baylor university accreditation

Baylor University appears in our ranking of 50 Affordable Accelerated MSN Online Programs.

Baylor University provides undergraduates with 161 possible majors in fields as diverse as English, media management, and instrumental music. Many of these fields are available for minors as well. There are also 117 graduate degrees available. Many programs on all levels are available online as well as on campus. A few degrees are hybrids where students attend classes both online and on campus.

The Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting prepares students for careers as tax professionals, certified public accountants, auditors, and other similar positions. Representative classes include Auditing, Fraud Examination, and International Taxation. If students wish, they can choose not to take up to 12 credits of undergraduate courses to get a head start on a Master of Business Administration. The combined program offers the foci of either tax or auditing. The bachelor’s degree program consists of core curriculum classes, major classes, and electives.

The Master of Arts in Communication requires either a thesis, professional project, or internship, each with its accompanying coursework of between 30 and 36 credit hours. Nine credits of communications seminars are required regardless of the student’s chosen path. Other classes reinforce communications theory, research practices, and in the case of people who do not choose the internship path, internship tips, and guides.

The Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Psychology requires a dissertation. Students in the doctoral program would be able to choose from five study foci:

  • Applied behavior analysis
  • Gifted and talented
  • Quantitative methods
  • School psychology
  • Special education

Baylor University recommends that the Ph.D. be completed in four years with at least one year dedicated to the dissertation.

About Baylor University

Texas didn’t become a state until just a few days before 1846. Baylor University was founded by Baptists in early 1845 when Texas was its own country. The first classes took place in Independence before the university moved to Waco in 1886. Baylor University is, therefore, the oldest university in Texas. It is also the most famous and prestigious Baptist university in the world.

U.S. News and World Report ranks Baylor University 79th among all colleges and universities in the United States. Additionally, the university ranks 75th  among “Best Value Schools” and 48th among “Best Colleges for Veterans.” When it comes to business instruction, the university ranks eighth in Entrepreneurship education.

Baylor University Accreditation Details

The university’s regional accreditation comes from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The individual departments of the university also hold academic accreditations. Those accreditations have come from the:

  • Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
  • Accreditation Commission for Midwifery Education
  • American Academy for Liberal Education
  • American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
  • American Bar Association
  • American Physical Therapy Association
  • American Psychological Association
  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
  • Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education
  • Commission on Accrediting of the Association of Theological Schools
  • Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
  • Council on Education for Public Health
  • Council for Interior Design Accreditation
  • Council on Social Work Education
  • National Association of Schools of Music
  • National Association of Schools of Theatre
  • National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education

Baylor University Admission Requirements

Incoming freshmen must take either the SAT or the ACT, and the average for the Class of 2019 was 1,300 and 29, respectively. Baylor University, however, stresses that it’s not all about GPA and test scores. They consider the totality of the student’s achievement and personality, including the student’s willingness to become part of the faith-based learning structure at the university. Baylor University is fairly selective and accepts about half of students who apply.

When it comes to graduate school admissions, students must provide all applicable transcripts and show proof of having a bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college, university, or foreign equivalent. Doctoral students must prove that they have a master’s degree as well. Each department at Baylor University has its own admissions criteria, which may include letters of reference, statements of purpose, statements of faith, and performance on one or more of the three major graduate examinations: the Graduate Record Examinations, the Graduate Management Admissions Test, and the Miller Analogies test. Students should check the website for further details.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Full-time undergraduates pay $21,421 per semester, which is $42,842 annually. They pay an additional $2,261 as a general student fee. Applied music students pay $339 per credit hour for private instruction, per course. Assorted other fees total about $500.

Meal plans cost between $2,500 and $3,000 per semester. Single rooms cost about $5,000 per semester, and double rooms cost about $4,000 per semester. So, a full-time undergraduate student who has a single room and chooses the Everyday All-Access meal plan will pay somewhere between $61,000 and $65,000 annually to attend Baylor University. Graduate tuition is far simpler: It is $1,785 per credit hour plus the applicable fees.

Need-based financial aid is available in three forms: loans, grants, and scholarships. Students who wish to apply for such aid begin with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The government and the university then use the entered data on the FAFSA to determine students’ eligibility for the various forms of aid.

Students may also apply for private financial aid. Such aid is usually merit-based and not need-based and includes such things as loans from local credit unions, scholarships from private foundations, and grants for graduate study. Students should remember, too, that any private aid they receive will be considered an asset on the FAFSA when it comes to figuring out how much need-based aid they are eligible to receive.

Grants also include various work-study programs. Students who are eligible for work-study are limited in the number of hours they can work and in which jobs they can get on campus. Students may also decide to work off campus if they wish.

Baylor University provides a faith-based education in a wide variety of disciplines.