Admission Policies

The standards of admission to Columbia College graduate programs require evidence of personal integrity and responsibility, academic preparation and leadership potential. Each graduate program has multiple admission categories. Criteria for admission apply to all categories of any graduate program at Columbia College unless otherwise specified.

In general, the admission requirement for full admission to Columbia College graduate programs is a cumulative undergraduate grade point average of 3.0, either for students’ entire academic career or for their final 60 semester hours if there have been significant gaps of time between the start and the completion of their bachelor’s degree, or a departmentally approved GMAT or GRE score.  Students with a cumulative GPA lower than 3.0 may be eligible for conditional admission, as described in the individual program sections.

Graduate applicants are expected to present undergraduate coursework achievement commensurate with graduate program requirements. It is required that applicants have completed a sound undergraduate degree program from a regionally accredited institution(s). Applicants may apply for full program admission during their final semester, session or quarter of undergraduate academic study. Each applicant’s record is carefully examined to determine if the student has potential for successful completion of a master’s degree program at Columbia College. 

Students entering graduate school at Columbia College are expected to possess computer skills equivalent to those obtained from a basic computer applications course, such as CISS 170 Introduction to Computer Information Systems. This includes competency with word processing, spreadsheets, and computer presentation software.

Graduate programs and individual graduate level courses may be offered at some Columbia College Global Campuses. Students interested in taking graduate courses at nationwide campuses should contact the respective location for information. For a map of nationwide locations go to www.ccis.edu/nationwide.

Although the financial aid process may be started during the application phase, a financial aid award is completed and applied after admission to a program. Non-degree students are not eligible for financial aid.

Admission Categories

All categories are not available in every program. Refer to the categories below for admission options for the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT), Master of Education (MED), Master of Business Administration (MBA), and Master of Science in Criminal Justice (MSCJ). 

Full Program Admission

Students applying for Full Program admission to any graduate program must complete all application steps for the program to which they are applying, outlined in Application Procedures . Students who meet the admission criteria and wish to pursue a graduate degree are classified as full program admits. Fully admitted graduate students may enroll for undergraduate or graduate courses for which they have met prerequisites. Additional degree-specific requirements for full admission are listed below:

• MED: Applicants must have a valid teaching certificate.

Conditional Admission

Applicants who do not meet admission requirements may be considered for conditional admission. (A cumulative grade point average calculation is done using a straight 4.0 grading system with no consideration of pluses and minuses in the calculation.) Grades, recommendations, goal statement, and resume will all be considered carefully. Applicants should submit all materials for full program admission, and explain in their goal statement any circumstances that support their candidacy for admission to the college’s graduate programs. Applicants may be approved for conditional admission at the discretion of the Dean of the program’s School. Additional degree-specific requirements for conditional admission are listed below:

• MAT: Conditional admission is based on appropriate professional work and teaching experience, potential for academic success at the graduate level, and/or strong recommendation from school administrators. Students who are granted conditional admission are limited to one course per session until a GPA of 3.0 has been maintained through six (6) hours of coursework. When this condition has been met, students will automatically be updated to full program status.
• MED: Conditional admission is based on appropriate professional work and teaching experience, potential for academic success at the graduate level, and/or strong recommendations from school administrators. Students who are granted conditional admission are limited to one course per session until a GPA of 3.0 has been maintained through six (6) hours of coursework. When this condition has been met, students will automatically be updated to full program status.
• MSCJ: Conditional admission is based on appropriate professional experience or other preparation. Students may enroll in a maximum of six (6) hours under the category and must earn a grade of B or higher in all courses. When this condition has been met, students will automatically be updated to full program status.
• MBA: Conditional admission is based on appropriate professional experience or other preparation. Students must earn a grade of B or higher in each of the first two graduate courses (6 hours) for which they are enrolled. When this condition has been met, students will automatically be updated to full program status. Students with a cumulative GPA of less than 3.0 from a regionally accredited institution may submit for consideration a GMAT score of 550 or higher.

Non-Degree Seeking

Students who hold a baccalaureate degree but do not wish to earn a graduate degree at Columbia College may enroll in graduate courses as non-degree seeking students. Non-degree seeking students with a bachelor’s degree may complete a maximum of twelve (12) semester hours of graduate-level coursework. There is no limit to the number of hours a non-degree seeking student can take if the student has an advanced degree. Non-degree students are not eligible for financial aid. For all programs, official transcripts from degree-granting institutions (undergraduate and, if applicable, graduate) and institutions where any of the required prerequisite coursework was completed are required. All other transcripts may be submitted as unofficial copies. In addition, the following program-specific requirements apply.

• MBA Non-Degree: Non-degree seeking students must submit a resume and a completed application for graduate admission, accompanied by a personal goal statement (300-500 words). Students must present a minimum 3.0 undergraduate cumulative grade point average.
• MED Non-Degree: Those applying as non-degree seeking students must submit a resume and a completed application for graduate admission, accompanied by a copy of current teaching certification.
• MAT Non-Degree: Those applying as non-degree seeking students must submit a resume and a completed application for graduate admission. 
• MSCJ Non-Degree: Non-degree seeking students must submit a resume and a completed application for graduate admission.

