University Of Phoenix
 Program CatalogTuition | Starting Dates Admissions & Application |
Highlights
- Largest private university system in North America with over 400,000 undergraduate and graduate students
- Over 200 onsite locations worldwide and online university
- Students are working adults and most receive financial aid
- Named one of the country's top 20 colleges favorable to military personnel (source: Military Advanced Education
- University-wide accreditation by The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association; individual programs have programmatic accreditations
About the School
The University of Phoenix (UOP) was founded in 1976 with the mission of giving working adults access to higher education opportunities. The university is structured to enable students to earn degrees while continuing to be employed full-time. The school offers over 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in business, technology, health care, psychology, criminal justice, human services and education.
Perspectives from a UOP Faculty Member
A Promotional Video from the School
Profiles a UOP business professor and his perspectives on the school's programs. He describes the interactions between him and his students and offers reasons why an employer would consider a UOP grad. Created by UOP.
Academic Programs
The University of Phoenix's colleges and divisions offer a range of programs for students pursuing careers in such fields as: business, communication, criminal justice, education, health care, management, nursing, and information technology. The University's colleges and divisions include:
- Axia College of University of Phoenix (Associate's Degrees) – An online school for employed students seeking an academic base line for continued studies and/or career advancement. The college offers concentrations across all the program areas served by Phoenix, including business, communication, criminal justice, education, health care, hospitality, human services, information technology, psychology and sports management.
- College of Arts and Sciences – Designed to give students a core educational foundation with emphasis on understanding the interrelationships that exist across disciplines. The college's goal is to help develop essential skills, such as analysis, writing, oral communication, and team work, that will enhance a student's capabilities across many different career areas. Programs cover liberal arts subjects including humanities, communications, sciences, mathematics, and social sciences.
- Colleges of Business and Management (Bachelor's and Master's Degrees) – Programs focus on imparting the expertise and skills that are important for being effective professionals and managers in today's complex and fast-paced business environment. Available degree programs include those for accounting and finance, communications, international business, hospitality, human resources, information systems, supply chain and operations, marketing, retail, entrepreneurship, and management.
- College of Education – This college's goal is to help teachers and educators achieve success. Undergraduate courses are designed to ready students for teacher licensure. Graduate and doctorate programs are built to prepare students for taking on leadership roles in their careers as educators, administrators and educational specialists.
- College of Health and Human Services – Programs are structured to foster the underlying expertise and skills that are vital to the success of students as their careers move forward in the health and human service fields. Available degree programs include nursing, health care, criminal justice and security, counseling, and human services.
- College of Information Systems and Technology – The college's undergraduate programs focus on basic technologies while its graduate programs underscore management topics. All programs aim at teaching in environments that are similar to the way that professionals work. The programs are designed to integrate management of both business and technology, involve teamwork, and take advantage of digital resources such as electronic libraries and system simulations. Topic areas include business system design and analysis, networks, security, software design, databases, Websites, project planning, IT application life cycles, and communications.
- School of Advanced Studies (Doctoral Degrees) – The school's doctoral programs cover business and management, education, health care, and psychology. The programs are built to provide candidates with capabilities for creating original research in their respective fields.
- Military (U.S. only) – The University of Phoenix's military division is organized to meet the demanding schedules of military professionals. Students have a wide variety of the university's programs available to them.
The University of Phoenix designs all of its degree programs using a four-step process that identifies measurable learning outcomes for each course. These outcomes are intended to reflect the needs and context of the related field. Input for these outcomes comes from several sources, including leaders from education, business, industry, and the communities around each campus.
Learning Options
Since its founding the University of Phoenix has offered classes at times such as evenings and locations convenient for busy, working adults. Some campuses provide day classes. The option of online classes further adds to the flexibility of working students to study towards degrees.
The school further helps working adults through a flexible scheduling system that allows enrollments year-round, unlike many other institutions that require a student to wait until the start of a semester or quarter. Since the University's year-round scheduling does not have extended breaks during the year or summer, students can compress the time it takes to complete their degrees.
Most students take one course at a time that meet one time per week. UOP reports that class sizes are kept small. Axia College students, who are pursuing online associate degrees, take two courses at a time.
The University notes that students can save time and money by applying relevant learning, work and life experiences toward college credits.
