Widener University

Overview

Widener University is a nationally-recognized, private university where academics, leadership, and service matter.
Founded in 1821, Widener is among the nation’s top universities for civic engagement.
We offer liberal arts and sciences and professional programs leading to associate’s, baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral degrees.
We have a long history of turning out leaders with a formula that works. At Widener, we believe that academic excellence, career preparation, and civic engagement lead to success.
Our close-knit community includes top-notch teachers, nationally renowned researchers, and students from 22 states and 26 countries who are passionate about learning, leadership, and making a difference.

Why choose Widener University?

Campus Services

The graduation ceremony is over.

Your life is about to start. And your career is calling. But you have to put it on hold because you don’t have quite enough experience to provide the kinds of solutions, or innovations, an employer is looking for today.

Enough with the experience already? You have a need to lead: people to see, places to go, and of course, things to do. And your passion to achieve it all is — now.

Then opt for a Widener graduate degree where experience counts and leadership works.

64 Degrees of Preparation

Choose from master’s degrees in criminal justice, liberal studies, and public administration within the College of Arts & Sciences and a variety of masters, doctoral, and dual degrees, as well as certificates, in our School of:

Business Administration
Education and Innovation
Engineering

Hospitality Management
Human Service Professions
Nursing

Confused about degree requirements, the admission process, or deadlines? Contact Roberta Nolan, director of graduate enrollment at rdnolan@widener.edu.

A Degree Of Success

Our graduates enter their chosen fields and not only succeed, but are quickly recognized as go-getters who reshape their companies, industries, and communities.

Admission Requirements

Each graduate program has different admissions requirements and application process. Listed below are the general admissions requirements for the:

College of Arts and Science
School of Business Administration
School of Education, Innovation and Continuing Studies
School of Engineering
School of Hospitality Management

Center of Human Sexuality Studies
School of Nursing
Institute for Physical Therapy Education
Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology
Center for Social Work Education

Please contact the Office of Graduate Enrollment Management if you need further assistance.

College of Arts and Sciences

Admissions Requirement	Criminal Justice	Liberal Studies	Public Administration
Complete Application	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resume	No	No	No
Personal Statement	Yes	Yes	Yes
2 Letters of Recommendation	Yes	Yes	*Yes
Transcripts	Yes	Yes	Yes
GRE	No	No	No
Interview	No	Yes	No

The MPA Program requires that 1 letter of recommendation be from a former professor who can speak to your academic ability. If you cannot obtain a letter from a former professor, please send 3 letters of recommendation.

School of Business Administration

Admissions Requirement	Business Administration	Business Process Innovation	Taxation and Financial Planning	Certificates
Complete Application	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2 Letters of Recommendation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transcripts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GMAT/GRE	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Interview	No	No	No	No

The GMAT/GRE requirement may be waived for five years of relevant work experience, for those who hold a masters degree from an accredited U.S. institution, for the MSTFP and MSFAA programs, holders of the following professional designations: CPA, CMA, CIA, CFA, CFP, CFM, and CISA. Also, for the MSTFP, MSBPI and MSFAA programs for those students who complete a related certificate.

School of Education, Innovation and Continuing Studies

Admissions Requirements	MEd Programs	M.A. Allied Health	Certifications	EdD
Complete Application	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Resume	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Personal Statement	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Letters of Recommendation	2	2	2	3
Transcripts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Interview	No	No	No	Yes (by invitation only)
Personal Statement of Purpose	No	No	No	Yes
Writing Sample	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Home/School/Visitor certification does not require a writing sample.

*Certificates in Educational leadership/Principalship and Superintendent/Assistant Superintendent require an interview.

*M.A. in Allied Health requires a certification card.

School of Engineering

Admissions Requirement	All MEng Programs
Complete Application	Yes
Resume	No
Personal Statement	Yes
2 Letters of Recommendation	Yes
Transcripts	Yes
GRE	Yes (The GRE is not required to apply to the part time program.)
Interview	No

School of Hospitality Management

Admissions Requirement	Hospitality Management
Complete Application	Yes
Resume	Yes
Personal Statement	Yes
2 Letters of Recommendation	Yes
Transcripts	Yes
GRE, GMAT, MAT	No
Interview	No

International students must take either the TOEFL exam or the IELTS exam to be considered for admission. They also can complete an English Language Institute certification program as an alternative to the test requirements. The minimum scores needed for consideration for acceptance into the graduate program in hospitality are:

TOEFL 587 paper-based; 95 Internet-based
IELTS 7.0

Center for Human Sexuality Studies

Admissions Requirement	MEd Program	PhD Program
Complete Application	Yes	Yes
Resume	Yes	Yes
Personal and Professional Goals Statement	Yes	Yes
Autobiographical Statement	Yes	Yes
*3 Letters of Recommendation	Yes	Yes
Transcripts	Yes	Yes
MAT or GRE	Yes	Yes
Interview	Yes	Yes

Dual applicants should submit the Human Sexuality requirements in addition to the requirements of the dual program of interest

*The Center for Human Sexuality Studies require 2 academic recommendations and 1 professional recommendation

