Multiple Pathways to Degree Completion

Whether students start in CPS with dozens of credits, or they have just a few college courses on their transcript, the college specializes in putting them on a path to completing a bachelor’s degree. It’s not one size fits all—each student follows an individualized course of study that considers their academic history, current career path, personal and professional goals, and life circumstances. 

CPS offers five undergraduate degree options, with the signature offering being a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) with seven possible majors:

• Entrepreneurship
• General Studies
• Human Resource Management
• Leadership
• Information Systems and Technology
• Organizational Development and Management
• Public Service and Administration

Within each program, there are options for additional certificates, as well as accelerated paths to master’s degrees. 

The key is flexibility. Students can opt to learn on campus, online, or a combination of the two, taking one course at a time or choosing a more accelerated timeline. Within all of the options, there is an emphasis on building community with their fellow students, sharing the experience and learning from and with each other.

Members of Villanova’s world-class faculty teach across CPS, as do more than 150 adjunct professors, experts working at the top of their fields. All lend their scholarly expertise and professional experiences to be unparalleled resources for students. For example, students who hope to advance their careers in Human Resource Management learn from professors who have decades of experience in HR in settings ranging from small, privately owned businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Entrepreneurship faculty members have studied best practices in innovation, and have also built their own successful businesses from the ground up.

Students in CPS take courses just like the traditional undergraduate students—Theology, Ethics and the Augustine and Culture Seminar, to name a few—and they also have the opportunity to customize their degrees to align with their professional interests.

“Our students are not taking an easy path in coming to Villanova. They balance demanding classes with professional and personal commitments,” says Dean Palus. “It’s not for the faint of heart—but they’re in a place at Villanova that understands the adult’s experience and has an exceptional staff of professionals who can support students at every step.” 

The Rev. David Cregan, OSA, PhD, ’89 CLAS, associate dean of Academic Affairs and Strategic Initiatives for CPS, has worked to enrich the college’s degree programs to align with the needs of adult learners who come to Villanova because they want an education with substance and meaning. In recent years, a research seminar has been added to give students the opportunity to pursue scholarly projects, and most degree programs have a culminating capstone experience where students apply what they learned to a scenario similar to one that they would encounter in the field.

CPS students also have the opportunity to participate in diverse learning experiences like internships, study abroad opportunities, such as the European Innovation Academy in Portugal, and Villanova on the Hill—a weeklong immersion experience that introduces students to politics and policymaking in Washington, D.C.

“We want our students to be prepared for success in their careers and also in their lives. We want them to gain a larger perspective and a sense of obligation to return one’s education to the world by making it a better place,” says Father Cregan. “We believe that mission is fundamental to creating the conditions that will allow our students to accomplish their dreams.”

The Personal Touch 

For students who are already juggling family and work obligations, keeping track of credits and requirements can become a distant third priority, so robust academic advising is essential. Susan Leighton ’16 CPS, ’22 MBA, assistant dean for Academic Programs, remembers herself what it was like to be a busy CPS student, balancing her full-time job with her course load. When she started working at CPS in 2017, Leighton set out to create more pathways for students to receive personalized support. 

After reviewing education industry best practices and conducting research internally at Villanova, Leighton helped to establish an academic advising center with a proactive model. “We see academic advising as a partnership between the student and the adviser,” Leighton says. “Our advisers are deeply caring and phenomenal at what they do.”

Today, each student in a CPS degree program is paired with an adviser who helps to chart a course that is just right for that individual. Erica Howard ’21 CPS recalls, “Throughout my journey, I felt like everybody at CPS was invested in me. They wanted me to succeed. No matter who I reached out to, whether it was an adviser, faculty, or an administrator, they supported me in what I was trying to achieve.”

As she’s witnessed more and more CPS students graduating over the past several years, Dean Palus is gratified to see the combination of intellect, ambition and persistence that brings them to that long-awaited moment. Many are going on to master’s degree programs, to run their own businesses and nonprofits, to leap forward in their careers, to follow their dreams. All have made their communities—at home, at work and on campus—enormously proud.

“Our students are studying with the same goal as the traditional students. You see that when they walk across the stage at Commencement and receive their Villanova degree and are just as proud as all of the 22-year-olds who are there,” Dean Palus says. “These students have worked so incredibly hard. This University is theirs and it is their home.” ■