A popular choice that still remains a popular choice for business-related studies is and MBA (Master of Business Administration) with a specific concentration. Many students may choose an MA, MS or even an MBA to get an additional exposure to a general overview of business with a larger range of courses designed to equip them to a wide range of business-related situations and roles. If you are looking to become an expert in a specific field and acquire a management, director or executive level position within a company, then a graduate program would be a good way to help you achieve that goal.
*Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Clinical Science Managers, on the Internet at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes191042.htm (visited March 24, 2022).
You should expect to spend at least two years going to school full-time to earn your clinical science Master's Degree. Though, some universities have specialized programs that allow their students to accelerate their degree program. These students are able to complete the clinical science master's degree in 16-18 months. If you choose to attend school part-time for any reason, it could take longer to complete your degree.
No matter how you choose to attend, you'll have to complete around 36 to 54 credit hours to graduate with a masters in clinical science degree. These credit hours include specialty programs for your field to build specialized, high-level skills and knowledge in a defined subject area.
Before choosing a major there are some important facts you should know about.
In general, you can begin your career as a clinical science by earning a Master of Science (M.S.) or a Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in clinical science, but in many cases for the position you are seeking you may need to obtain a master's degree in clinical science. Furthermore, there are numerous specializations and subfields associated with a master’s in clinical science. You will want to research the college or university to determine if they have the major you are considering.
This is a very important question to ask yourself. Your major should play a big part in the schools you are considering. Not every college may offer the major of your choice, so doing your homework is the first step of the selection process.
The two most prominent types of master levels in clinical science are: Master of Arts degree (MA degree) in clinical science and a Master of Science degree (MS degree) in clinical science. A MA degree normally requires pupils to take fewer concentration courses as well as to focus more on discovering about clinical science. These students have a little bit more flexibility when it pertains to customizing their education to meet their occupation objectives as well as goals.
The Master of Science degree in clinical science, on the other hand, is much less concentrated on exploration and even more targeted to a specific focus. Master of Science students, usually, focus specifically on the area of their major and have a tendency to be more career focused. Master's degrees in the clinical field, for example, are most likely to be a Master of Science degree. You can find some sample classes for a doctoral below:
These days fewer and fewer students graduate in two years. In fact, the government now sets the bar at a three-year term from starting an advanced graduate program to completion. Accredited masters programs in clinical science, on the other hand, are more likely to graduate in 18 months to 2 1/2 years. That is because those programs are more competitive, and studies have shown that students in highly competitive programs have more success with graduating in two years (or less.) Keep it mind there are also other determining factors that play a role in how long it takes to graduate like full time vs part time, funding for college, working at the same time (can potentially decrease how many credit hours you can take) etc. A good goal to shoot for is to graduate within 2 to 3 years.
Accreditation is an important part of selecting a school for clinical science graduate education. Much depends on accreditation and the type of accreditation. There are two main types of accreditation; regional and national. Regional accreditation agencies work with research-based schools, private schools, public schools, and some for-profit schools. National accreditation works primarily with for-profit and career-related education.
Regional Accreditation
There are two types of regional accreditation; they are clinical science program accreditation and institutional accreditation. Institutional accreditation uses a group of states as the base to compare the school with other colleges and universities; the group of states comprises the region assigned by the Department of Education.
Programmatic Accreditation looks at specific programs or parts of a college or university. This type of accreditation has the same type of respect and acceptance as regional accreditation for institutions. Regional employers and other educational institutions regard regional accreditation as proof of high-quality education.
National Accreditation
National accreditation has a Faith-based branch and a career- related education branch. Faith-based institutions have a different set of standards that recognize the role of faith in instruction. The for-profit branch of national accreditation covers the special purpose and non-traditional schools such as vocational schools. The career-related education requires standards that place appropriate weight on general knowledge and education. Some regionally accredited schools do not accept credits from career-related schools.
Did you know that your salary is not always just based on what level of degree you received, but it also could be based on what school you attended? Many employers actually have their own rankings and rating systems of schools. That is to say, if you received your degree from a college that was accredited by a low rated agency, your salary may actually be decreased by a certain percentage where a high-ranked, well-known, accredited school, can raise that mark significantly.
A tow-year graduate degree in clinical science is an investment into your future. The cost of tuition can vary widely depending on the academic excellence of the university and the specific field of study chosen. You can expect tuition for a doctoral degree in clinical science to cost anywhere from $15,000-$60,000 per year. The cost of tuition for online degrees is typically the same cost as on-campus. When talking about costs, it is important to factor in textbooks, technology, as well as room and board, as those costs are separate from tuition. These are average college tuition costs and does not include financial aid. It is important for each and every student to seek out financial aid options to help pay for their college tuition.
The cost of your education is worth every penny, because it is an investment in your future. You may feel that you are investing too much money in a degree but remember that it will all come back to you. Once you get the career that you've been aiming for, you will be to pay off your student loans and live a better life.
If you are going to spend a lot of time and energy to attain a doctoral clinical science degree, you will certainly want some job placement assistance as you near graduation. Discuss this with your admissions counselor when you are considering the right program. In fact, you might want to broaden that discussion by asking about how your school handles internships and if co-op programs are available. Experiential learning can help you not only gain the skills needed to land a job, but you can also cultivate a professional network that will help you build the career you deserve.
