lehigh university accreditation

Degrees Offered at Lehigh University

Lehigh University appears in our ranking of the Top 50 Best Most Affordable Master’s in Project Management Online Degrees.

Lehigh University is a private research institution that offers a wide selection of degree programs designed to prepare students for careers in academia and industry. The four colleges at Lehigh are the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business and Economics, the College of Education and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. Each college offers a complete range of accredited bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees as well as non-degree and postgraduate certificates. In all, 2,300 courses are offered, and the average class size is under 30 students. More than 100 graduate degree programs are available, including 87 professional degree and Ph.D. programs.

At Lehigh, the focus is on experiential learning and fostering global perspectives. Over 20 interdisciplinary degree programs are available to students with interests that span multiple academic disciplines. All of the online programs at Lehigh are graduate programs, and the majority of them are concentrated in the engineering and education disciplines. Online master’s programs at Lehigh cover a broad range of topics, including biological and chemical engineering, healthcare systems engineering, management science engineering, molecular biology, and polymer science engineering. The most popular online master’s degree offered at Lehigh is the Master of Business Administration, which includes online courses conducted in cities throughout the world. Many online certificate programs are available at Lehigh, including chemical and biomolecular engineering, technical entrepreneurship and other management and engineering programs. Online master’s programs at Lehigh can be completed in about two years of full-time study, and certificate programs usually take about one year of full-time study.

The College of Education offers several popular online programs. The Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Master of Education in International Counseling are both offered with a mix of online and face-to-face classes. The non-degree Certificate in Behavior Analysis is offered fully online. The International School Counseling Certificate, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Certificate and Technology Use in Schools Certificate are all offered in hybrid formats.

Many online classes can be taken for individual course credit from a wide range of departments and disciplines. Students enrolled in traditional degree programs can augment their course schedules with flexible online classes. On its three physical campuses, Lehigh offers a full range of accredited degree programs from accounting and actuarial science to women, gender and sexuality studies. Students at Lehigh have access to learning resources such as faculty mentoring, tutoring and state-of-the-art library technology.

About Lehigh University

In 1865, Asa Parker donated $500,000 and 115 acres of land to the construction of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. Construction of the university began in 1866, and its first building, Packer Hall, now known as University Center, was completed in 1869. Classes began for students of the university in 1871, and for the first 20 years of operation, education at Lehigh was tuition-free. Economic troubles in the 1890s brought this policy of generosity to a halt, and Parker’s donation of $2 million in endowments to the university kept it in operation during this period of uncertainty. From the beginning, Lehigh has been a coeducational institution, and it has grown steadily over the decades since its creation.

Over 2,000 acres of land have been added to the original campus, including two new campuses located near the original campus, now known as Asa Parker Campus. The two more recent campuses are the Mountaintop Campus and the Murray H. Goodman Campus. These two recent additions feature major sports stadiums, athletic fields, and lecture halls. Today, Lehigh is renowned for its academic rigor, research and athletics, boasting both men’s and women’s NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports teams. The student-to-faculty ratio at Lehigh is an impressive 9:1. Each year, thousands of Lehigh graduates receive employment offers, and most students are eligible for employment placement and assistance. To date, 458 organizations have hired graduates of Lehigh.

Lehigh University Accreditation Details

Lehigh is institutionally accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, which is a regional accrediting agency approved by the U.S. government. Regional accreditation is the most reliable form of accreditation, so any credits earned at Lehigh can easily be transferred to another university or institution. While the institutional accreditation of Lehigh covers all programs, including online and campus-based programs for undergraduate and graduate students, several programs are accredited by specialized commissions. Two Ph.D. programs in psychology are accredited by the American Psychological Association while theater arts programs are accredited by the National Association of Schools of Theatre. All forms of accreditation are renewed on a rolling schedule. Regional accreditation is renewed every 10 years to ensure that all learning and teaching resources meet or exceed the standards set by the government.

Lehigh University Application Requirements

Lehigh is a selective university, and only 26 percent of applications are accepted. Once accepted, a student has an 87-percent chance of graduating within six years of enrollment. The application requirements vary by enrollment type, and students must carefully follow the instructions for application because each application is thoroughly evaluated by several members of the administration and faculty. All applications must be accompanied by a transcript that contains information about the student’s cumulative grade point average, class ranking, and course schedule. Freshmen applicants without high school transcripts can submit proof of a GED instead. Transfer students must have earned at least 30 college credits to be considered undergraduate transfers. Students applying for the graduate school must provide proof of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university as well as written recommendations from past professors. Applications for both online and traditional programs must be turned in by the deadline, which is November 1 for spring classes and March 1 for fall classes.

Tuition and Financial Aid

At Lehigh, the price of tuition for out-of-state residents is the same as the price for in-state residents. Tuition costs approximately $48,320 per year, and the cost of books, room, board, food and living expenses can add another $15,000 per year to the total. After financial aid has been applied, most students end up paying around $31,000 per year for tuition and other expenses. Students with financial need can receive federal aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program. FAFSA provides access to low-interest public loans and federal grants. All students can apply for private loans, scholarships, grants and work-study positions in the financial aid office of Lehigh University.