Graduate Studies in Professional Studies

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Professional Studies

• Master of Professional Studies

Nina Morel, Dean, College of Professional Studies
Hope Nordstrom, Director of Curriculum and Instruction

Core Faculty

The faculty for the masters of professional studies program is comprised of both academic scholars and industry leaders in a blended teaching format.

Nina J. Morel, Professor
Michael Cauley, PCC, Director, Performance Coaching Program
Brad Gray, Director, Global Leadership Program
Steve Joiner, Professor
Bart Liddle, Assistant Professor
Hope Nordstrom, Assistant Professor
Catherine Terry, Assistant Professor
Kate Watkins, Assistant Professor

In addition to the core faculty, distinguished visiting professors with expertise in the applicable certificate area will lecture in selected classes.

Master of Professional Studies

The Master of Professional Studies graduate degree is a flexible 30 to 36-hour program. The degree is designed for individuals who want to improve their job related skills at the advanced and strategic competency levels. The degree includes an initial skills assessment accompanied by two stackable 12 to15 credit hour certificates in varying concentrations listed below. Students work with a faculty advisor in the College of Professional Studies to select complementary certificates, create a research plan, and complete a capstone project integrating the content of the two academic certificates..

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Aging Services Leadership

The Aging Services Leadership certificate is designed to prepare students academically and professionally for leadership positions in the aging services profession. Students will acquire integrative training to prepare them to work with the older adult population in a variety of settings. The courses in the certificate program include content related to integrating multiple academic disciplines in the study of aging, quality management pertaining to seniors’ housing and care, effective service models, ethical decision-making approaches, transformative mediation strategies, and intergenerational communication techniques.

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Competency Based Education Program Design

The Certificate in Competency Based Program Design is designed for higher education faculty and staff and other educational or training professionals who wish to learn how to create and design a competency based program in their educational organizations. 

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Global Leadership

The Certificate in Global Leadership is designed to prepare individuals to see their leadership role in a global context. This certificate will help students develop a global perspective that will strategically benefit their organization. Students will evaluate plans and determine global acceptance and impact. They will gain experience that results in understanding and appreciation of foreign and domestic cultures and markets. More specifically, students will be prepared to look beyond their own borders for opportunities and threats, set goals and cast vision based on that perspective, and have the transnational skills needed to manage across those borders. 

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Performance Coaching

The Certificate in Performance Coaching is designed to prepare individuals to use coaching in either a leadership role or a coaching practice. Cognitive coaching, transformational coaching and other approaches and methods will be studied so that students may develop their own coaching approach for their workplace setting. Coaching skills and professional ethics, as identified by the International Coaching Federation, will be developed and demonstrated. Graduates may achieve and use International Coaching Federation certification that can be applied in a variety of fields (ministry, non-profit, executive or life coaching, private practice, etc.)

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Strategic Leadership

The Certificate in Strategic Leadership is a graduate professional certificate designed for individuals who want to improve their job related skills at the advanced and strategic levels. The certificate includes a battery of initial skills and personality preferences assessments, reflections, action planning and goal setting and executive coaching as well as leadership seminars. This certificate is for students who already possess the content knowledge needed for their profession but want to advance to an executive level in their organization.

Certificate of Graduate Studies in Business Acumen

This certificate is geared for students who desire to learn more about the inner workings of business or are seeking a College of Professional Studies graduate degree.  Please refer to the College of Business course requirements . 

Admission Policies and Procedures

Applicants to graduate programs must submit the following:

1. Application Form. Each applicant must complete an application form, available online at lipscomb.edu/admissions/graduate then click on “Apply by Program” to complete the online application.
2. Application Fee. Each application should be accompanied by a $50 nonrefundable application fee ($75 for international students).
3. Standardized Exam Score or Substantive Professional Experience. Each applicant must submit either a standardized exam score or complete the GRE waiver form (available online at http://www.lipscomb.edu/professionalstudies/graduate-programs. If a candidate chooses to submit an exam score, it should be from either the Graduate Record Examination or the Millers Analogy Test. Contact the M.P.S. program to learn the most current score requirements. Students who have already earned a master’s level degree may apply to the program without submitting a standardized test score or completing the GRE waiver form. Applicants may submit an official GRE score or complete the GRE waiver form if the following criteria are met: Five years of professional work experience, graduate degree OR 3.0 GPA.
4. References. Each applicant is required to submit two references. Please submit either two professional references, OR one professional and one academic reference from individuals who know you well and who are able to comment on your skills and abilities. Reference information will be requested as part of the online application process.
5. Official Transcript(s). Each applicant must submit an official transcript, showing degree conferral when appropriate, from all schools attended.
6. Resume. A resume detailing the applicant’s work and academic experience is required.
7. Interview: After all application documents are received and academic requirements are met, the program director and academic committee will schedule an on-campus interview (when feasible) or schedule a phone or video conference interview.

Registration Notice: After admission has been confirmed, graduate students are required to submit additional documentation to begin registering for courses.

Please send all materials to: Lipscomb University; College of Professional Studies; ATTN: Hannah Greiving; One University Park Drive; Nashville, TN 37204 or fax to 615.966.1336.

Transfer of Courses

Although graduate credit hours may be transferred from another accredited institution, a maximum of 6 hours will be counted toward the Master of Professional Studies degree. The director or appropriate faculty member of the graduate program will evaluate the course(s) being proposed for transfer and make a determination of suitability. No course with a grade below a “B” will be considered for transfer.

