Online Associate’s Degree Programs Available at Finlandia University
Finlandia University appears in our ranking of Best Tiny Colleges.
Finlandia University added online degree programs to its curriculum in 2017 as a way to help more students earn their degrees. Students can now choose from programs such as an Associate of General Studies (AGS), which the university designed for those who want to transfer. Instead of picking a specific major, students can take classes from multiple disciplines and finish the general education requirements that other schools have. This can both help them save money and also allow them to spend two years or less to finish a bachelor’s degree later.
Another option available online as an Associate of Applied Science (AAS) in Criminal Justice, which allows students to enroll in the university’s bachelor’s program in criminal justice. Students learn about the leading theories in criminal justice and related fields such as sociology and psychology. They can enter a law enforcement academy or work in government agencies when they graduate. Introduction to Criminal Justice is one of the first classes that students will take online. They can then take classes such as Policing, Topics in Criminal Justice, Victimology, Community Corrections, and Crime and Inequality. Finlandia University also encourages criminal justice majors to do an internship.
Also available is a physical therapy assisting program. This is the only program of its type in the Upper Peninsula and allows online students to do offline fieldwork as they take online courses. Majors will spend two semesters working on their general education courses and three semesters taking physical therapy classes. Students spend a minimum of 14 weeks doing fieldwork and can choose from rural and urban facilities as they complete their 560 required hours. Finlandia University also offers 2 + 2 options that help students earn an associate’s degree and then study health care management or sports management. They can also spend two years as a pre-med major at the university after finishing an associate’s degree.
About Finlandia University
Finlandia University is a private university and former seminary in Hancock, Michigan, which is part of the Upper Peninsula. Established in 1896 by an immigrant from Finland, it served as the Suomi College and Theologica Seminary for many years. The founder of the college was a pastor and missionary in the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He created the school as a way to serve the local community and the Finish immigrants who lived there. Students took classes to make sure that they understood English, but their other courses trained them to celebrate the Finnish way of life and work as pastors for the Lutheran Church. Affiliated with that Church, it is now also affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.
As Finlandia University, the university added more courses and programs outside of missionary work and pastor training. It now offers majors in education and business as well as programs in the health care industry. The Finnish American Heritage Center on-campus hosts special events for Finnish people in the community and allows students to volunteer for those events. Though the university is home to 10 athletic teams and dozens of organizations, it has an enrollment of fewer than 700 students.
Finlandia University Accreditation Details
Finlandia is one of many schools in Michigan with regional accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This accreditation allows online students to get the financial aid and help that they need when they finish and file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It also helps students transfer to a four-year program when they complete their associate’s studies. The physical therapy assisting program at Finlandia also has accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).
Finlandia University Application Requirements
As the university does not charge an application fee, students do not need to worry about applying for a fee waiver or figuring out how to pay to apply to Finlandia. The online application is so easy to complete that students can fill it out on their cell phones, though the university recommends that they use a computer or tablet. Most students will get a response in three business days. Students must submit a high school transcript and a college transcript if they have one. The university will make a final decision based on the grades shown on the transcript. Students who feel that a high score on one of the standardized tests will help their applications can submit their scores, but Finlandia does not require a test score. Those who completed a home school curriculum must submit an official test score though.
The university also asks students to apply for financial aid and put down an enrollment deposit. They can use a credit card or debit card to pay this deposit over the phone or online, but they can also send in a check or money order to cover the deposit through the mail. Most freshmen and sophomores must live on-campus and will need to apply for housing and then sign a contract and pay a housing deposit.
Tuition and Financial Aid
Thanks to the Finlandia Four, students can avoid tuition increases. This plan freezes tuition and allows students to pay the same rate during all four years of a bachelor’s program or the two years of an associate’s program. Students pay $779 per credit hour and can enroll full-time, part-time or quarter-time. They’ll also pay miscellaneous fees, but Finlandia will freeze these fees at a maximum of $360 per semester. Online students pay the same fees and tuition that traditional students do.
Finlandia has three scholarships for incoming students that give them $3,500 for their first years if they had a high school grade point average of 3.0 or higher. They can renew their scholarships if they maintain a college GPA of 2.75 or higher. The university has scholarships of $7,500 for incoming students with a GPA of 3.75 or higher too. Students can qualify for federal and state grants that they can combine with the Rise Together Scholarship to cover the total cost of attending Finlandia for two years. There is then a $10,000 scholarship that applies to the two years it takes to complete a bachelor’s degree. Students can qualify for government grants too once the university receives their FAFSA. Financial aid is available for students in all of the online associate’s degree programs offered by Finlandia University.
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