The College of St. Scholastica announced it is offering three new graduate programs.

St. Scholastica’s Online Healthcare MBA is designed for healthcare professionals at all levels who serve rural communities, and recognize the need to manage the emerging changes in the health care system, the college said in a news release. It provides skills in leadership, finance, marketing, human resources, managing change, information technology and other key areas.

Courses focus on practical skills and cases that can be transferred back to facilities, staff and patients. The approach emphasizes teamwork, critical thinking and communication, networking, and personal interactions with experienced faculty who are leaders in their professions. The faculty and staff provide national thought leadership, consulting services, education and technology solutions designed to prepare future healthcare professionals and advance healthcare practices for the growing demands of the nation's rapidly changing healthcare industry.

The program employs an advanced online learning environment. The interdisciplinary approach combines the strengths of the College’s School of Business and Technology and the School of Health Sciences. Students can complete the program in less than two and a half years. The first cohort starts Sept. 3.

St. Scholastica’s new advanced practice Master of Social Work degree offers two tracks – one for students with a bachelor’s degree in social work and one for students with a bachelor’s degree in another program.

The curriculum emphasizes direct practice skills, including assessment and diagnosis, evidence-based intervention and treatment, group dynamics, and how social policy and social justice issues affect the practice of social work.

Classes meet once a week with additional coursework completed online.

A regular standing track, for students with bachelor's degrees from fields other than social work, lasts two years. It includes one year of foundational course work built around core professional competencies followed by a second year in an advanced concentration. The first cohort begins this fall.

An advanced standing track, for students with a bachelor's degree in social work, lasts one year. It includes an advanced concentration, focusing a student's studies on a particular area of interest within the field. The first cohort begins in summer 2014.

St. Scholastica’s M.S. in Project Management is an accelerated online program that offers a deeper, richer curriculum than project management certificates available.

A project manager is responsible for initiating, planning, and guiding a project from start to finish. Projects include a defined goal, are temporary in nature and result in change to the organization. Project managers lead cross-disciplinary teams and coordinate activities across business units, making sure all areas of a project are functioning well.

The program provides the organizational, technical, and leadership skills necessary to bring large projects to completion.

The first cohort starts this summer. Students can complete the program in as little as two years.

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