Faculty
The University considers its faculty as critical to the integration of theory and practice in its classes. It strives to appoint faculty members with the appropriate levels of academic preparation and professional experience and skills. Faculty typically have master's or doctoral degrees in addition to practitioner time in their fields. For example the school has faculty members that work at some of the world's most known corporations. The school also encourages its faculty to keep current in their fields and participate in scholarly activities.
Student Life
The University of Phoenix student body represents a wide diversity of backgrounds. Students are from the United States, Mexico, the Netherlands, Europe, and other regions of the world. Some are just starting a degree program for the first time and others are pursuing degrees in addition to ones they already have. Some are expanding expertise in their current field while others are seeking to move careers to new fields.
For bachelor and graduate degree programs the University organizes students into teams to emulate real working conditions. These teams facilitate interactivity and learning between classmates.
The University's Student Services work with each student from enrollment to graduation. Services include a “Personal Graduation Team” that helps with enrollment, financing, and academics. A student's administrative activities can all be completed online, including registration, downloading books and educational materials, and reviewing schedules and grades.
University of Phoenix students find that technology is an integral part of their academic lives. The school's technology resources include an electronic book collection, virtual organizations that simulate realistic business problems, simulations of systems, centers of excellence for math and writing, an electronic feedback system for their written assignments, a faculty review service for papers, and online tutorials and guides.
Graduates are all automatically members of the University of Phoenix Alumni Association and can take advantage of various benefits and services including financial and insurance resources, and the ability to purchase software, travel, and computers. Registered members also can receive job postings and an alumni directory.
Admissions and Financial Aid
Admission requirements vary by degree and program. All at least require a high school diploma or equivalent. Instead of essays or college entrance examinations, the University requires that students be employed or at least have access to an organizational situation for which class concepts can be applied. International, non-native English-speaking students must also pass a suitable test of English, such as TOEFL.
Admission into graduate programs also require an undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university and a minimum grade point average.
The University offers several options for financing school costs and has financial representatives that assist in reviewing these. Options include various payment plans, tuition reimbursement plans from employers, U.S. government financial aid plans, private loans, and a military plan. The school also has several scholarship programs. Most University of Phoenix students receive some type of financial assistance.
Note: This school offers rapid response to online requests:
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Student/Alumni Reviews of This School
Sort Reviews By:University of Phoenix • Columbia, MD
Studying MBA (completion in: I didn't complete my degree)
• 8/27/2011
"It was a degree mill. I could have challenged myself harder by doing problems at the end of chapters in a text book."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | Unless you are simply looking to check a box to get a higher pay grade I would not recommend this school. There are so many traditional schools that offer the flexibility that people are seeking, that there is no reason to enroll in this school. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 2 | I thought the program was too general. I felt like it only covered the basics without diving too deeply into the core functions of an MBA. |
| Instruction | 4 | The instructors were unimpressive. Some were OK, but most were inexperienced and provided little enhancement to the program. |
| Cost | 4 | It was overpriced considering the quality of instruction and the quality of the resources. I would think that they could offer more services based on what they charge. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 9 | This is one of the areas in which the school did a good job. No matter what your schedule was like, they had a class that could fit into it. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | Everything was online. I was unimpressed with all of the above. Most of the resources they offered were generic. |
| Social Life | 2 | People were there for one reason... to get a degree... fast. There was little pride in the school. I would say that most people tried to avoid telling others where they went to school. |
| Placement Services | 3 | They did not provide much in terms of career services, or at least they did not let it be known to the students. Everything this school did was "mass produced, boiler plate" stuff and if you searched around on the internet, you could find far superior resources. |
| Alumni Network | 2 | The school did not really have an alumni association or at least they didn't make it known. The quality of the alumni association is proportional to the quality of the students... and most of the students were interested in just running through the program without much effort. |
University of Phoenix • I Attended Both The On Ground MBA/HRM Program In Atlanta (Dunwoody), GA And The Educational Leadership (Curriculum & Instruction) Ed.D. Online Program.
