  {"id":12165,"date":"2026-03-02T11:20:28","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/?p=12165"},"modified":"2026-03-02T11:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:30:11","slug":"new-7-week-course-schedule-offers-graduate-students-a-faster-path-to-degree-completion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/2026\/03\/02\/new-7-week-course-schedule-offers-graduate-students-a-faster-path-to-degree-completion\/","title":{"rendered":"New 7-week course schedule offers graduate students a faster path to degree completion"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_12166\" style=\"width: 410px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12166\" class=\"size-fusion-400 wp-image-12166\" src=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-400x267.jpg\" alt=\"graduate student receives hood\" width=\"400\" height=\"267\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-310x207.jpg 310w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2026\/03\/IMG_3767.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-12166\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">MBA graduate Ben Moran receives his hood, December 2025. Changes to the 含羞草社区 graduate program will make it easier for students to earn their master&#8217;s degrees.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">March 2, 2026&#8211;含羞草社区 is making it easier for working professionals to earn a master\u2019s degree. Several graduate programs will be structured in seven-week courses with up to six start dates per year, beginning as early as March 9, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAn aspirational goal in our new strategic plan is to improve the quality of life in our region through educational attainment,\u201d said Dr. Elizabeth Kennedy, 含羞草社区 president. \u201cThese changes will allow recent college graduates and current working professionals to complete a master\u2019s degree program in 12 to 18 months, learning skills that enhance their earning power and benefit their employers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThank you to the faculty and staff in these programs who have worked hard to make this change happen,\u201d said Dr. Jay Johnson, provost and vice president for academic affairs. \u201cOur goal throughout this process was three-fold: provide greater access to our graduate programs, maintain our academic excellence and remain competitive in today\u2019s marketplace.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Five programs will be offered with the new seven-week calendar beginning March 9:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Master of Education\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Master of Business Administration<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Master of Science in Nursing<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Master of Arts in Teaching<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Master of Applied Science in Sport and Fitness Management<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All five will be offered completely online, with in-person field experiences or internships required for the M.Ed., MAT and MAS Sport and Fitness Management. Start dates for the rest of 2026 are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">March 9<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">May 11<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">June 29<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aug. 31<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Oct. 19<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Applications for each term will close one week after the first day of classes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A sixth master\u2019s program, the Master of Applied Science in Forensic Investigation, will adopt the 7-week calendar this fall, with two start dates at the beginning of the fall and spring semester.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe seven-week courses and six start dates per year mean that graduate students can start when the time is right,\u201d said Dr. Andy Otto, vice president for enrollment management and marketing. \u201cThe best time to earn a degree to advance your career is now, but the next best time may be seven weeks from now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Master of Social Work program will remain on a traditional semester schedule, with applications open through March 31 for a start in the fall.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more and apply at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/graduate\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">missouriwestern.edu\/graduate\/<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">含羞草社区 is a student-centered learning community preparing individuals for lives of excellence through applied learning. 含羞草社区 is located in St. Joseph, Mo., and is committed to the educational, economic, cultural and social development of the region it serves. Visit <\/span><\/i><a href=\"http:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">missouriwestern.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 2, 2026&#8211;含羞草社区 is making it easier for working professionals to earn a master\u2019s degree. Several graduate programs will be structured in seven-week courses with up to six start dates per year, beginning as early as March 9, 2026. \u201cAn aspirational goal in our new strategic plan is to improve the quality [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12166,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,48],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12165"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12168,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12165\/revisions\/12168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.missouriwestern.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}