Graduate Catalog

University Overview

Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World through study in the sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, a second language, and the arts. Focused by engagement with big questions, both contemporary and enduring, and animated by the diverse elements of the Catholic intellectual tradition.
  2. Intellectual and Practical Skills, including:
    • Inquiry and analysis
    • Critical and creative thinking
    • Written, oral, and visual communication
    • Quantitative literacy
    • Aesthetic literacy
    • Information literacy
    • Teamwork and problem solving

    Practiced extensively, across the curriculum, in the context of progressively more challenging problems, projects, and standards for performance.

  3. Personal and Social Responsibility, including:
    • Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global
    • Intercultural and interfaith knowledge and competence for global citizenship
    • Ethical reasoning and spiritual values that recognize social inequity and that seek justice and the common good
    • Foundations and skills for lifelong learning and service

    Anchored in both in-class learning and active involvement with diverse communities and real-world challenges.

  4. Integrative and Applied Learning, including:
    • Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies.

    Demonstrated through the application of knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to new settings and complex problems.

Faculty

Marywood University has developed a three-fold faculty system to bring teaching and instruction to the highest level possible, involving faculty, community professional practitioners in the applied disciplines, and field site/practicum supervisors.

Each of the three groups works in concert to deliver the curricula. This approach integrates and balances practice and theory in the professions, keeps the curriculum current to practice, and is reflective of the creative ideas generated in the various disciplines.

The majority of Marywood’s faculty who teach graduate courses are experienced teachers and scholars. Their experience and the University’s long history in adult professional and aesthetic education are factors which have led, over the years, to an open and engaging faculty-student relationship. At Marywood, the quality of faculty-student relationships, both within and outside the classroom, has become the standard by which educational excellence is measured.

Role and Practice of Scholarship

Scholarship at Marywood supports and builds upon our teaching and service activities. Faculty scholarship is closely linked to teaching and is integrated into coursework on an ongoing basis. Graduate programs, because of their curricular focus on the human services and the professions, stress the concrete application of theoretical and empirical findings to local, regional, national, and international needs. Faculty work with students to improve their research skills; a scholarly orientation within the professional degree programs is our hallmark. Joint publishing of student-faculty is an aspiration of programs in all Colleges. The role of scholarship continues to grow at Marywood with the development of annual opportunities for faculty and students to present their research findings both on campus via the Graduate Research Forum and off campus at professional meetings.

Governance

Each of the Colleges are led by a dean, aided by the faculty, and provide specific structures and opportunities for student and community input. The standards and policies of graduate education evolve from the values of open discussion, self-criticism, and critical thinking. The process of information gathering, judgment, and decision-making occurs through various committees and organizations, including: the Policy and Operations Committees, the Graduate Curriculum Committee, various department-based advisory groups, and the Graduate Student Council.

Enrollment

Marywood University has an enrollment of 2,800 students; enrollment at the graduate level is approximately 900 students. Graduate students, both full-time and part-time, represent a diversity of backgrounds. Actively working to increase the diversity of the student body in Marywood’s graduate programs is a high priority. Marywood’s size permits a closeness in faculty-student relationships, which is uncommon in larger research-oriented graduate schools.

Location and Campus

Marywood University is located on a scenic property of 115 acres in an attractive residential area of the city of Scranton in northeastern Pennsylvania. With a population of 75,000, Scranton is the sixth-largest city in Pennsylvania and is the county seat of Lackawanna County. Marywood provides access and self-sufficiency to its students, with the advantage of being close to major cities of the northeast.

Scranton is within driving distance of the following cities:

2½ hours to New York City

2½ hours to Philadelphia

4 hours to Washington, D.C.

5 hours to Pittsburgh

5½ hours to Boston

Several airlines serve the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport, which is 20 minutes from campus. The city of Scranton is located in the Pocono Mountains region, an area renowned for the beauty of its lakes and forests, as well as the access it offers for all kinds of winter and summer sports and other outdoor activities.

The region is home to two minor league sports teams, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Rail Riders (minor league baseball team of the New York Yankees) and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins (minor league hockey team of the Pittsburgh Penguins). Scranton provides an array of cultural opportunities–concerts, theatre, ballet, lectures, and art shows. It celebrates its distinguished history as a labor center in museums and Steamtown National Park.

At Marywood University, students enjoy a beautiful campus with a blend of classic academic architecture, modern facilities, and an array of athletic fields and space.

Marywood’s Liberal Arts Center features the iconic Rotunda, classrooms, the University Admissions Office, and a variety of administrative offices. The Shields Center for Visual Arts, with its two outstanding galleries, the Suraci and the Contemporary, provides exhibits throughout the year. Marywood’s strong heritage in the performing arts continues at the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts, which features a rich repertoire of music, theatre, and dance events. The Center for Architectural Studies is a spectacular and spacious adaptation of Marywood’s former gymnasium and a state-of-the-art example of sustainable design, featuring a two-story commons that is an ideal place for group discussions, debates, displays, and project critiques. The Center for Natural and Health Sciences houses science laboratories, computer labs, the 100-seat Comerford Theatre, and classrooms.

The William G. McGowan Center for Graduate and Professional Studies, the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts, and the O’Neill Center for Healthy Families provide dynamic, professional learning environments, clinics, labs, studios, and equipment. The Center for Athletics and Wellness supports both athletic and academic programs. The building includes a 5,000 square foot fitness center, a 1,500-seat arena, an indoor jogging track, dance and aerobics studio, locker rooms, athletic training room, hydrotherapy room, student lounge, and a climbing wall. Open-air tennis courts are nearby. The Aquatics Center is an extension of the Center for Athletics and Wellness and includes an eight-lane pool, team locker rooms, and spectator seating for 190.

The bookstore, main dining hall, and campus safety office, along with meeting, lounge, and recreation spaces, are housed in Nazareth Student Center. The Swartz Center for Spiritual Life is home to the beautiful Marian Chapel, where Masses are held regularly. With its Peragallo pipe organ and 7-foot Steinway grand piano, the Marian Chapel also offers the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department an intimate 180-seat performing space. Additionally, the Swartz Center has a Conference Center that offers multiple rooms for meetings and events.

Marywood’s newest facility, the Learning Commons, is a flexible and open physical space, which serves as the intellectual and social heart of campus. In addition to housing Library Services, this facility also serves as the home of the Center for Communication Arts, Entrepreneur Launch Pad, and the Center for Transformational Teaching and Learning. Surrounded by the Learning Commons, the Center for Architectural Studies and the Insalaco Center for Studio Arts, the Calabro Delfino Amphitheatre, with its natural tiered lawn, is the ideal open-air setting for academics, staged art, outdoor exhibitions, and recreation. The beautiful Motherhouse and Seminary Morgan Memorial Garden, situated in front of the Learning Commons, celebrates the history of Marywood and the IHM Congregation.