Studying MBA/HRM Degree Program And The Ed.D. (Educational Leadership With A Concentration In Curriculum & Instruction) Program. (completion in: 2005)
• 8/25/2011
"I am satisfied with the level of education I received from the institution. I do wish that the University of Phoenix was perceived better by the business community."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend the University of Phoenix to most potential students. I would not recommend the institution to those students pursuing specific education certifications, such as a licensed classroom teacher. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 8 | I was highly satisfied with the level of instruction provided by faculty along with the robust curriculum in both the master's and doctoral level courses. I am very frustrated with how the University of Phoenix is perceived by the public instead of being complimented for the its level of excellence. |
| Instruction | 9 | The faculty selected to instruct University of Phoenix students are professionals within their chosen fields and truly know their content. My encounters with the faculty were positive and they encouraged everyone's pursuit of higher education. |
| Cost | 6 | Although I thoroughly enjoyed my experience at both degree levels, I did find the tuition fees extremely high. I believe that the institution can still offer the same level of education at a lower cost. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The level of flexibility in scheduling was extremely high, which is one of the benefits of applying to an online program. One is able to attend at any time of the day or night with minimal weekly posts for university attendance purposes. |
| Academic Facilities | 8 | The University of Phoenix has extensive library resources. At any given time, I was able to locate any peer-to-peer document, manuscript, dissertation, or other periodical I needed. |
| Social Life | 6 | When I attended the Atlanta, Georgia location the administration made an initial attempt to foster school spirit. However, the level of participation was low and therefore they did not continue activities. |
| Placement Services | 5 | The institution provides career services assistance but I did not see many opportunities for job placement when I attended the Atlanta, Georgia location. As far as the level of job placement and career services assistance through the online program is concerned, I did not see a presence. |
| Alumni Network | 5 | The University of Phoenix does a great job sending email communication regarding the Alumni network, but that's the extent of its involvement. I have not been involved in this network and I don't see a lot of activity at the local level. |
University of Phoenix • Augusta, GA
Studying Bachelors Of Science In Business (completion in: 2013)
• 8/22/2011
"I will graduate in 2013 and plan to pursue an MBA at UOP. It will be expensive, however I know it will be worth it. I have always enjoyed working in the business world and now I understand what type of skills are required to be successful in that field. I am confident that UOP can and will provide me with that knowledge as long as I am willing to work hard."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | The University of Phoenix is not for those who are lax in their career goals. I would only suggest this school to those who are serious about their pursuit of a degree. The schedule is flexible , but the work is hard. You must be committed to learning and success, otherwise, it will not work. UOP is not giving you a degree; you have to earn it. You must commit to studying to produce quality work. You must take advantage of all the school's resources. Yes, there is much work that you must do. However, it is all in place to make you successful. If you do not know how to manage your time, UOP makes sure to teach you that in your very first class. This is not a school for slackers and good grades only come with hard work. Unlike some traditional schools, you cannot get any easy A's or B's at UOP. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 10 | I am learning more than I ever expected to learn. I have a very heavy workload, as do all of the students, but the schedule is more flexible than that of a traditional school. |
| Instruction | 9 | All of the instructors are active in the fields they teach. I just completed an economics course taught by an MBA in economics who has twenty years of experience working for a global business. All of the instructors have real world experience. They do more than explain the textbook; they demonstrate how the facts we learn apply to the real world. |
| Cost | 9 | The school is very expensive, however the trade-off is the flexible schedule. I cannot spend three to four nights a week in a traditional class setting because I have a disabled child. Thanks to UOP, I can take care of my child and earn my degree at the same time. For me, that is priceless. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | UOP has a schedule that can fit anyone. Many students have full time jobs or children living at home. The schedule allows each student to maintain their lives and study at the same time. As a matter of fact, If you are not good at time management, Phoenix teaches you how to develop that skill in the very first class. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | The online library has access to thousands of books, journals, academic papers and periodicals. It is always open and available. Research papers are required every week and students can access the information they need without time constraints. |
| Social Life | 9 | All students are required to complete individual assignment and learning team assignments. Learning teams consist of three to six members. All must collaborate each week to complete assignments on time. In this way, UOP students learn the importance of collaboration in their careers. We learn to produce an excellent end product and minimize personality conflicts. UOP students are required to gain the skills it takes to work well with others. |
| Placement Services | 10 | Because all courses are taught by those actively in the workforce, career networking can begin right in the classroom. The instructors are very helpful and have information on career strategies that average teachers do not have. |
| Alumni Network | 9 | My advisors are readily available and attentive. I am not just a number to them. They are informative and supportive in helping me reach my goals. |
University of Phoenix • Lone Tree, CO
Studying Human Services (completion in: 2011)
• 8/23/2011
