Degree Requirements

Alverno College offers undergraduate and graduate degrees. Undergraduate degrees are offered in traditional weekday classes, as well as nontraditional timeframes for students looking for more flexibility in their studies. 

Alverno does offer options for an Associate's Degree. For students who already have an Associate's Degree, Alverno offers degree completion programs for those Registered Nurses who wish to completed their BSN and paraprofessionals who are seeking teacher licensure. 

Baccalaureate Degree

The Alverno baccalaureate degree is awarded when a student has completed a program of learning that integrates their accomplishment in required areas of knowledge with their achievement of required levels of competence in all of the following eight areas:

  • Communication
  • Analysis
  • Problem solving
  • Valuing in decision making
  • Social interaction
  • Developing a global perspective
  • Effective citizenship
  • Aesthetic engagement

The degree is based on units gained by demonstrating ability, at general and specialized levels. For graduation from a baccalaureate program, each student is required to achieve a total of 40 units.

This includes 32 general units, four in each of the above eight areas. It also includes eight specialized or advanced units selected from the above eight areas to integrate with the student’s major area of study.

The Weekday College student has several options available to them for completing the baccalaureate degree. The major defines which set of General Education Requirements a student follows, as well as if they require a minor to compete the baccalaureate degree.

A student with a double major earns a single bachelor’s degree (bachelor of arts degree or bachelor of science degree). Contact the Registrar’s Office for appropriate degree awarded.

Materials that describe degree requirements in more detail are available from the academic departments and the Advising Office.

Associate of Arts Degree

The associate of arts degree in liberal studies requires a student to achieve the ability units offered in their two years of study. 

The other two associate of arts degrees — early childhood paraprofessional and paraprofessional — have been designed to enable a student to develop the specialized abilities required in those areas as well. Specific course and competence degree requirements are described in supplementary materials.

Adult Evening & Online remove

Alverno’s Adult Evening & Online program is designed to help you earn a college degree in a marketable field while working full-time, tending to family needs, or pursuing other interests. Whether you choose to major in business, communication studies, or interdisciplinary studies, you get the best of our world-renowned ability-based curriculum, our outstanding faculty, and our extensive student support services, including academic assistance, professional advisors, financial aid advisors, career research librarians, counseling services, career support, and technical support.

For more information about Alverno’s Adult Evening & Online program, visit the Alverno website at alverno.edu, call 414-382-6100 or 800-933-3401, or email admissions@alverno.edu.

Degree Completion Programs

Alverno’s Degree Completion programs offer flexibility for working adults while providing the same high-quality education for which Alverno College is renowned. Classes integrate the best of online learning with critical in-classroom instruction, to bring you hybrid programs that make earning your bachelor’s degree more achievable and realistic than ever before. Students have the opportunity to expand two-year degrees into bachelor’s degrees (Associate to Bachelor’s in Business; Associate to Bachelor’s in Health Care Management; RN to BSN). Coursework can be completed in 18 months. 

For more information about Alverno’s Degree Completion programs, visit the Alverno website at alverno.edu/advantage, call 414-382-6100 or 800-933-3401, or email admissions@alverno.edu.

Graduate Programs

Alverno also offers the following graduate degrees:

  • Master of Arts in Education that focuses on teaching, learning, and assessment
  • Master of Business Administration
  • Master of Science in Community Psychology
  • Master of Science in Nursing
  • Master of Arts in Music Therapy
  • Master of Arts/Music & Liturgy
  • Master of Science in Educational Psychology
  • Doctorate of Nursing Practice Doctor of Nursing Practice
  • Doctorate in Education Leadership Doctor of Education

Graduation

Students who complete their degree requirements in the spring semester attend graduation in May. Students who complete their degree requirements during the summer or fall terms attend graduation in December.

Those students who excel in their academic achievements and in service to their communities and who, according to the judgment of the Honors Committee, have met the criteria for honors, receive a personal citation and graduate “with honors.”

For more information, visit the Alverno College website at alverno.edu.