Virginia University of Lynchburg Accreditation on Warning

[Jonathan Whatley]

In some disciplines especially in health and social care, it's common for a master's degree to far exceed 45 semester hours.

A Master of Occupational Therapy or Master of Divinity can be 90 or more semester hours. The national baseline for licensure-track master's in social work, clinical mental health counseling, and marriage and family therapy is now at least 60 semester hours. MSN semester hours are often in the 30s, but except special cases, each entrant will already have achieved the hefty BSN degree, licensing, and often a required period of professional practice.

Further, in many fields candidates who complete these supersized masters and go on to a professional doctorate in the same field or a close cognate field (e.g., MSW to DBH) will often have completed, and admission to the doctorate will sometimes require, significant further professional training milestones, such as the discipline's licensing exam and supervised practice.

It's one thing for a professional doctorate to be thinner-sized if most or all candidates have a master's that's supersized or a combination of master's and professional training that's supersized.

The VUL DHA departs from this pattern by offering a 12-month doctorate to candidates with any master's, which is typically going to be 30 to 39 semester hours.

I respect the school and its students and graduates.