciences are a practical necessity. Because
the College of Arts and Sciences is the largest in the university
in terms of enrollment, departments and faculty, students
are able to select from a wide variety of undergraduate
major and minor degree programs as well as graduate master’s
degree programs. (For information about master’s degrees,
refer to the Metropolitan State University Graduate Catalog.)
Majors in the college lead either to the Bachelor of Arts
(B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree.
Unless otherwise stipulated, departments in the College
of Arts and Sciences require that at least half the credits
applied to a major must be earned at Metropolitan State.
The College of Management (COM) at Metropolitan State University
serves a highly diverse student population with quality,
practice-oriented, innovative, accessible undergraduate,
graduate and continuing education programs in management
and related disciplines. These programs prepare students
to serve as effective, responsible participants and leaders
of business, government and not-for-profit organizations
in a multicultural global environment. The college is committed
to developing and serving the metropolitan area through
community partnerships involving organizations, students
and faculty. A variety of delivery modes is available for
COM programs, including online options.
The undergraduate program provides nine majors leading
to the bachelor of science degree including: accounting,
business administration, economics, finance, human resource
management, international business, management, management
information systems and marketing. These majors are the
college’s focus and account for the largest source
of student enrollments.
In addition to the bachelor of science degree, COM also
supports transfer bridges for technical college programs
through the bachelor of applied science (BAS) degree. A
complete current listing of these degrees and transfer agreements
can be found on the College of Management Web site at www.metrostate.edu/com/bas/.
The college also offers undergraduate minors in advertising,
business administration, economics, information and knowledge
administration, and project management. There are a variety
of online learning possibilities offered by the College
of Management. All College of Management “Business
Core” courses are offered online and students can
complete the Business Administration, Management, and Marketing
majors entirely online. Several elective courses are also
available online.
Students in the College of Management’s major programs
complete business foundation and core courses in addition
to the university’s 48 required semester credits in
general education/liberal studies.
Since 1971, Metropolitan State University students have
designed individualized degree programs which meet their
specific educational and personal goals. Today the First
College continues that tradition, providing the academic
home for students developing individualized bachelor of
arts degrees in areas unique from the other university colleges
and schools—areas that are new or emerging concentrations,
and areas that combine learning opportunities that range
across the university’s curriculum. Community and
technical college students may be able to take advantage
of one of the numerous programs which transfer to the individualized
degree program under special articulation agreements. In
addition to the individualized B.A. program, the college
has collaborative programs in Aviation Management, Technology
Management and the Summer Partnership in Law.
First College also assists all Metropolitan State students
in their transition to college by offering special workshops
and courses, as well as guiding students seeking to use
learning outside the regular classroom to earn credit toward
their degree, including independent studies, assessment
of prior learning and theory seminars.
The College of Professional Studies was established in
1990. It encompasses the schools of Nursing, and Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice, the departments of Education, Human
Services, Psychology and Social Work, and the university’s
Prison Education program. The college also sponsors a range
of continuing professional education programs for professionals
in a variety of community and social service areas.
The college’s mission is to serve as the university’s
vanguard in the areas of professional development and community
involvement, and to contribute to the liberal arts foundations
of these areas. The College of Professional Studies is known
for its culturally diverse faculty, quality and innovation
in teaching, advising, research, and community service.
Its foci include cultural diversity, student-centered learning,
application of knowledge through experiential learning,
and faculty and staff development.
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Metropolitan State University’s School of Law Enforcement
and Criminal Justice (SLC), a part of the College of Professional
Studies, offers degree programs in law enforcement and
criminal justice. The bachelor of science (BS) and certificate
programs in law enforcement are designed for current peace
officers and individuals interested in law enforcement
careers and are certified by the Minnesota Peace Officer
Standards and Training (POST) Board. The bachelor of arts
(BA) and minor in criminal justice are designed for students
interested in criminal justice careers as well as criminal
justice practitioners who wish to enhance their knowledge
and skills. These programs blend solid academic and professional
education with the broad perspectives of the liberal arts.
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The School of Nursing resides within the College of
Professional Studies and offers undergraduate and graduate
programs. The undergraduate programs include a baccalaureate
completion program for registered nurses (RNs) and awards
the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and
an Accelerated BSN Program to prepare students who have
a degree in another field for registered nurse licensure.
The BSN completion program is designed for RNs from
associate degree and diploma programs who are interested
in pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Both
programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate
Nursing Education (CCNE) and the Accelerated BSN Program
is approved by the Minnesota Board of Nursing .
The graduate program awards the Master of Science in
Nursing (MSN) degree and offers two options—the
generic MSN and the Registered Nurse through Master
of Science in Nursing (RN – MSN). The generic
option is for students who have a bachelor’s degree
in nursing, are RN licensed and wish to pursue the advanced
degree. The RN – MSN option is for students who
are RN licensed through diploma or associate degree
preparation and wish to enroll in an accelerated plan
to complete their MSN degree without the full BSN component.
This option is also available to RNs with a baccalaureate
degree in a field other than nursing. Within the graduate
program, students may select tracks in management or
advanced practice nursing (family or adult/geriatric
nurse practitioner). A Wound, Ostomy, Continence online
program of study is available for students to combine
with their nurse practitioner (NP) track or to complete
independent of a graduate track. Students certified
as Women’s Health Care Nurse Practitioners through
Planned Parenthood of Minnesota/South Dakota may complete
their master’s degree in an accelerated plan.
A post-graduate option is also available. It is designed
for master’s prepared nurses who wish to add certification
as adult/geriatric or family nurse practitioners.
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