Master's Degrees
Completion of a planned program of study, including a minimum of 30 semester hours of course work, is required for a master's degree. At least 24 hours of graduate credit must have been completed at Spalding.

Master's degree programs that require more than 30 credit hours and/or have additional requirements include the following:

Master of Arts in Psychology: 60 hours are required for this degree and 48 hours must be completed at Spalding. The School of Professional Psychology requires master's students to take and pass a comprehensive exam.

Master of Fine Arts in Writing: at least 62 hours are required for this degree (traditional track) or 50 hours (accelerated track). A minimum of 50 hours must be completed at Spalding for any track. Students in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing program are required to submit a creative thesis, give a 20-minute reading from the thesis, and deliver a 30-minute Graduation Lecture. 

Master of Arts in Writing: Students are required to submit a satisfactory final writing project with presentation.

Master of Arts in Education: Students are required to submit satisfactory final assessment projects.

Master of Arts in Teaching: Students are required to satisfactorialy complete a clinical experience and portfolio requirements to exit the program.

Doctoral Degrees
Completion of a planned program of study, including a minimum of 30 credit hours of course work behond the master's level, is required for a doctoral degree. At least 20 hours of graduate credit hours must have been completed at Spalding. 

Doctoral degree programs that require more than 30 credit hours and/or have additional requirements include the following: 

Doctor of Education in Leadership: 60 credit hours beyond the master’s level are required, all of which must be earned by taking the 10 six-credit-hour courses in Spalding’s Ed. D.: Leadership Program. Spalding’s Ed. D. program does not accept transfer credits. The Doctorate of Education program requires students to pass a comprehensive examination and provide the culminating assessments.

Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: A minimum of 60 credit hours beyond the master's level is required. No more than 30 credits from an accredited graduate program can be transferred in as doctoral level courses. All remaining doctoral credits must be completed at Spalding. For more information on how many hours a graduate student may transfer in, please refer to the Transfer Credit section. The School of Professional Psychology requires Master's students and PsyD students in their second year (i.e. earning their MA on the way to the PsyD degree) to take and pass a Comprehensive exam. Doctoral students must take and pass a Qualifying Exam prior to the last year of study and must complete and pass a dissertation, and pass an 1800 pre-doctoral internship. 

Doctor of Occupational Therapy: All courses must be completed at Spalding.

Doctor of Physical Therapy (Entry-Level): The School of Physical Therapy requires a minimum of 110 credit hours of DPT course work at the 700 level and beyond, all of which must be completed at Spalding. 

Doctor of Physical Therapy (Post-Professional): This degree requires 30 credit hours, 20 of which must be completed at Spalding. 

Doctor of Social Work (for students admitted after 2024): This degree requires 50 credit hours.

For more information about the specific expectations of each graduate program refer to the individual program descriptions.