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Fort Valley State University Degree Options

Fort Valley State University appears in our ranking of the 50 Most Technologically Advanced Small Colleges.

Students wishing to study online at Fort Valley State University have a vast array of choices. The university’s website has five full pages of online degree offerings at all levels. Some of the notable degrees offered are Criminal Justice, Organizational Leadership, and Political Science. Political Science majors, as an example, study the American government, comparative politics in both the United States and in foreign countries, and research methods. The degree conferred for undergraduates is the Bachelor of Arts.

These programs encompass a combination of classes in both the major field and core curriculum. Many students also minor in fields such as geography, history, and criminal justice when they major in political science. The curriculum for the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science follows a standard 120-credit progression.

Students may elect to earn that degree traditionally as well as online, and the on-campus degrees at all levels follow nearly the same format. The university offers degrees in all of the “usual suspects” like Mathematics, Psychology, and Liberal Studies. Students may select degrees in less common subjects, too, like Food Science, Animal Science, and Family and Consumer Sciences.

The options for graduate students include a Master of Science in Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, which is an online degree, Master of Science in Biotechnology, and Master of Public Health in Environmental Health. These degrees include anywhere from 30 – 61 credit hours for completion. Some of the classes are offered both online and in the classroom too. Students wishing to know more should check the university’s website.

About Fort Valley State University

U.S. News and World Report ranks Fort Valley State University No. 31 among traditionally black colleges and No. 107 in the South region. The university has been around for nearly a century-and-a-half, and since its inception, the study of mathematics and statistics have been a primary focus of the university. The school was born during the period of Reconstruction, and unlike many schools at the time, the founding members of the board were both white and black. Many of the black founders had been slaves previously.

The overriding concern of the founders was to educate black people because, as they put it, emotional slavery lasts far longer than physical slavery. The founders of the university also built many of the buildings with their own hands because others were loath to help.

Throughout the institution’s existence, luminaries from all walks of life both visited and contributed their time to the school and its students. Some of these have included W.E.B. DuBois, Martin Luther King Jr., and Muhammad Ali.

The school is selective in its students, choosing only 41 percent for admission. The student-to-faculty ratio is 17-to-1, and more than half the classes have fewer than 20 students in them.

Fort Valley State University Accreditation Details

The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools has granted Fort Valley State University regional accreditation. The various departments have also earned academic accreditation from other organizations. Those organizations include the:

  • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
  • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
  • Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs
  • American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
  • Council on Rehabilitation Education
  • Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology Inc.

Fort Valley State University Application Requirements

Fort Valley State University requires incoming freshmen to have achieved at least a 2.25 GPA in high school and to have completed the standard 17 high-school credits. They must also have taken either the SAT or ACT and achieved a certain score, which is dictated by their chosen curriculum.

The graduate school requirements are similar. Students must have a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and must have at least a 2.7 GPA for all undergraduate work. The requirements for staying in graduate school at Fort Valley State University are stringent. Students who do not maintain a 3.0 GPA have two semesters to bring it up before they are dismissed from the university.

Different departments have their own requirements regarding letters of recommendation, statements of purpose, resumes, and the like, so students should check the website before applying to make sure they have all the proper documents prepared.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Undergraduate students studying on-campus, and who are in-state residents, pay $2,031.96 annually, based on a 12-credit schedule. Assorted fees come to about $850. Out-of-state students pay $7,392,84 annually, and the fees are the same. Courses with labs cost an additional $50. The various apartment and traditional dorm costs range between $2,000 and $3,500 per semester, depending on which residence the student chooses. Meal plans cost a bit less than $2,000 per semester.

Students who wish to apply for financial aid should obtain a copy of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which is also known as the FAFSA. They should fill out the form with all applicable income and assets information and include the same information regarding their parents. Need-based aid is awarded based upon the evaluation of the completed form, and this aid takes three forms: work-study and other grants, scholarships, and loans.

Students may also choose to apply for private financial aid, such as loans from the local credit union or special scholarships issued by organizations in the students’ areas. Any private aid issued counts as an asset on the FAFSA and will likely reduce the amount of need-based aid a student receives. Work-study programs are a special kind of grant, and students must maintain certain academic standards to be allowed to work the required number of hours a week. International students should ensure their work permits and other visas are in order prior to applying.

Fort Valley State University, born from the ashes of hate and violence, has always been a beacon to people interested in a good education as a means to escape the violence and hate. All indications are that it plans to use its more than $5 million endowment to continue to do that well into the future.