Program Curriculum

• Do the course descriptions sound interesting?
• What specializations are available?
• Does the curriculum directly support your career goals?
• Does the program focus on theory and research, or does it emphasize application of knowledge and skills?
• If practicums are required, is there a good variety of practicum sites?

Faculty

• What is the faculty to student ratio?
• Do they hold degrees from leading institutions?
• What type of special recognition have they earned (e.g., awards, grants, etc.)?
• What have they published?
• Do the top scholars teach, or are they primarily involved in research?
• Is there diversity in both cultural backgrounds and research interests?

Program Reputation

• Is the program accredited? Accreditation is particularly important in fields that require licensure. For instance, it is easier to get approval to take the licensure exam for psychologists if you have graduated from a fully- accredited program.
• Is the program well-established or relatively new?
• Is the program nationally ranked in terms of excellence?

Cost

• What are the tuition and fees?
• What types of financial aid are available?
• What are the state requirements for becoming a resident (i.e. how soon can you become a resident to avoid paying tuition for out of state residents)?

Campus Facilities

• What is the quality of the library, recreation center, and other areas designed for studying or student interaction?
• Are there an adequate number of computer labs?
• How comfortable are the classrooms?

Career Services

• What type of employment assistance does the program or university as a whole provide?
• Are these services only available to current students or are alumni eligible as well?
• With which companies or organizations do graduates tend to find employment?

Geographic Location

• Taking into account the weather and social/political climate, can you picture yourself living there for a minimum of two years?
• What are employment opportunities in the area?
• Is there a public transportation system?

Using The Above Criteria

The above criteria are provided to give you a starting point - what other questions do you need to ask to determine how well the program fits your needs? Once your list of questions is developed, you will want to use multiple sources of information as part of you investigation (e.g., reading published material, interviewing students enrolled in the program and its graduates). Be sure to check with Wittenberg faculty as part of the evaluation process: they might have faculty contacts at the schools you are considering.