School of Nursing

Admissions Requirement	MSN	Certificates	PhD	DNP
Complete Application	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Goal Statement	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
2 Letters of Recommendation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Transcripts	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
GRE	No	No	Yes	No
Interview	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Institute for Physical Therapy Education

Admissions Requirement	Physical Therapy (DPT)
Complete Application	Yes (completed/submitted through PTCAS)
Application Fee	Yes, through PTCAS
Volunteer/work experience	Must be submitted through PTCAS
Letters of Recommendation	Must be submitted through PTCAS. Of the three references, one must be from a Physical Therapist and one must be from a professor, and one can be from any other source. Do not use family members or family friends as reference sources.
Transcripts	Must be submitted through PTCAS
GRE	Send directly to Widener via Educational Testing Services (ETS)
Interview	No

Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology

Admissions Requirement	Clinical Psychology (PsyD)	Law Psychology (J.D./PsyD)
Complete Application	Yes	Yes
Application Fee	$50	No
Personal Statement	Yes	Yes
Letters of Recommendation	Yes (3)	Yes (3)
Transcripts	Yes	Yes
GRE or LSAT	GRE only	GRE and LSAT
Interview	Yes (by invitation only)	Yes (by invitation only)

Top applicants are invited to campus for an interview.

Center for Social Work Education

Admissions Requirement	Masters in Social Work (MSW)	Doctorate in Social Work (PhD)
Complete Application	Yes	Yes
Personal Statement	Yes	Yes
Scholarly Writing Sample	No	Yes
Letters of Recommendation	Yes (2)	*Yes (4)
Transcripts	Yes	Yes
GRE	No	Yes
Resume	Yes	Yes

An interview may be required for MSW and PhD applicants.
*Two of the four recommendations should be from academic references and the other two from professional references

Application Procedures

The application procedure for graduate programs vary by academic area.

Apply Online Anytime

Apply online now. Additional directions and information are available while you complete our secure, online application.

Please note that when you have completed your application and are ready to have it reviewed, you must hit the “submit” button on the bottom of page 5.

Once your online application has been successfully submitted and received, you will receive an automated email with a confirmation number. Keep a copy of this email for your own records.

Submit Supporting Documents

Make sure that each document is identified with your name and program of interest. Files will be considered complete and ready to be reviewed only after all of your supporting documents are received.

Send all supporting documents to:

Office of Graduate Enrollment Management
Muller Hall Widener University
One University Place
Chester, PA 19013

Applicants interested in physical therapy and clinical psychology should send supporting documents directly to those offices at Widener.

Complete Admission Exam

Many of the graduate programs require the completion of a standardized graduate or professional admission exam in order to be considered for admission. Review your program’s requirements to learn more about which exams and scores are needed.

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
The Law School Admission Test (LSAT)

Miller Analogies Test (MAT)
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

Our School of Business offers a GMAT review course. Contact the School of Business at 610-499-4305 for more information about the GMAT review course.

Tuition & Fees

2015-2016 Cost of Attendance: Graduate Students

	Per Credit	Per Semester
Masters
Business	$984
Business Online Program Summer 2015	$950
Business Online Program Fall 2015	$984
Criminal Justice	$736
Education	$790
Engineering	$1,118
Hospitality Management	$844
Human Sexuality	$790
Liberal Studies	$678
Nursing	$944
Public Administration	$736
Social Work	$850
Social Work Online Program Summer 2015	$750
Social Work On-line Program Fall 2015	$780
Doctoral
Education	$1,004
Human Sexuality	$1,004
Nursing	$980
PsyD	$1,088
Social Work	$956
Physical Therapy	$812
Doctoral-Full Time	Semester	Annual
Psychology	$14,734	$29,468
PsyD Joint Program Fee (MBA, MCJ, HSED)		$860
Fees		Semester
Technology Fees
3 to 5 credits		$52
6 to 8 credits		$72
9 to 11 credits		$124
12 and over credits		$160
Nursing Fee – Technology		$30
New Student Fee		$25
Late Registration Fee		$25

Depending on program requirements, there may be additional costs for field placement or other academic related expenses including joint program fees and dissertation fees.

The complete listing of all Widener University tuition charges and fees can be found in the Graduate Tuition Rate and Payment Guide document on the bursar’s office webpage in CampusCruiser.

Payment Plans Available

You can spread your fall or spring semester tuition payments out over four months, and your summer semester payments over three months.

There is no interest charge, only a $50 enrollment fee per semester.

When they are not engaged in experiential learning assignments, our students and faculty members lend a hand through community service projects in our hometown of Chester and in communities around the world.
In addition, with Philadelphia only 20 minutes away, we have a living laboratory where students earn practicalexperience through internships and co-op opportunities.
Our beautiful 110-acre main campus in Chester is a great place to live, study, and have fun, and we have satellite campuses in Exton and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and in Wilmington, Delaware, too.

Schools and Departments

College of Arts & Sciences
School of Engineering
School of Nursing
School of Business Administration
School of Hospitality Management
School of Law
School of Human Service Professions
School of Education, Innovation, & Continuing Studies