Post-Baccalaureate Admission

Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university but who have not completed necessary undergraduate prerequisites for the respective graduate program may be admitted as post-baccalaureate and enroll in undergraduate courses. Students applying for post-baccalaureate admission to any graduate program must complete all application steps for the program to which they are applying. Click here for Application Procedures . In addition to the application procedures, the following requirements must be met for post-baccalaureate students to become fully admitted students in their graduate programs:

• MBA Post-Baccalaureate: Students who have not completed the following concept courses in their baccalaureate degree and cannot show evidence of professional experience or other preparation, must complete the MBA prerequisites (or their equivalent). The following MBA prerequisite courses must be completed and students must receive a grade of B or higher in each undergraduate prerequisite course in order to be considered for full or conditional admission:

ACCT 280, ACCT 281, and FINC 350 must be taken sequentially.

• MBA Accounting Emphasis Post-Baccalaureate: In addition to the five general MBA prerequisites, admission to the Accounting emphasis requires the following undergraduate prerequisites with grades of B or higher.

• MSCJ Post-Baccalaureate: The MSCJ prerequisite courses include CJAD 101 and CJAD 415. Students must earn a grade of B or higher in each undergraduate prerequisite course in order to be considered for full or conditional admission.
• MED Post-Baccalaureate: Students must earn a grade of B or higher in EDUC 390 in order to be considered for full or conditional admission to the MED program.
• MAT: Post-Baccalaureate Program (MAT.PB) and Master of Teaching Alternative Certification (MAT.AC) are programs for students who have completed a bachelor’s degree and are interested in receiving their Missouri teacher certification. This option is not available at all campus locations.

For MAT and MED only:  The consequences for earning grades of C or lower in post-baccalaureate undergraduate courses are the same as those listed for graduate courses (see Grading and Academic Standing ).

Students admitted under the statuses of conditional and post-baccalaureate must complete the requirements of the statuses in order to be fully admitted to their graduate program. Once a student’s conditional or post-baccalaureate requirements have been successfully completed, the student’s record will automatically be updated to reflect full admission at the beginning of the next academic semester (i.e. Fall, Spring or Summer). The student will be notified of this change, and will then be eligible for graduate course enrollment.

DAYSTAR students should apply for Post-Baccalaureate admission during their last semester as an undergraduate student.

Pre-Graduate

Students who have earned over ninety (90) undergraduate semester hours toward the baccalaureate degree at a regionally-accredited college or university who wish to start their graduate studies early may apply for admission in the Pre-Graduate category. Pre-Graduate students may complete a maximum of nine (9) graduate hours without full program acceptance. After completion of the baccalaureate degree and up to nine (9) graduate semester hours, Pre-Graduate students must submit complete application materials to be considered for full program admission. Pre-Graduate students are subject to the same academic regulations and requirements as all degree-seeking students.  MAT and MSCJ Pre-Graduate students may enroll in designated courses only. MSCJ Pre-Graduate status is limited to main campus students only.

• MAT: Students in the BEACON and DAYSTAR programs who have earned 90 hours of credit or more, and who will finish their bachelor’s degrees through these programs at Columbia College, may apply for Pre-Graduate status. Applicants must meet all other qualifications for the Teacher Certification Program, including cumulative GPA of 3.0, passing scores on all sections of the MoGEA exam, and a passing score on the appropriate PRAXIS II exam. Applicants for Pre-Graduate status must submit a completed and signed application for graduate admission, and transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Those accepted as Pre-Graduate students may take up to nine (9) semester hours of graduate coursework toward certification. In order to complete EDUC 698  Graduate Student Teaching (MAT Only), students admitted with Pre-Graduate status must complete their bachelor’s degrees and submit a revised application form in order to be considered for Post-Baccalaureate admission to the MAT Program. Graduate coursework taken toward certification requirements does not fulfill Education Certification Minor requirements for students in the BEACON program.
• MSCJ: Students applying for Pre-Graduate status must submit a completed and signed application for graduate admission accompanied by transcripts from all colleges and universities attended. Applicants must have earned more than 90 undergraduate semester hours toward the baccalaureate degree at a regionally accredited college or university and have an overall GPA of 3.0. Eligible degree programs are those closely related to the criminal justice area at regionally accredited colleges or universities. Those accepted as Pre-Graduate status students may take up to nine (9) semester hours of graduate coursework in the MSCJ program while observing all existing MSCJ program requirements. After completion of the baccalaureate degree and up to nine (9) graduate semester hours, Pre-Graduate students must submit complete application materials to be considered for full admission to the MSCJ program.

Alternative Certification

Students who hold a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university with a major in Art, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Language Arts (English), Social Studies or Mathematics may pursue teacher certification (at the Secondary level only under Alternative Certification) if all criteria are met.

• MAT Alternative Certification: Students applying as Alternative Certification must complete the admission requirements under Application Procedures . See “Other MAT Programs ” for MAT Alternative Certification applicant qualifications.