St. Scholastica offers new graduate programs in Healthcare, Social Work and Project Management

Release Date: 03/15/13

DULUTH, MN - The College of St. Scholastica is offering three new graduate programs.

Online Healthcare MBA

St. Scholastica's new Online Healthcare MBA is designed for healthcare professionals at all levels who serve rural communities, and recognize the need to manage the emerging changes in the health care system.  

As administrators rise from healthcare professions such as medicine, nursing and physical and occupational therapy into leadership positions within business and management, they face new challenges. The Online Healthcare MBA provides skills in leadership, finance, marketing, human resources, managing change, information technology, and other key areas. 

The program employs an advanced online learning environment. The interdisciplinary approach combines the strengths of the College's School of Business and Technology and the School of Health Sciences. Students can complete the program in less than two and a half years. 

The first cohort starts Sept. 3.

Master of Social Work

St. Scholastica's new advanced practice Master of Social Work degree offers two tracks - one for students with a bachelor's degree in social work and one for students with a bachelor's degree in another program.  

The curriculum emphasizes direct practice skills, including assessment and diagnosis, evidence-based intervention and treatment, group dynamics, and how social policy and social justice issues affect the practice of social work.
Classes meet once a week with additional coursework completed online.

The job market for master's-prepared social workers is strong, and clinical social workers are in high demand. The federal government has designated Duluth, the North Shore and much of Greater Minnesota excluding the Twin Cities as Health Professional Shortage Areas, where the demand for mental health professionals greatly outweighs the number of practitioners, who may be eligible for federal loan forgiveness programs.

A regular standing track, for students with bachelor's degrees from fields other than social work, lasts two years. It includes one year of foundational course work built around core professional competencies followed by a second year in an advanced concentration. The first cohort begins this fall.

An advanced standing track, for students with a bachelor's degree in social work, lasts one year. It includes an advanced concentration, focusing a student's studies on a particular area of interest within the field. The first cohort begins in summer 2014.

M.S. in Project Management

St. Scholastica's M.S. in Project Management is an accelerated online program that offers a deeper, richer curriculum than project management certificates available.

A project manager is responsible for initiating, planning, and guiding a project from start to finish. Projects include a defined goal, are temporary in nature and result in change to the organization. Project managers lead cross-disciplinary teams and coordinate activities across business units, making sure all areas of a project are functioning well.

Designed for working adults, St. Scholastica's program builds on the College's experience in education about leadership, change management and technology. The curriculum emphasizes ethical decision making, social responsibility, global awareness and professional excellence. The College's program provides the organizational, technical, and leadership skills necessary to bring large projects to completion. 

Project managers have opportunities across a variety of industries. Worldwide, more than one million new positions are expected each year through 2016, with the average annual salary for an experienced project manager currently at $144,000. Project managers in their first three years of work can expect an average salary of $62,000.
The first cohort starts this summer.  Students can complete the program in as little as two years.

For more information on these and St. Scholastica's other graduate programs go to: grad.css.edu.