Preparation for Graduate and Professional Study

Students interested in pursuing professional programs after their bachelor's degree can begin to plan for future study while at John Carroll. The following sections include information on how to plan for future study or certification:

Graduate Study and College Teaching

The academic qualification for most positions in college teaching is possession of the master’s or doctor’s degree. Teacher certification is not required. The doctorate often is also the avenue to a career in research, education, or industry as well as to various executive responsibilities in management.

Usually the master’s degree requires at least one year of full-time study beyond the bachelor’s degree. The doctorate requires at least three additional years. Graduate study presupposes fundamental preparation in a special field as well as supplementary skills in foreign or computer language or statistics that should be acquired in the undergraduate program.

Students contemplating graduate study should become familiar with conventional procedures, the comparative merits of various institutions, and the availability of financial assistance. Faculties and graduate schools tend to have particular strengths in special fields, with corresponding prestige for their graduates. Fellowships, assistantships, and other types of appointments often are available to students who require financial assistance. Information is available at the University or public library, on the Internet, in graduate school bulletins, the annual Directory of Graduate Programs published by the Educational Testing Service, and the annual Peterson’s Guide to Graduate and Professional Programs. Early in senior year, students should contact selected graduate schools to obtain applications for admission, financial aid, and other information. Most graduate schools now have online applications.

Early and sustained consultation with John Carroll faculty will be most helpful in planning graduate study. Faculty may assist in submitting applications for admission to graduate study or graduate appointments. Credentials commonly must be submitted in the late fall and early spring, and selections are usually announced in mid-spring.

Undergraduate preparation generally requires a full major in the chosen field. Quality of achievement as evidenced by grades is an important index to probable success in graduate study. Undergraduate transcripts are required and examined by the graduate school for both admission and appointments. Another common expectation is good performance on an examination, which should be taken as early in the senior year as necessary to submit test scores by the date designated by each graduate school. Students must determine whether a particular graduate school requires the Graduate Record Examination General (Aptitude) Test or Subject (Advanced) Test or both. Other tests such as the GMAT or the Miller Analogies Test may also be required.

Students must take the initiative in seeking advice and obtaining application forms, meeting requirements, and enlisting recommendations. The dean and the faculty of the major department, however, are ready to assist in any reasonable way to provide endorsements warranted by the student’s ability and achievement.

Professional Programs

Professions such as law, medicine, dentistry, and engineering ordinarily have two phases of schooling: pre-professional and professional. John Carroll cooperates with the students’ pre-professional schooling by offering programs of two, three, or four years’ length. Although there is increasing preference within professions for candidates who have completed baccalaureate programs, students with exceptional academic records and personal development may enter some professional schools such as dentistry or optometry after three years of pre-professional education. Students are urged in most cases to pursue programs leading to a bachelor’s degree.

Engineering Programs

John Carroll University students interested in pursuing a career in engineering have a number of options. Students wishing to obtain a focused engineering degree in a particular field may participate in the Dual Degree 3-2 Program with Case Western Reserve University. The Case School of Engineering offers degrees in Aerospace Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Polymer Science and Engineering, and Systems and Control Engineering. John Carroll University has an articulation agreement with Case Western Reserve University that ensures a smooth transition between the two schools. In this program, students attend JCU for three years and then transfer to CWRU for two years; they receive a bachelor’s degree (either B.A. or B. S.) from John Carroll and a B.S.in engineering from CWRU. The program is open to any student who completes the prerequisite courses (in mathematics, physics, chemistry, computer science) and maintains an overall 3.0 GPA and a 3.0 GPA in science and mathematics courses. Students who are interested in this program should contact the Department of Chemistry or the Department of Physics as early as possible.

Another option is to complete a B.S. at John Carroll in program and then pursue further specialization by entering an engineering school for a master’s degree in a particular field of engineering.

Students who are interested in either option may start taking engineering courses while at John Carroll through the Northeast Ohio Commission on Higher Education Cross-Registration Program.

Law

A pre-law advisor is available to students interested in pursuing the study of law upon graduation. For further information, please see Dr. Elizabeth Stiles, Department of Political Science (estiles@jcu.edu).

