Key Takeaways:
- Fielding Graduate University offers master’s, doctoral, and graduate certificate programs. It is comprised of two schools: Leadership Studies and Psychology.
- FGU has approximately 1000 enrolled students. The student-to-faculty ratio is 9 to 1.
- Fielding Graduate University is known for its unique educational model, which emphasizes distance learning. It provides graduate-level education through a hybrid model that combines online and in-person learning.
- Key areas of focus and strengths at Fielding Graduate University include psychology and counseling, leadership and organizational development, education, social change, and research.
Degrees Offered at the Fielding Graduate University
Fielding Graduate University appears in our ranking of the Top 5 Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education Online Programs.
The Fielding Graduate University offers degree and certificate programs through the School of Leadership Studies and the School of Psychology. Through the School of Leadership, students can earn a Master of Arts (MA) in Organizational Development and Leadership. It features concentrations in organizational analytics and organizational consulting. Their required courses include Leadership: Theory and Practice, Personal Leadership Development, Leading by Design: Theory and Practice, Introduction to the Analytical Process and Developing a Consulting Practice. This school offers an education doctoral program in leadership for change and three Ph.D. programs:
Featured Programs
- Human Development
- Organizational Development and Change
- Infant and Early Childhood Development
In the infant and childhood development program, students can study more than one discipline or pick a concentration in a field such as inclusive leadership for social justice, reflective practice, and supervision or dual language. Some of the courses in the full program include Developmental Disabilities, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Introduction to Brain Development, Assessment of Children and Families and Maltreatment Trauma and Loss. The School of Leadership can help students complete the Ph.D. programs they started at other schools too.
Through the School of Psychology, students can earn a Master of Arts (MA) in Media Psychology or a doctoral degree in either media psychology or clinical psychology. The graduate program in media psychology looks at how people tell stories on the internet and the ways companies advertise products on the web. It focuses on the ways people perceive that media too. Students take a total of 40 credits of classes, including Audience Engagement, Media and Political Psychology: Propaganda and Persuasion, Story Psychology: Changing Minds Through Narrative, Introduction to Media Psychology and Psychology of Technology. Similar courses are available in the doctoral program in media psychology.
To earn a doctoral degree in clinical psychology, students need to take 10 courses in the academic core, including Social Bases of Behavior, Research in Psychotherapy, Biological Bases of Behavior, Legal, Ethical and Professional Practice and Cognitive and Affective Bases of Behavior. One course called Foundations of Doctoral Study serves as an introduction to the program and the orientation for new students.
Students must take clinical courses too such as Integrated Assessment, Cognitive Assessment, and Consultation and Supervision. At least 19 of their credits must come from internships and practicums, but the university does not require that they complete those programs in California. Some of the certificates that students can earn from the Fielding Graduate University include those in forensic psychology, media psychology, organizational consulting and organizational development and leadership.
About the Fielding Graduate University
The Fielding Graduate University is a private university in California that offers both graduate and doctoral degree programs as well as certificate programs for students with a bachelor’s or advanced degree. Established in 1974, the university was once The Fielding Institute and later The Fielding Graduate Institute. Three professionals opened the institute as a way to meet the needs of psychologists and others who could not attend traditional schools. Most of the programs include both online and traditional learning with students taking classes online that include live and recorded lectures. They’ll also do residency sessions on the Fielding campus, which allows them to interact with their classmates. The Carnegie Foundation picked the university for a special program dedicated to the study of educational leadership. More than 900 students enroll in the Fielding Graduate University each year to work on degrees in psychology, leadership, and education.
Fielding Graduate University Accreditation Details
Fielding Graduate University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).
Professional Accreditation for Clinical Psychology Program: APA Accreditation
Fielding’s School of Psychology offers the only accredited clinical psychology doctoral program utilizing distributed delivery for many of the learning and assessment requirements. The program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA)–APA Commission on Accreditation, 750 First St. NE, Washington, DC 20002, 202.336.5979. The clinical psychology program received initial accreditation by the APA in 1991.
Fielding Graduate University Application Requirements
Fielding offers information sessions both online and on-campus that students can attend to learn more about specific programs. They also have the option of meeting with admissions counselors before they apply. All programs ask that students apply online, pay a $75 application fee and submit their official college transcripts. The other requirements can vary across the university’s doctoral and graduate programs. Most doctoral programs ask for a resume that lists any psychology and/or leadership experience that the applicant has. They may need to submit a reflective essay, statement of purpose, letters of recommendation and writing sample too.
The writing sample should come from one of the student’s past classes and have a grade listed on it. Some programs ask for a critical thinking essay that students write to show how they research and think. If the university asks for a reflective essay, it will ask that students reflect on a current topic in psychology. The statement of purpose essentially asks that students state what they will do in the graduate program and why they want to attend Fielding. With their letters of recommendation, they can submit letters from their employers or teachers. Programs can ask for multiple documents from prospective students.
Tuition and Financial Aid
The cost of attendance at the graduate university varies between programs. Both the doctoral programs in childhood development and leadership charge $8,870 per term. Students in all the other doctoral degree programs pay $9,700 per term. Graduate students pay between $610 and $720 per credit hour in their programs. Most of the university’s certificate programs charge $720 to $750 per credit hour. Fielding also offers professional development classes for adult students that charge $1,560 and up for each class that students take.
Most of the students attending Fielding qualify for federal aid in the form of an unsubsidized loan. The government lets them borrow more than $20,000 each year that they’re in a program but will limit the total amount they can borrow across their undergraduate and graduate courses. Incoming students may qualify for some of the university’s graduate and doctoral scholarships that award them up to $3,000 a year. Current students qualify for scholarships of $500 to $10,000 a year too. At the Fielding Graduate University, students in any degree program only need to submit the FAFSA to qualify for financial aid.