St. Mary's University of San Antonio

Online Degree Programs

San Antonio, Texas

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAM

Note: This section includes a general description of your distance learning program—its mission, goals, and features; tells how many students are served by the program; and provides an overview of your program, including how it fits within the framework of your institution.

DELIVERY MEDIA

Note: This section provides specific information about your delivery media (including correspondence) and relates how students use the media and how faculty members and students interact.

PROGRAMS OF STUDY

St. Mary's University awards Master's of Arts (M.A.) degrees in community counseling and in international relations.

The graduate program in community counseling prepares students to work in institutions and agencies offering counseling services, including alcohol and drug programs, family counseling and service programs, child and adolescent programs, and social service agencies. Client problems may include, but are not limited to, the effects of socioeconomic status; unemployment; aging; culture; race; ethnicity; chronic illness, including physical and mental illness; developing transitions; and interpersonal, family, and violence issues. Community counselors have the ability to implement educational, preventative, and remedial programs. This 48-semester-hour program includes 24 semester hours of core courses, 12 semester hours of clinical courses, 12 semester hours of specialization courses, and an intensive 600-clock-hour internship experience. Prior to graduating from the community counseling program, students are expected to understand the essential elements of the counseling profession and related human services professions and the distinctive contributions of each in meeting the needs of the various client populations. Graduates meet the academic requirements to sit for the National Counselor Examination and for licensing by the Texas State Board of Examiners of Professional Counselors. The community counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

In 2002, St. Mary's University celebrated 150 years of Marianist education in Texas. As San Antonio's largest and oldest Catholic university, St. Mary's continues to provide a Catholic educational experience that evokes academic excellence while integrating liberal studies, professional preparation, and ethical commitment.

From its origins, St. Mary's University has been a community of faith permeated by the values of the Gospels and the Judeo-Christian tradition. The University invites faculty, administration, staff, and students of various religious backgrounds to be a part of this community, sharing its values while searching together for a meaningful integration of faith and reason.

St Mary's University's distance learning programs confer online Master of Arts degrees in community counseling and international relations. The degrees earned through the programs are exactly like the degrees earned by students attending courses on the campus; there is no distinction between online and on-campus courses on transcripts or diplomas.

St. Mary's University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

The 36-semester-hour graduate program in international relations is currently the largest master's program at St. Mary's. The program in international relations offered by St. Mary's focuses on security policy, as opposed to the majority of programs available elsewhere that offer an M.A. in political science with a focus area in international relations. In the post-Cold War era, a one-discipline approach to contextualizing and analyzing international issues is proving to be inadequate. St. Mary's international relations program offers an interdisciplinary examination and analysis of national and international security issues. All courses are taught from the perspectives of economics, history, political science, international business, sociology, and theology. Topics range from nuclear proliferation and conventional arms trade to narcotrafficking, trade imbalances, environmental conflict, and race, ethnic, gender, and religious issues. Before graduation, all students must pass a comprehensive written examination over the course work required for the degree. They must also demonstrate a working knowledge of a foreign language and a strong theoretical foundation for, and basic quantitative and analytical skills in, the study of international relations.

SPECIAL PROGRAMS

Students in the international relations program have taken internships with international organizations (the European Union's Office of Human Rights), the federal public-service sector (Department of Defense, Secret Service, and FAA), state and city governments (San Antonio's International Affairs Office), non-profit organizations (International Red Cross and Alliance for Justice), and the private sector (Southwestern Bell, Bbancomex, and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce). Other graduates have chosen to continue their education.

STUDENT SERVICES

Students enrolled in St. Mary's distance learning courses may use the services of the Blume Library. Distance learning students are encouraged to seek reference help when they are working on research projects. Students can also request materials be sent directly to them via first-class U.S. mail.

FACULTY

St. Mary's University's faculty members are dedicated to a life that is intellectual, critically rational, and ethically responsible. In its work, the faculty demonstrates the freedom enjoyed by each individual to experience the world, to inquire into its meaning, and to respond to it in a manner that befits their personal gifts and talents.

There are 11 full-time and 22 associate faculty members for the community counseling program. The international relations faculty consists of 12 full-time and 13 regular adjunct members.

ADMISSION

Admission to either program is granted only to those with high promise for success in graduate study. Such potential may be demonstrated by experience in increasingly responsible positions, previous schooling, and/or test scores at the time of enrollment.

In addition to having a bachelor's degree or the equivalent from an accredited college or university, graduate students must be proficient in information technology. To be considered proficient, graduate students must know and be able to use the applications, software, and technologies appropriate for the program in which they are enrolled.

Community counseling prerequisites include 9 hours of social sciences and 3 hours of statistics.

The GRE or the MAT is required of all counseling program candidates; if they are otherwise highly qualified, they may take the GRE or the MAT during their first semester of enrollment, with further enrollment contingent upon their test results. A personal interview with the applicant is usually required prior to an admission decision.

Students applying to the internatonal relations degree program must have adquate scores on the GRE. Students may take the GRE during their first semester of enrollment, with further enrollment contingent upon their test results. Prerequisites include 3 hours of microeconomics and 3 hours of macroeconomics course work and an undergraduate GPA of at least 2.75, with 3.0 in their undergraduate major.

TUITION AND FEES

Tuition for all students is $552 per semester hour.

FINANCIAL AID

Payment is due in full at the time of registration and no later than seven days prior to the start of classes. Students may be eligible for financial assistance. Tuition grants are given to active duty military personnel, military retirees, DOD employees, and dependents of these groups. St. Mary's University must be able to confirm the amount of aid eligibility and that all paperwork is completed by the payment deadline date in order to consider financial aid for all or part of the payment due.

APPLYING

Students may apply to St. Mary's University via an online application at the Web site listed below. There is a $30 application fee.

Before enrolling in the online program, students must apply and be admitted to graduate study.

CONTACT

Graduate School
St. Mary's University
One Camino Santa Maria
San Antonio, Texas 78228-8543
Telephone: 210-436-3101
Fax: 210-431-2220
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: http://www.stmarytx.edu

Graduate students who wish to transfer to St. Mary's from other universities must apply to St. Mary's University Graduate School and send a letter of good standing from their current university, or they may send transcripts and two letters of reference.