Documentation

Students are required to provide satisfactory documentation of personal identification for off-site learning experiences required in many programs of graduate study at Lipscomb University. Failure to provide proper credentials will result in failure to complete the desired course of study. For complete policy, see section entitled Required Documentation for Off-Site Learning Experiences  in the front of this catalog.

Student Classifications

Students are admitted to graduate courses in one of five categories:

1. Graduate Student: one who has satisfied all admissions requirements. A student with an incomplete admission file will be accepted to the program at the discretion of the program director but will be placed on an academic hold which will prevent registration for the following semester. Once the proper admissions documents have been received, the hold will be removed and the student will be allowed to register for the following semester.
2. Conditionally Admitted Student: one who has been admitted conditionally, at the discretion of the program director, without satisfying all admission requirements. Students admitted with the following criteria may be required to complete a minimum of nine hours of graduate work with a grade of “B” or above.
   1. From an unaccredited school or with a substandard GPA or GRE/MAT score.
   2. A transfer student with a graduate GPA between 2.50 and 2.75. The transfer student must be in good standing at the previous institution attended.
3. Non-Degree Student: one who has been admitted to graduate studies and has met all admission requirements except GPA or GRE. The student may take up to nine-semester hours for graduate credit. Those hours may be applied toward a master’s degree if the student makes a grade of “B” or better in the courses taken for credit and if all admission requirements (GPA and entrance test score) are met and the student is formally admitted to a graduate program as a degree-seeking student.
4. Visiting Student: one who is currently enrolled as a student in good standing at the post-bachelor’s level at another graduate school, wishes to take courses at Lipscomb and desires to have transcript evidence of course work done at Lipscomb provided for the school of primary enrollment.
5. Probationary Student: one who has been readmitted to a graduate program following academic suspension from the program.

Admission to a program does not imply admission to candidacy for the master’s degree. Only those students who meet the requirements for “graduate student” described above are eligible for candidacy.

Academic Policies

Course Load

A student enrolled for six hours is considered a full-time student. A student enrolled for less than six hours is considered a part-time student. No student will be permitted to enroll for more than 12 hours per semester without special approval from the dean of the College of Professional Studies.

Academic Standing

1. Good Academic Standing: To remain in good academic standing, the M.P.S. student must maintain a cumulative 3.00 GPA and a 3.00 GPA on the most recent 12 semester hours of work.
2. Probation: Should the student’s cumulative graduate GPA fall below 3.00, he or she will be placed on academic probation. A student on academic probation will not be allowed to enroll for more than six hours during any term the probation applies.
   The probationary student is required to achieve a 3.00 cumulative GPA by the time the student has completed the next nine hours of course work. A course(s) may be repeated to achieve the requisite GPA. If the requisite GPA is attained, the academic probation status will be removed.
3. Suspension: If the requisite GPA is not attained, the student will be suspended from graduate studies at Lipscomb for the following semester, after which the student may apply for readmission. The student may be required to appear before the graduate committee.
   Failing grades will provide no credit toward the degree but will be included in figuring scholarship level, unless replaced with a higher grade by repeating the course(s). A 3.00 GPA must be maintained to be eligible for financial assistance.
4. Appeals: Appeals to suspension decisions should be made in writing to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. Appeals must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on the Monday of the week before classes begin for the term during which the student wishes to be readmitted.

Degree Completion Requirements

Residency

No period of formal residency is required for a degree in a master’s program.

Statute of Limitations

All requirements for the M.P.S. must be completed within a five-year period from the time of initial matriculation.

Candidacy

Admission to a program does not imply admission to candidacy for the master’s degree. During the course of pursuing the Master of Professional Studies degree, the student must be admitted to “candidacy.” For admission to candidacy the student must satisfy the following:

1. Complete all required undergraduate deficiencies if admitted on condition.
2. Complete at least 12 hours of graduate work.
3. Maintain a 3.00 GPA on all courses taken toward the requirements for the degree with no incomplete grades.
4. File a degree plan/application for candidacy in the graduate program office which meets all requirements and is approved by the administrator of the graduate program and the dean of the college. The degree plan must be filed during the second semester of graduate work in the program.
   After admission to candidacy and approval of the degree plan, any changes in the degree plan must be approved by the administrator of the graduate program and the dean of the college. The application for candidacy must be filed before the beginning of the student’s last semester in the program. No student will be allowed to graduate in the same semester in which the application for candidacy is filed.

Minimum Credits

The M.P.S. requires a minimum of 30 semester hours. This requirement does not include hours accumulated to satisfy academic deficiencies.

Minimum GPA

The minimum cumulative grade-point average for all graduate education programs is 3.00 for all graduate courses taken for graduate credit while pursuing the degree. No grade below a “C” is acceptable. Such grades will not apply toward degree completion.

Graduation

Students must register for GN 999X the semester in which all course work will be completed for graduation. Students who do not file their intent to graduate form in the registrar’s office by the end of the first week of their last semester may be delayed in graduating.

Graduate students receiving degrees are hooded during the May and December commencement exercises.

Appeals

Any exceptions to the above stated requirements would require approval by the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs in collaboration with the Dean of the College and the Program Director.

Financial Information

Tuition and Fees for 2017-18*

Scholarship and Discount Opportunities

Scholarships and discounts may be available to students pursuing the master’s or certificate program. These discounts include lower multi-student tuition rates given to corporations, governments and nonprofit entities that commit to send multiple students through the program. 

Program of Study Requirements

• Master of Professional Studies

• Aging Services Leadership Certificate
• Competency Based Program Design Certificate
• Global Leadership Certificate
• Performance Coaching Certificate
• Strategic Leadership Certificate

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