Graduate Programs

Craft your vision.

Our Art and Design graduate programs provide the critical encounters, diverse mentorship, and the resources and space you need to craft your vision and refine your art or design practice.

As a graduate student in our Kendall College of Art and Design, you will study, explore, and create at our urban campus in Grand Rapids, MI. You will be immersed in a city that was built on design and thrives as a worldwide hub of contemporary art and culture. In our studios, labs, workshops and classrooms you will work side by side with the pros to hone your skills, discover your creative process, and bring practice and theory together to shape your unique contribution to our world.

Art & Design Programs

• Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
• Master of Arts in Design (MA)
• Master of Fine Art - Painting (MFA)
• Master of Arts - Visual and Critical Studies (MA)

Graduate-Level Certificates

• Advanced Studies in Design and Innovation Management
• Certificate in Visual and Critical Studies

Fast track your career with a Ferris MBA

The fully online Ferris Master's of Business Administration is for those who are ready to take on leadership roles. This is where entrepreneurs, mavericks, disruptors, and innovators build the skills to execute their vision and take their industry by storm.

Learn from our expert faculty—business leaders with decades of industry experience—and build a network of powerful contacts. Develop the skills employers are willing to pay for and prepare to lead the way in your industry.

Program Features

• Fully Online — Earn your degree on your schedule
• Ranked in the top 100 online MBA programs nationwide
• High-impact scholarships — Ferris awarded more than $4.4 million in scholarships in 2017-18
• Industry seasoned and academically accomplished faculty
• Electives and areas of interest that provide attractive leadership and problem-solving skills

Specialize Your Degree With Certificates

• Advanced Studies in Accounting
• Advanced Studies in Business Intelligence
• Advanced Studies in Design and Innovation Management
• Advanced Studies in Incident Response
• Advanced Studies in Lean Systems and Leadership
• Advanced Studies in Performance Metrics
• Advanced Studies in Project Management
• Advanced Studies in Supply Chain Management and Lean Logistics

Make a difference.

Combining studies in criminal justice and public administration, the Ferris Master's of Science degree in Criminal Justice Administration is designed to position you as a leader in your community, where you can make a real difference. Work side by side with our expert faculty, who bring years of professional experience to the classroom, to explore the real-world issues you will encounter in the field.

For those already in the field, this is the perfect path toward promotion, law school, or doctoral studies. The nationally recognized reputation of Ferris as a leader in criminal justice will tell employers that you have all of the skills and hands-on experience they are looking for.

Program Features

• Ferris is a nationally recognized leader in the criminal justice field.
• We have highly experienced and dedicated faculty members.
• Earn your degree at our main campus or in Grand Rapids.
• Focus on the real-world issues you'll tackle in the field.

Shape the next generation.

At Ferris, we have always believed in the immense power of education. Our University's founder, Woodbridge N. Ferris, was an educator who took his passion for teaching all the way to the U.S. Senate. Our graduate degree programs in education continue that tradition, preparing educators to teach, inspire, and lead their students forward.

Graduate Degree Programs in Education

• Advanced Career and Technical Education Fundamentals
  — Certificate
• Advanced CTE Administration
  — Certificate
• Advanced Workforce Development
  — Certificate
• Advanced Studies in Total Quality Management in Education
  — Certificate
• Career and Technical Education
  — Master of Science
• Community College Leadership
  — Doctor of Education
• Curriculum and Instruction
  — Master of Education
• Educational Leadership
  — Master of Science
• Highly Effective CTE Instructional Leadership
  — Certificate
• Special Education Endorsement
  — Certificate

Because you care.

The leaders in the healthcare field have never been more important. From nursing to public health, our graduate degree programs in healthcare will prepare you to lead the way toward better patient outcomes and move healthcare forward.

Healthcare Programs

• Healthcare Administration
  — Master of Healthcare Administration
• Nursing
  — Master of Nursing
• Nursing Education
  — Certificate
• Nursing RN to MSN
  — Accelerated Track
• Nursing Practice
  — Doctor of Nursing Practice
• Optometry
  — Doctor of Optometry*
• Pharmacy
  — Doctor of Pharmacy*
• Public Health
  — Master of Public Health

*Pharmacy and Optometry programs require an application through PharmCAS or OptomCAS.

Now more than ever.

Social workers have the simple objective of helping to improve the lives of people. In practice, that's never a simple job. Our Master's of Social Work program will prepare you for clinical social work practice and to simply help improve lives.

You will learn from our expert faculty in small classes while completing field experience in a wide variety of settings, including schools, hospitals, behavioral health agencies, child welfare agencies and substance abuse agencies.

Program Features

• Dedicated, experienced faculty members
• Small, intimate class sizes
• Trauma-informed practice will prepare you for the latest clinical advances
• A wide-variety of field experiences

Education at the speed of tech.

Tech moves fast. Ferris moves faster. Our Master's of Science degree in Information Security and Intelligence will prepare you to lead the way in one of the world's fastest growing and most critical industries. Designated by the NSA and Department of Homeland Security as a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense, Ferris is the place to take your education and your career to the next level.

Build your skills in business intelligence, proactive and reactive incident response, and project management as you work side by side with our highly respected faculty members. 

Program Features

• Complete your degree fully online or in-seat.
• Specialize your degree with advanced certificates in project management, incident response, or business intelligence.
• Sharpen your skills in Michigan's most advanced digital forensic research lab.
• ISI faculty average more than 15 years of work experience in the field.
• Launch your career with assistance from one of our extensive industry partnerships.