Sacred Heart University

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Updated November 22, 2022 · 3 Min Read

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Sacred Heart University is located in Fairfield, Connecticut. Founded in the year 1963, it is a small, private institution that hosts 7,781 students and 55 degree programs. The school has Catholic affiliations, and the institution focuses on providing a quality liberal arts education with a focus in faith and community service. It is the second largest Catholic university in the region. Unlike some other Catholic universities, it is staffed by lay people rather than solely by nuns or monks. Although it is large for a Catholic institution, it still boasts a small average class size of only 22 students. The school is also home to 32 different Division I athletic teams and nearly 800 students participate in athletics each year.

Accreditation Details

Sacred Heart University has been awarded accreditation by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. The university has also been awarded specialized accreditations by professional organizations like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the Connecticut State Department of Education.

Application Requirements

Students who wish to join an undergraduate program at Sacred Heart University can submit their applications through the Common Application website. Along with a completed application, students will also need to submit their high school transcripts, a letter of recommendation and their standardized testing scores. A $50 application fee will also be assessed upon receipt of the application.

Students applying to join a graduate program at Sacred Heart University are required to submit a program application to the university. This can be submitted through a hard copy or online. Students applying for any program will need to meet the general admissions requirements for the university as well as the requirements for their individual program.

To be accepted into the university, graduate program applicants are required to have a Bachelor’s degree from a fully accredited university or college. They will also be required to submit their transcripts from every institution that they have attended. Alongside their transcripts, applicants must submit a letter of intention as well as a statement of the applicant’s professional goals. Students must also submit two letters of recommendation.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Tuition for students participating in undergraduate degree programs is listed at $18,460 per semester. This figure does not include fees, books, living expenses or mandatory health insurance.

The fees for graduate programs at Sacred Heart University are dependent on each specific program or department. The fees may be assessed on a credit or semester basis. The Master of Science in Applied Psychology costs $823 per credit and requires a total of 38 credit hours for completion.

Sacred Heart University accepts the following forms of payment and financial aid:

  • FAFSA
  • Loans
  • Grants
  • Scholarships

Featured Online Programs

Figuring out where to apply? These top, accredited schools offer a variety of online degrees. Consider one of these accredited programs, and discover their value today.

Online Degrees Available

Master of Science in Applied Psychology

The Master of Science in Applied Psychology focuses on a blend of psychology disciplines. The program teaches both the foundations of behavioral psychology as well as workplace psychology. The goals of this program are to teach students how to use the resources at their disposal to understand and diagnose behavioral issues and apply their research to their practical work in the field.

The program at Sacred Heart University offers students the opportunity to take part in one of three concentrations after they have completed their foundation coursework. These concentrations include:

Industrial - Organizational Psychology - This concentration offers a focus on the application of psychology in the workplace. The successful application of psychology in the workplace will help employees experience high levels of productivity and job satisfaction.

Community Psychology - This concentration teaches students how to use psychology and research within a non-profit or social service setting. Students in this concentration will learn how to care for both individuals and groups in the general public.

General Applied Psychology - Instead of a career concentration, this program allows students to take four elective courses that allow students to create a blend of Industrial-Organizational Psychology and Community Psychology.

This program is unique in several aspects. It is offered fully online and thus it does not require clinical hours from its students. This means that students can complete a graduate degree in psychology while taking courses over two years. However, because there are no clinical hours required, this degree does not lead to licensure as a clinical psychologist.

This program is also unique because 90 percent of the faculty teaching this course hold a terminal degree in their field. The faculty at Sacred Heart University are a unique combination of researchers, practicing licensed psychologists and published authors.

During this degree program, students will take 38 credit hours divided between 12 courses. These courses include six core courses that are supplemented by four concentration courses. Acceptance into this program does not require an undergraduate degree in psychology; however, students must complete a prerequisite course called Foundations for Psychological Science before they may start credit courses.

The core courses that students will take in this program include:

  • Foundations of Applied Psychology
  • Developmental Issues Across the Life Span
  • Identifying and Managing Psychopathology in Community Settings
  • Applied Research Methods and Statistics
  • Individual Psychological Assessment and Appraisal
  • Program and Development Evaluation

Students who have chosen the Industrial-Organizational Psychology concentration will take the following courses:

  • Personnel Psychology
  • Organizational Behavior
  • Job Analysis, Competency Modeling and Criterion Development
  • Employee Training and Development

Students embarking on the Community Psychology concentration will take the following specialized courses:

  • Foundations of Community Psychology
  • Theories of Counseling and Personality
  • Counseling Methods and Techniques
  • Community Health Psychology

When these courses have been successfully completed, the student will embark on a capstone project. The capstone project can be delivered one of three ways. A student may choose to take an exam. They may alternatively choose to develop and write a thesis. Finally, they may decide to join a role immersion project. A role immersion project provides valuable practical experience in which students participate in observation as well supervised field work.

Sacred Heart University provides a fully online graduate degree in psychology that provides practical and career related experience in several fields of psychology.

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