General Admissions Policy

Benedictine University reserves the right to deny admission, continued enrollment, or re-enrollment to any applicant or student whose personal history and background indicate that his or her presence at the University would endanger the health, safety, welfare or property of the members of the academic community or interfere with the orderly and effective performance of the University's functions. Graduate students denied admission are required to wait one calendar year before reapplying to the program.

Some programs have special admissions standards. If you are considering a particular program, you need to determine the admissions standards for that program by reviewing the descriptions contained later in the catalog or by contacting the faculty responsible for the program. Failure to provide Benedictine University with a correct and complete academic history will result in revoking of acceptance and/or administrative withdrawal.

Admissions Requirements for U.S. Citizens and U.S. Residents

• Graduate Application for Admission.
• $40 nonrefundable application fee [the fee is $50 for the doctoral programs].
• Official transcripts from all colleges and universities previously enrolled.
• Proof of U.S. baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university or equivalent.
  • Students who have completed any foreign postsecondary education (college, university, etc.) are required to submit an official credit evaluation. Students may submit a detailed course-by-course evaluation from Educational Perspectives (EP) at edperspectives.org/benedictine, Education Credential Evaluators (ECE) at ece.org, or World Educational Services (WES) at wes.org. Official reports must be mailed or submitted electronically directly to Benedictine from EP, ECE, or WES. Please contact an Admissions Counselor for more information.
• Official results of professional entrance exam or Graduate Professional Entrance Exam Waiver form, if applicable.
• Letters of references from persons who know the applicant from a professional or academic perspective. Quantities of letters required vary by program. Letters of reference must be no more than one year old at the time the application is received.
• Resume, if applicable.
• Essay statement of career and academic goals.
• Autobiographical statement (Master of Science in Clinical Psychology).
• Personal Interview (may be required of some programs).
• At any time, the Office of Admissions reserves the right to test the English writing and speaking skills of any incoming graduate student if circumstances warrant it. If asked, students must complete an in-house English assessment and/or be asked to submit an official TOEFL score. Those students who do not demonstrate English proficiency may be conditionally admitted pending successful completion of ADG (Academic Discourse Graduate) coursework. ADG coursework must be completed within the first two quarters of the student’s graduate career. The purpose of ADG coursework is to help the student improve their academic endeavors and language proficiency skills.

Student-at-Large Study

Graduate students-at-large (GSAL) are those who enroll for graduate coursework before being accepted or applying for admission to a graduate degree program. All academic policies and institutional regulations apply to the GSAL, except that the student is not identified with any class year. Students must demonstrate proof of a baccalaureate degree conferred from a regionally accredited college or university and submit an application to University Admissions. Applicants will be referred to the department chair or program director for permission to register.

Graduate students-at-large do not qualify for financial aid. Credits earned as a GSAL may or may not apply toward specific degree requirements. GSAL credits do not guarantee program admission. A GSAL may later request admission to degree status through the formal admissions process. Admission and acceptance of credits completed is subject to the discretionary approval of the University.

Courses taken as a GSAL can be counted toward the residency or program requirements if the GSAL is later admitted to degree status. At the discretion of the program director or department chair, GSAL credit may be designated as not fulfilling program graduation requirements. Regardless of status, all courses taken for credit will become part of the student’s official record at Benedictine University. The graduation requirements a student must meet are based on the catalog in effect at the time of admission to degree program, which may be different from those in effect during the GSAL period. GSAL status is not available to students denied regular admission to Benedictine, those who have recently been dropped by the University for poor scholarship, or those who have been dismissed from the last institution of attendance within the previous 12 months.

Certificate Programs

Email: admissions@ben.edu
Phone: (630) 829-2277
Fax: (630) 829-6371

Dual Degree

Many Benedictine graduate programs encourage dual degrees to enhance your learning experience and career opportunities. Many dual degree programs have been designed with overlapping requirements to reduce course requirements compared to completing each program individually.

All students graduating as a dual degree student must meet the following university minimum requirements¹:

• Students must fulfill admission requirements and be accepted into both programs.
• Students must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 in each individual degree program.¹
• At minimum 60 combined semester credits must be completed to be considered for both degrees.¹ If for example a student does a dual program for degrees that normally require 36 semester credits and 30 semester credits individually the student could at maximum reduce their total credit requirement by 6 semester credits through a dual degree program if allowed by the programs.
• The degrees may be conferred individually, rather than simultaneously.¹ However, if conferred individually, the first degree conferred must meet all regular standalone degree requirements. The reduced minimum credits for dual degree can be applied to the second completed degree still. If the student were to later opt-out of the dual program after completing the first degree but before completion of the second degree, the completed first degree would remain valid.
• Upon initial admission it is encouraged for students to opt for a dual degree program. However, students may opt for a dual degree program after they have started a standalone degree program as well.¹  For students opting for a dual degree program later they must adhere to the six year completion time limit from initial admission to first degree program. Students may apply to the dual degree program after the initial degree has been conferred but must complete the second dual degree requirements within six years from the time of admission to the first degree program. For example, if degree program A is a two year long program and program B is a two year long program, the student requires four years total to complete both programs. Therefore, assuming the student plans to complete each degree in a two year timeframe, the maximum allowed gap between the programs would be two years. In this example, if students were to have a longer pause in courses or take a longer period of time to complete either program, they could not complete the second degree as a dual degree. The student could instead complete the program as a standalone degree.
• Catalog year for dual degrees is based on initial admission to first graduate degree of dual program.

Graduate Dual Degrees may be allowed at the discretion of both programs. Please review the relevant program section of catalog or contact the program directors if you are interested in exploring a dual degree opportunity. Some programs are unable to offer dual programs due to substantial course overlap, licensure, or accreditation related restrictions.  Course substitutions and waivers for a specific course can only be made by the program director for that specific subject area.  In the event the required course satisfies requirements for both programs the substitution and waiver must be approved by both program directors and may be denied at the discretion of either.

¹

Individual programs may require more stringent minimum requirements for dual degrees.