University of St. Thomas

The University of St. Thomas, which is commonly called St. Thomas, is a liberal arts Catholic college that has campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was originally founded in 1885 as a seminary school and is named after the famous medieval Catholic theologian Thomas Aquinas. Today, the University of St. Thomas has over 10,000 students, which include approximately 6,000 undergraduate students and 4,000 graduate students. At any time, there are at least 500 international students from over 60 countries on campus.

The University of St. Thomas is Minnesota's largest private, non-profit university and comes with nine academic divisions. This includes the Opus College of Business, which includes AACSB accredited Executive Education and Professional Development programs, and the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity, which offers master's and doctoral degrees in theology and ministry practice. There are also the Schools of Education, Engineering and Social Work. The Psychology and Counseling program is a popular degree choice among incoming students.

University of St. Thomas Accreditation Details

-Since 1916, the university of has maintained accreditation through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
-The Doctor of Psychology program is accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA).

University of St. Thomas Application Requirements

The University of St. Thomas offers an online application and a traditional printable version, but they also accept the Common Application. Because the university maintains a rolling admission cycle, they accept applications through the year until classes are full, so there are no application deadlines. The application requires a writing sample, high school transcripts and ACT or SAT test scores. Letters of recommendation are optional, but encouraged. The admission decision process takes two to three weeks. The university requires at least three years of math, four years of English and two years of natural and social sciences. They recommend four years of a foreign language.

University of St. Thomas Tuition and Financial Aid

The tuition per credit hour is $1,210, per four-credit course is $4,840 and a year of eight courses is $38,720. There are various fees, include $176 for facilities, $426 for technology and $874 for required fees. The average cost of residence is $ 6,120. There are indirect costs that include supplies, textbooks, transportation, personal expenses and miscellaneous charges. The estimated amount of indirect costs for each student is $3,746 per year. The total estimated cost of attending the University of St. Thomas is approximately $49,000 to $50,000. Psychology students will pay a lab fee of $167.

Over 90 percent of incoming students are given financial aid directly from the university. There are many general scholarships available. For example, the Clinton Global Initiative University Network offers scholarships to students who tackle serious social and environmental problems. The Student Leadership Scholarship is used to award financial aid to students who committed to university leadership and community service. There are federal and state grants, child care assistance and vocational rehabilitation problems available. Students will only be considered for aid after submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

The Master’s psychology program costs $790 per credit hour and the doctoral psychology program costs $995 per credit hour. There are Federal Direct and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loans available to only degree seeking students. However, graduate students are not eligible for Pell Grants, state grants and most types of grant funds because these are typically awarded to undergraduate students. Graduate psychology students may apply for graduate department grants, assistantships and scholarships.

University of St. Thomas Psychology and Counseling Program

The psychology department offers students opportunities for a deep and stimulating academic experience. The department offers over 30 psychology related classes for students to choose from and provides extensive hands-on training in research. Students are immersed in their degree through the systematic exploration of human behaviors and cognitive processes. Because modern psychology issues are multi-faceted, the department presents topics through the synthesis and integration of standard practices and industry knowledge from a multitude of psychology disciplines. For instance, the psychology department works closely with colleagues in neuroscience, family studies and environmental studies.

Because psychology specialization areas are as diverse as human behaviors and mental experiences, students enjoy a varied curriculum that introduces them to ancient and emerging concepts of psychology. Students are introduced social, abnormal, educational, cognitive, developmental and psychoanalytical psychology. Students take classes in lifespan development, learning and memory, sensation and perception and research issues in cognition. They study the psychology of aging, physiology, childhood and language development. They tackle complex questions, such as how parent-child relationships influence development and what is the relationship between attention and technology use. They explore how people handle stress, how sleep impacts health and how music promotes healing.

The graduate-level psychology program offers a Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) degree in counseling psychology. The program focuses on training students by teaching clinical skills within the frameworks of ethical practices, counseling standards and new research. There program is designed to meet the diverse needs of students through various learning strategies that create a supportive and challenging academic environment. Since 200, the doctoral program has been accredited by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation. The program provides future scholars and practitioners with the education needed to become professionals who work in the mental health field.

The University of St. Thomas offers a student to faculty ratio of 15 to one and an average class size of 21. The 78-acre St. Paul campus includes the O'Shaughnessy Library, the Anderson Student Center, the Chapel of St. Thomas Aquinas and the Anderson Athletic and Recreational Center. The South-western part of the campus borders the Mississippi Gorge Regional Park. The Minneapolis Campus is located in downtown Minneapolis in a group of buildings that take up 150,000-square-feet. Here, students will find the Opus College of Business and the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship.

The undergraduate and graduate psychology programs will prepare students to work in a variety of careers. The University of St. Thomas is an excellent choice for students who want a quality education in a highly successful university.

See also: The 50 Best Ph.D. Programs in Clinical Psychology