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News — SALISBURY, MD---In 1962, Salisbury University launched its first graduate program, the Master of Education.

Since then, SU’s graduate offerings have grown to include 14 master’s and two doctoral programs. More than half a century since that first program was approved, they now have a new home with the establishment of the Graduate School at SU.

“The creation of the Graduate School at SU aims to not only enhance our initiatives in expanding graduate enrollment, but to also elevate our rankings and reinforce our institutional identity,” said SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre. “Reinforcing our commitment to graduate education through the creation of a formalized graduate school will open doors to new opportunities for progress and provide our graduate students with a heightened sense of pride and belonging within the SU community.”

“The Graduate School at SU represents not only a new era for the University, but new opportunities for our current and future master’s and doctoral students,” said Dr. Laurie Couch, SU provost and senior vice president of academic affairs. “This is an exciting moment as we work to transform graduate education at Salisbury.”

“This new school is built on the hard work and research of our faculty, our students and our alumni who have risen to the challenge of completing an advanced degree — something fewer than 15% of Americans have done,” said Dr. Clifton Griffin, founding dean of the Graduate School at SU. “We look forward to doing our part to increase that number in the future.”

In addition to overseeing SU’s graduate programs, the new school will be located within the same administrative unit as the University’s Office of Sponsored Programs, as well as the Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity (OURCA).

“Support for faculty research and graduate education go hand-in-hand,” said Griffin. “Additionally, today’s undergraduates are tomorrow’s graduate students. The more we support undergraduate student research now, the better prepared they will be to continue their education. Having these three unites together provides great synergy and opportunities for continued growth.”

SU’s graduate programs have received high praise from publications like U.S. Â鶹´«Ã½ & World Report, which consistently has named SU’s online M.B.A. and graduate nursing programs among the nation’s best.

Additional master’s programs at SU include an M.S. in applied biology, history, health and human performance, GIS management, mathematics education and social work, as well as an M.A. in conflict analysis and dispute resolution, and teaching. A new master’s program in public communication is pending approval.

Doctoral programs at SU include the Doctor of Nursing Practice and an online Ed.D. - literacy studies: literacy.

The University also offers post-baccalaureate certificates in health care management and teaching English as a second language (TESOL), post-master certificates in advanced study in education leadership and advanced study in educational leadership, and a post-doctorate certificate of completion for family nurse practitioner.

The Graduate School joins SU’s six other dedicated schools and colleges: the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts, Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology, Franklin P. Perdue School of Business, Samuel W. and Marilyn C. Seidel School of Education, College of Health and Human Services, and Glenda Chatham and Robert G. Clarke Honors College.

For more information about SU’s graduate programs, visit .

Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at .