School of Professional Programs

Welcome from the Dean

I want to welcome each prospective and current student, alumnus, and community partner to the Franciscan University School of Professional Programs!

As a School, we are committed to renewing the world through educational training grounded in a Catholic worldview that upholds the dignity of every human person and illuminates what it means to create a just society amid the challenges of the modern world. This worldview inspires and informs our faculty and students’ understanding of how to be ethical professionals and leaders in the business, healthcare, mental healthcare, social welfare, education, and criminal justice fields.

Read the full welcome

Mission

The School of Professional Programs prepares highly skilled, career-ready professionals committed to the sacredness of human life and the transformation of the world into a just environment. Grounded in Catholic virtues and professional ethics, our programs form students as moral professionals competent to engage in socially responsible practice. Faculty are respected scholars and practitioners who prepare students to serve through instruction in evidence-based practices and contemporary theory applied in real-world environments. The outcome is principled, trained leaders who can renew the world by serving the common good and empowering others to realize their human potential.

Ethically Formed

Each program is guided by a mission statement that showcases the program’s purpose to train students in their discipline with an emphasis on Catholic values
100% of programs incorporate courses on professional ethics and include content from Catholic social thought.
Students are supervised in internships and field placements by professionally-qualified faculty who are committed to the values of human dignity, justice, and human rights from a Catholic point of view.
Each state has different professional licensure and certification requirements. Students who are considering an academic program that allows them to pursue professional licensure in their state are encouraged to check their state’s information requirements HERE for guidance.

Prepared to Serve

75% of the faculty in our school are actively working in their field or are in leadership and service roles within their profession.
Faculty have on average 23 years of experience working in their field.
100% of eligible programs in the School are accredited from specialized accreditors, including the International Assembly of Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP), Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
Job placement rates within 6 months of graduation in the SoPP is: 96% (BSN); 89% (Counseling); 82% (Business); 71% (Education)
Exceptional first-time pass rates on professional licensure and certification exams: 88.5% for nursing students (5yr. average on NCLEX); 100% pass rate for clinical mental health counseling students (2 yr. average on NCE); and 93.7% pass rate (3 yr. average on OAE) for education students.

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School Departments

Department of Accounting, Business Administration, and Economics

Department of Education

Department of Nursing

Department of Counseling and Social Work

Interdisciplinary Programs

Criminal Justice Major

Center for Teaching Excellence

Criminal Justice Master of Science Online

School Faculty Achievements

Education Professor Awarded Major Grant from USCCB

Dr. Tiffany Boury, Senior International Officer and Professor of Education received a grant for 80,000 from the USCCB to support work on with Catholic schools on the Native American Reservations.

Franciscan University’s Education Department Is Making a Difference

Dr. Megan Reister shares how Franciscan’s Education Department is involved with the local community.

New Franciscan University Business Department Position to Promote Catholic Social Thought

Dr. Michael Welker, professor of economics, has been appointed the inaugural director of Catholic Business Management and Entrepreneurship

Special Education Professors Receive $75,000 Research Grant

Two professors in Franciscan University of Steubenville’s Education Department received a $75,000 grant from the Ohio Deans Compact on Exceptional Children to create an online module to help educators across the state teach evidence-based behavior management practices.