While Meredith College’s first graduating class included master’s degree candidates, the College’s modern-day master’s degree offerings were first introduced in 1983, making this academic year the 40th anniversary of the graduate program.

As we celebrate this milestone, Meredith Magazine is highlighting 40 facts about our post-baccalaureate offerings – one for each year!

In 1983, Meredith College offered master’s degrees in business, education, and music. (The Paralegal Program, a certificate approved in 1979, predates these and is the longest continuously offered post-baccalaureate program at Meredith.)

Today, all of Meredith’s four schools (Arts & Humanities, Business, Education, Health & Human Sciences, and Natural & Mathematical Sciences) have offerings at the post-baccalaureate level.

Meredith’s current master’s degree programs are Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Nutrition, Graduate Education (Master of Education and Master of Arts in Teaching), Master of Arts in Psychology: Industrial-Organizational Concentration, and Master of Arts in Criminal Justice.

In addition to master’s programs, Meredith offers seven certificate programs: Business Foundations, Criminal Justice, Criminal Justice and Substance Use Disorders, Dietetic Internship, Digital Media, Paralegal, and Pre-Health.

All graduate and post-baccalaureate certificate programs are co-educational.

In 2002, the first men to earn graduate degrees at Meredith completed the MBA Program and participated in commencement ceremonies.

Several of Meredith’s graduate programs have accelerated options through which undergraduates can complete a baccalaureate program and a master’s degree in just five years.

BUSINESS

Meredith is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) – an honor held by less than 6% of business programs worldwide.

The average class size in the MBA program is 18.

Average time to complete the MBA’s 33 credit hours is two years.

MBA students can pursue a general MBA or pursue concentrations including Human Resource Management, Innovative Management, and Project Management.

Among the places Meredith MBA graduates have been hired are Coca-Cola, Burt’s Bees, AT&T, Bank of America, Biogen, LabCorp, Red Hat, WakeMed, and Wells Fargo.

Criminal Justice

Established in 2020, the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice has seen two cohorts complete the degree program.

The M.A. in Criminal Justice was Meredith’s first fully online graduate program.

Program Director Bianca Harris brought more than 20 years of experience in the criminal justice field to her role at Meredith. Other faculty in the program are also practitioners.

It takes 18 months to two years to complete Meredith’s M.A. in Criminal Justice, which is a 36-credit hour program. The M.A. in Criminal Justice with a Behavioral Forensics Concentration is a 45-hour program.

Criminal justice administration is an evolving field with a positive employment outlook. Graduates of Meredith’s program are prepared to manage critical emerging issues, including substance abuse, mental illness, and trauma.

Education

Meredith offers two different graduate programs in education: a Master of Education and a Master of Arts in Teaching. Licensure options are also available.

Our graduate programs in education build on Meredith’s long history of strength in teacher education. The College has strong partnerships with more than 20 public schools in the area, giving students hands-on and culminating experiences.

Alumnae/i of Meredith’s graduate programs in education have a strong job placement rate. Currently, 98% of M.Ed. graduates are employed as teachers.

100% of M.A.T. graduates seeking teaching positions are employed.

An annual teaching symposium is held in honor of Wetonah “Toni” Rice Parker, who was a member of Meredith’s Department of Education for 25 years and a classroom teacher in public schools for 14 years.

Nutrition

Meredith offers three M.S. in Nutrition options for students – the Accelerated Community Track, the Didactic Program in Dietetics Track, and the Accelerated Dietitian Nutritionist Track, as well as Dietetic Internships to prepare students for the Registered Dietitian exam.

For seven years in a row, graduates of Meredith’s Master of Science in Nutrition program have had a 100% dietetic internship match rate. Meredith’s match rate well exceeds the national match rate, which has ranged from 62% to 74% over the past five years.

Meredith’s facilities are among the region’s best, with a state-of-the-art food lab, a high-fidelity patient simulator, and an on-site organic garden.

Nutrition students also benefit from Meredith’s strong community partnerships with top corporations, medical centers, local human services agencies, and school systems.

The Nutrition Graduate Student Association frequently partners with Rise Against Hunger (formerly known as Stop Hunger Now) to hold campus meal packaging events.

Psychology

Now in its fifth year, Meredith has the only I-O psychology master’s degree offered in Raleigh.

Students complete a full-time internship during their last semester, giving them real-world experience in the field upon graduation.

There are nearly 60 I-O psychology program graduates, who now work in impactful positions in talent acquisition, organizational development, leadership effectiveness, training, and diversity, equity and inclusion.

97% of I-O psychology alumnae/i secure I-O related jobs within six months of graduation.

Graduates of the I-O psychology program are employed at top companies including
Amazon, Cisco, WakeMed, Lowes, Curi, IQVIA, PPD, Butterball, and more.

Certificate Programs

The Pre-Health certificate program has a health professional schools acceptance
rate of over 90%.

Meredith’s dietetic intern program has a 94% pass rate on the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) Credentialing Exam for dietitian nutritionists on the traditional and site preceptor pathways.

Students in the Digital Media program take classes in Meredith’s new Communication and Health, Exercise and Sport Sciences building. And they benefit from our location in a top 25 media market.

The Paralegal Program is American Bar Association (ABA) approved, the only one in the Triangle with this distinction.

88% of Paralegal Program graduates have jobs within three months of certificate completion.