College of Professional Studies

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies

Students desiring to major in criminal justice should declare their interest to the Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies, so that they may be assigned an advisor within the department.  Applications for the B.S. degree in criminal justice will be reviewed upon submission to their advisor.  The faculty advisor will review the student's eligibility to file a B.S. degree in criminal justice with their chosen emphasis.  A student must either have an ACT composite score of 18 or higher OR have completed an A.A. degree or an A.S./A.A. degree in criminal justice or legal assistant prior to admission into the B.S. program for criminal justice.  A student must also have earned an overall grade point average of 2.0 or higher to be admitted and allowed to file a major/minor form for the B.S. program.

Department of Education

Admission to teacher education is dependent upon Application for Admission made in the Education Department and meeting the criteria listed below.  Until official acceptance, students will be listed as pre-majors in Elementary Education or in their secondary discipline.

Admissions criteria are:

1. ACT composite score of 22 or higher or an SAT combined score of 1030 or higher (920 if taken before April 1995);

2. C-BASE passing score on each subtest (as noted on score report); and

3. Cumulative GPA of 2.5 and satisfactory completion of EED or SED 202/203.

Alternate criteria, also acceptable for admission, would be:

1. ACT composite score on file at MWSU

2. C-BASE with no score lower than 265 (66 percentile) for each subtest; and

3. Cumulative GPA of 2.5 and satisfactory completion of EED or SED 202/203.

The Department of Education has established means for recruitment of historically under-served populations in response to accreditation guidelines from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Policy and Goal Proposals from the Coordinating Board's Task Force on Critical Choices for Higher Education.

Interested students should contact the chairperson of the Department of Education Teacher Admission and Retention Committee (TEARC) to obain information about procedures and dates for applying via the alternative admissions process to be admitted to the education program.

Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation

Students desiring to pursue the Health and Exercise Science option of the Physical Education major should apply to the HPER Department.  Applicants must have a cumulative 2.5 GPA in the following courses: PED 191 or PTA 100, BIO 250, and PED 101 for admission to the program.

Students interested in coaching or teaching physical education at the elementary or secondary level must be accepted into the Department of Education before taking courses higher than SED 203.  To be accepted in the Education Department the student must have a 2.5 GPA, pass the CBASE with a 235 in each area and a 22 ACT.  The student may waiver the ACT requirement if he/she scores a 265 in each area of the CBASE.

Students interested in a Recreation Sport Management degree must submit an application to their advisor prior to enrolling in RSM 430.  Approval of this application is dependent upon the successful progress toward the degree, a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.20, and retaking the ACT, if a score of 18 is not on record.

Department of Nursing

Freshmen desiring to enter the 4-year BSN program should declare a pre-major in Nursing at the time of enrollment.  Application to the Department of Nursing should be made six months prior to the anticipated beginning of nursing courses.  A selection committee reviews all applicants and determines those who will be admitted.  General admission to the College does not admit a student to the baccalaureate degree program in nursing.  Admission is competitive.  Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements:

• The applicant must achieve a composite score of 20 on the American College Test (ACT) (1990 Edition).

• The applicant must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5.

• The applicant must have completed or be currently enrolled in the following support courses with a C or better: BIO 101 Principles fo Biology, CHE 104 Fundamentals of Chemistry, BIO 250 Anatomy and Physiology, BIO 251 Medical and Public Health Microbiology, PSY 101 General Psychology and PSY 240 Life-span Developmental Psychology.

• High school seniors and MWSU freshmen with outstanding academic records should contact the Department of Nursing for information about early acceptance in the nursing program.

Taking and passing prerequisite courses does not assure acceptance into the BSN program.  A completed application including transcripts, ACT score and three references must be in place in the Department of Nursing by January 31 (or until class is full) for a candidate to be considered for admission for fall and by August 31 (or until class is full) for consideration for spring.

Department of Art

Students may not declare a major in Art until the first three courses in the Freshman Core Curriculum have been completed with a minimum 2.50 GPA. (However, students may declare a pre-major prior to fulfilling this requirement.)  Students are strongly encouraged to complete these courses during the first semester at MWSU.  Students are strongly encouraged to complete the remaining courses in the Freshman Core Curriculum during the second semester at MWSU.

