WCU grad program grows

WESTCHESTER >> With the launch of the Graduate School at West Chester University, master’s degree candidate enrollment is at an all-time high.

Almost 3,000 students, of about 17,500 university-wide, are pursuing a graduate education.

Amanda Phillips, senior associate dean of the graduate school, said recently that a WCU graduate education is “affordable, flexible and high quality.”

“We have an amazing faculty and active Graduate Student As-

sociation,” Phillips said.

For many professions, a graduate degree is often required just to get a foot in the door.

Fifty-five percent of graduate students study online.

And most of those studying in conventional classrooms take at least one course online.

“We’ve evolved from a normal school to a comprehensive regional institution,” Jeff Osgood, dean of the graduate school and deputy provost said. “If you want to stand out from the group, a graduate degree helps.”

Osgood said the jump in enrollment was not expected. In good times, when the economy is chugging along well, students often opt to work and not seek a graduate degree.

“Typically, when the economy is doing well, enrollment declines because students do a cost/benefit analysis,” Osgood said.

With a branch campus in Philadelphia, and internet offerings, students from all over the world attend WCU while seeking 40 master’s degree options and four doctorate degree programs.

A chief of staff for the California General Assembly, a principal at a local elementary school and a fire chief are all WCU grad students.

Distance students can study full-time or part-time and the timing is flexible.

For those studying local, many classes start after normal business hours, often at 6 p.m. or later.

Students can also plan ahead and earn a five-year accelerated degree in 17 programs, while earning both an undergraduate and graduate degree.

There are also research and service positions for graduate assistants, including popular doctorates in public administration, master of science and applied statistics, and an MBA program.

Phillips referred to the program as “one-stop shop” and Osgood said the university makes earning a degree as “stress-free as possible.”

The university also supported attendance at conferences last year for more than 200 graduate students.

SUBMITTED PHOTO The West Chester University Doctor of Clinical Psychology follows a practitioner-scholar model. Pictured reviewing materials used in child psychology clinical research are: Rosa Boniface, Cassidy Tennity, Taylor Aves and Dr. Stevie N. Grassetti.

BILL RETTEW - DIGITAL FIRST MEDIA Current WCU Master of Public Health Graduate Research Assistants Chijioke Nnaka, left, Ifeoma Chikelu and Whitney Fahnbulleh are pictured working in the lab of Drs. Neha Sunger and Lorenzo Cena.