Any major can be suitable preparation for a career in law, especially when combined with carefully chosen courses outside the major field. Students interested in law school are especially urged to consider a second major, minor, or concentration that complements the major field of study.

A broad background of knowledge, which is obtained through the University Core Curriculum, plus a major in a specific field are required for the study of law. In addition, certain skills are important in learning and practicing law. These skills include the ability to speak and write effectively, to organize and absorb large amounts of information, to read carefully and critically, to analyze and evaluate complex issues, and to deal with problems creatively. Also important is knowledge of the social, political, and economic structure of society and an understanding of the human values underlying this structure.

The pre-law advisor also can give advice on admission to law schools, the choice of a career in the legal profession, and the construction and content of a personal statement. In addition to the undergraduate degree, law schools require students to take the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) and to apply through the Credential Assembly Service (CAS). Forms for both of these are available at www.LSAC.org.

Admission to law school is based on high academic standing, a correspondingly high LSAT score, and recommendations from faculty and others familiar with the applicant’s character, academic preparation, and aptitude for legal study. Extracurricular activities, work experience, and special achievements also play a role.

Ohio CPA Certificate

Certified public accountants should have a broad background of both liberal and professional education. The experience of Boler College alumni indicates that the major in program provides excellent preparation for the Ohio CPA examination.

The certificate is granted by the State Board of Accountancy in accordance with the Ohio Revised Code. The current educational requirement for the CPA certificate is graduation with a baccalaureate or higher degree that includes successful completion of 150 credit hours of college-level credit or the satisfaction of alternate prequalification options. In addition to 30 hours of accountancy, candidates must complete course work in such areas as ethics, business communications, economics, finance, marketing, quantitative applications, and business law. Students should discuss the available options with a member of the Kramer School of Accountancy.

In addition to this educational requirement, candidates for the CPA certificate must 1) pass a written examination in accounting, auditing, and other related subjects; and 2) have public accounting experiences satisfactory to the board.

Students who wish to prepare for CPA certificates awarded by states other than Ohio should discuss academic programs with faculty in the accountancy department.

Pre-Health Professions

A pre-health professions advisor is available to students interested in pursuing healthcare professions including but not limited to medical school, dental school, physician assistant programs and more. For further information, please see Dr. Kathy Lee, Director of the Pre-Health Professions Program (klee@jcu.edu).

More information on the opportunities and services provided through the Pre-Health Professions Program can be found here: Preparation for Healthcare Careers

Teacher Education

Students who seek to obtain a teaching license after graduating with a baccalaureate degree will find that many colleges and universities, including John Carroll University, offer teacher licensure programs at the graduate level either as post-baccalaureate licensure-only programs or as masters of education licensure programs. Four licenses are available in the state of Ohio: Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, Adolescent Young Adult, and Multi-Age. To earn these licenses, students take a professional education sequence of courses which includes a student teaching experience. For the Middle Childhood, Adolescent Young Adult, and Multi-Age licenses, there may also be additional course work in the teaching fields depending on the baccalaureate degree. (See description of requirements in this Bulletin.)

John Carroll offers three graduate-level options for earning teacher licensure: the School-Based M.Ed. Program, the Professional Teacher/Initial Licensure Program, and the Post-Baccalaureate Program. The program program is an eleven-month full-time accelerated program that results in a master’s degree and licensure. The program program also results in a master’s degree and licensure, and can be completed either on a full-time or part-time basis.

Graduate programs are also offered in the fields of program and program. These programs lead to a master’s degree and licensure. All of John Carroll University’s licensure programs are accredited by CAEP (formerly NCATE) and CACREP and conform to current Ohio licensure standards.

The detailed organization of the graduate licensure programs and information on licensure requirements can be found  under the Department of Education and the Department of Counseling.

Theology and Ministry Programs

The John Carroll University undergraduate major in program prepares students for advanced studies in theology and religion and for careers in various forms of non-ordained ministry, including work in social service agencies, parish youth ministry, and high school teaching of theology. It also can serve as preparation for Catholic major seminary programs and programs of ministerial formation in other religious denominations.

John Carroll also houses the minor seminary program for the Cleveland diocese, the program. It prepares students for entrance into a major seminary program of priestly formation in the Roman Catholic Church.