Department of Communication Studies and Theatre

Students desiring a BS or BA degree in Speech Communication should complete a pre-major form so they can be assigned a Communication Studies advisor.  To be eligible for admission to the program, applicants must have received a grade of C or higher in COM 104 Oral Communication, the English Composition requirement ENG 104, and in one of the following courses: COM 210 Presentational Communication or COM 222 Communication Theory.  Applicants must have earned a cumulative resident GPA of 2.25 or above.  Students cannot be admitted to the major until they have met the admission requirements.  However, a student may enroll in any communication or theatre course for which the prerequisites have been met.

Department of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics

To gain admission into either the Computer Science or Computer Information Systems program, the student must be enrolled in CSC 184 or have completed CSC 184 with a grade of C or better, or have an ACT composite score of 25 or higher, or an ACT Science Reasoning score of 28 or higher.  In addition, the student must have an overall GPA of at least 2.00.

To gain admission to any degree program in Mathematics, the student must have completed MAT 167 with a grade of C or better, or have an ACT Mathematics score of 28 or higher.

Department of Government, Social Work and Sociology

Students desiring to major in Government and Public Affairs should declare their interest to the chairperson of the department so that they can be assigned Government and Public Affairs advisors.  Applicants must have completed the following courses before their major applications will be considered:  GOV 101 and ENG 104, with a grade of C or higher in each.  The student must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 to declare a major.

The Social Work Program operates under a selective admissions policy.  Students are considered "pre-majors" until they meet the minimum requirements to be accepted as a Social Work major.  Admission to the Social Work Program involves the completion of an application packet.  Minimum requirements for admission into the Social Work Major include:

• Completion of the general studies math requirement;

• Completion of the ENG 108 general studies requirement;

• Completion of Biology 101 (or equivalent); and

• Completion of SWK 250, SOC 110, PSY 101, and SOC 230 with a minimum grade of C in each course;

• Must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5;

• Must have earned a C or better in all completed SWK prefix classes required for the major;

• Must agree to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with accepted professional social work practices and the current NASW Code of Ethics (see Social Work Student Handbook);

• Cannot have exhibited behavior that will infringe on their present or future ability to adequately fulfill professional social work responsibilities.  The Social Work Program's Admissions Committee reserves the right to require applicants to submit additional materials if the Committee questions the student's ability to adequately fulfill professional responsibilities (see Social Work Student Handbook).

Students must complete the Social Work admission process prior to enrolling in SWK 360 and must submit completed application packets no later than the first Friday in November, March, or June.  The Social Work Program's Admissions Committee will review all application packets and interview all applicants.  Admission decisions are based on a student's academic performance; professional, personal, and academic conduct; references; and responses to application and interview questions.

Department of History, Philosophy, and Geography

Students desiring to major in history should declare their interest to the chairperson of the department so that they can be assigned history advisors.  The student must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 to declare a major.  Applicants must have completed the following courses before their major applications will be considered:  HIS 100, 110 or 130; HIS 140 or 150; ENG 104, with a grade of C or higher in each.

Department of Psychology

Students desiring to major in psychology should declare their interest to the psychology department so that they can be assigned a psychology advisor.  Applications to the major in psychology will be reviewed twice a year.  Applications should be submitted prior to Oct. 1 or prior to March 1.  Applicants must have completed PSY 101, 200; ENG 104, 108, and MAT 112 or higher before their psychology major application will be considered. Admission is competitive.  A selection committee reviews all applicants and determines those who will be admitted.  The information used in the selection process will include:  1) grades earned in the courses necessary for admission consideration; 2) an essay on the application concerning vocational aspirations in psychology; and, 3) grades in all college work to date.

Applications of transfer students (upon their request) will be given a preliminary review by the department chairperson before MWSU's pre- or regular registration.  All applications will be considered active for one academic year.  If a student is not admitted during that year the student must reapply in order to remain under consideration.  Students are strongly urged to take PSY 300, 301, and 302 during the first two semesters after acceptance to the major.