Florida Atlantic University

Key Takeaways:

• Florida Atlantic University offers more than 170 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degree programs.
• FAU is recognized as the most diverse public university in Florida. The student-to-faculty ratio is 22:1.
• The acceptance rate at FAU is 81%, and the graduation rate is 60%. The average cost after financial aid is $8,636.

Florida Atlantic University Degree Programs

Florida Atlantic University appears in our ranking of Master’s in Hospitality Management Online: Top 25 Values.

Florida Atlantic University is a public university with five locations in Florida to meet the needs of both local students and those coming from other countries and states. Also called Florida Atlantic and FAU, it offers more than 150 degree programs for undergrads, graduate students and those at the post-graduate level. The university encourages prospective students to read more about its degree programs before they apply.

One program designed for undergrads is in art history. Students learn more about the artwork created over time and how to preserve and protect that work. The university’s communication studies program focuses more on the ways of communication used today, including both verbal and online communications. Florida Atlantic offers several education programs too such as its early childhood education program. Students can do teaching experiences and earn their licenses through one of these programs. The exercise science and health promotion program teaches students the proper way to workout and how they can promote health and wellness.

Graduate programs provide students with more advanced training and knowledge. The business administration program is available as a general MBA that looks at the business world as a whole. Students can also earn an executive MBA through classes that take place online and those that meet on weekends and evenings. The Flexible MBA is offered in an full time and part time format and has a choice of nine specializations, including accounting, hospitality management, marketing, and more. There are many different education graduate programs available in fields such as counselor education and school psychology that prepare students to work with different types of kids. The history graduate program available from FAU allows students to focus on one specific era of history. Most of its graduate options include either a thesis or a final project requirement.

The university also has a few doctoral programs, including some that allow students to earn both a graduate and a doctorate degree in the same field of study. It has a business administration program that working students can complete without taking time away from their jobs and a complex systems and brain sciences program that involves a high level of research. The university offers both a Doctor of Nursing and a Ph.D. in Nursing too. Doctoral candidates can also major in public administration, social work, ocean engineering, and experimental psychology.

About Florida Atlantic University

Established in 1961, FAU is one of the more modern colleges found in Florida. When first founded, the university took over an old military base used during World War II and offered degree programs for both soldiers who fought in that war and locals. The university served as a senior college that allowed students who started their degrees at other schools to finish their programs at FAU. It took many years before it added its first on-campus housing options and switched to traditional college programs. FAU established four other campuses in Florida after noting the growing needs for qualified schools in other parts of the state.

Despite growing rapidly over the years, FAU still has a small class size. Its average undergrad class size features 33 students, while graduate courses typically have just 12 students in each one. U.S. News and World Report ranks the university’s nursing programs at the doctorate and master’s levels as being among the best in the nation. This same publication and both Washington Monthly and Forbes all rank FAU as one of the best schools in the country. The university now has a good reputation as being one of the nation’s top research colleges. It has an enrollment of more than 30,000 students.

Florida Atlantic University Accreditation Details

Florida Atlantic has regional accreditation and some forms of specialty accreditation. Its regional accreditation, which covers all its degree programs comes from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). This is also what gives the university the right to award degrees, create its own financial aid packages and accept transfer credits. Its speech and language, nursing, psychology, music, and education programs all have accreditation too.

Florida Atlantic University Application Requirements

Any student with an interest in FAU can sign up for a campus tour ahead of time. That tour lets them see classes in person and meet other prospective students. Incoming freshmen must take at least 18 units of math, life and social science, English, foreign language and elective classes. They also need to take a standardized test such as the ACT. Students will use the FAU application to apply and then submit their test scores and transcripts. The average undergrad starting at the university has a grade point average of 3.8 and an SAT score of 1110 or an ACT score of 23. FAU accepts students who fall below this average though.

The Florida Atlantic University Graduate College is responsible for all the graduate and post-graduate programs available from the university. This college recommends that students look closely at the degree programs that interest them and that they submit an information request form to learn more about that program. Graduate students and doctoral candidates must use the FAU application and submit their transcripts to show that they have the necessary degrees and grades to enroll in this college. Many programs also require a resume and a writing sample as well a standardized test score and/or letters of recommendation.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Undergrads attending FAU who are also Florida residents pay $5,432 each year and can take a total of 27 credits over the course of two semesters. Nonresidents pay the university $19,432 per year. Those who choose to live on an FAU campus will also pay $11,800 every year for room and board. Graduate and post-graduate students all pay $7,400 per year as residents and $20,496 per year as nonresidents. These students can take a total of 20 credits each year for this same rate.

Any graduate student can apply for a fellowship or an assistantship through the university. These programs often include a stipend that provides students with a small amount of money each semester. They may also receive money towards their tuition and/or funds that they can use for research projects. Grad students can also apply for federal and alternative loans. Undergrads can get loans as well as grants and scholarships too. Florida Atlantic University will only create a financial aid package after it receives a student’s FAFSA and sees which degree programs interest that student based on his or her application.