"I really wish I would have had a better, more diverse slate of classes. I attended community college before UOP and I feel that I was exposed to more academic learning there then while getting my Bachelor's."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | I would recommend this school to someone who is unable to find a program in their desired field of interest anywhere else. I have not encountered problems applying for a Master's degree from a more respected college, so it is a great stepping stone. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 3 | I had the same professor for many of my classes, as he was the head of the program and filled in when there were no other instructors available. I feel this limited my exposure to a variety of opinions and values. Also, there were a number of classes this professor was obviously unqualified to teach, such as computer science. |
| Instruction | 3 | |
| Cost | 2 | UOP is a fairly expensive college, especially since all classes are 5 weeks long. The limited number of educators, the poor availability of text books, and the short classes led me to expect a much less expensive experience. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | UOP does offer classes in the evenings, on weekends, and online. Several programs are only held at certain onsite campuses, and this causes some students to settle for a path they are not terribly interested in. |
| Academic Facilities | 2 | Professors had very limited availability for the most part. Study groups were required, but there was often several members of the group who did not do their part but were able to get good grades regardless. |
| Social Life | 2 | There were no athletic, social, or school spirit events that I know of. Generally people would show up for class and then leave. |
| Placement Services | 1 | I was unaware that there is job placement or career services assistance. I did not seek out these services. |
| Alumni Network | I feel that if UOP had a better situation with the community I would not have ended up having the same professor for most of my classes, or ended up doing field service at wildly inappropriate placements. The structure of class work was essentially "do some research on your own and present it as a group project." |
University of Phoenix • Tucson, AZ
Studying BSBA/BSBM, MBA, E-Commerce, HRM Certification (completion in: 2003)
• 8/21/2011
"The majority of classes provided useful information. However, some of the information was outdated."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | My career field generally requires a degree. However, if the person already has experience, I would not recommend this school. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 7 | Some of the coursework was not applicable to real-world situations. However, the majority of it was. |
| Instruction | 5 | Some of the instructors were not accessible after class hours and some did not adequately explain the assignments. But, there were many very good instructors. |
| Cost | 2 | U of P is very expensive. I have over $100,000 in student loans and have been unable to find work. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 6 | The program's classes are on set nights unless you are attending online. In addition, study groups are required. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | Facilities were clean and easily accessible from work and home. The computer lab was a little small, however. |
| Social Life | 5 | There were no organized parties, social events, or athletics. However, there was camaraderie in study groups. |
| Placement Services | 2 | The information is not clearly provided. In addition, people I spoke with at the school were not helpful. |
| Alumni Network | 4 | I have used the alumni network website and I've joined the mailing list for the newsletter. I have not received the newsletter (it's been over a year since I signed up). The website is not useful for finding employment. |
University of Phoenix • Columbus, GA
Studying BS - Psychology
• 8/24/2011
"I was not satisfied with the education that I paid for. In addition, I am not pleased with the school's policies."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | The classes are held in an unprofessional manner. The staff needs more training. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 5 | The classes were very unprofessional. The students take the course work seriously and when asked for help the instructors stated that they were just facilitators. However, it was still mandatory that we attended class. |
| Instruction | 2 | As I stated in the first essay section the facilitators were not helpful. The class lectures did not contain more than 50% of the actual class information. |
| Cost | 1 | The classes were too expensive for the type of class setting. The amount of information taught was not substantive given the tuition that was paid. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 2 | The classes were small. There was no flexibility in the event that you had to miss a class. |
| Academic Facilities | 2 | The resources were limited. There wasn't adequate help with research procedures or obtaining study rooms for non traditional students. |
| Social Life | 1 | The campus I attended did not have any of the functions listed. There was no type of enthusiasm from the employees either. |
| Placement Services | 1 | The school did not offer this type of support. I have also observed many other students whose degrees were not acknowledged. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | Upon my departure from the school I did not receive any support from the Alumni or other staff. I tried contacting the school to obtain my personal records and was given the run around on several occasions. |
University of Phoenix • Boise, ID
Studying The Program I Pursued Was Business Management To Add To A Hospitality Management Degree I Earned At A Previous School. (completion in: 2014)
• 8/23/2011
"I was not satisfied because of the high cost, lack of support, and odd classroom learning structure. I would not recommend this school to others."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | no | I would not recommend this school to anyone. Students would be able to take more classes and have more interaction with instructors at other schools. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 2 | The learning teams required by the school were unfair more often than not. In every class we had to do group projects and without fail there was always someone who would not do anything, forcing the others to do more than their share. Of course, everyone in the group would get the same grade. |
| Instruction | 5 | The teachers at the school were difficult to get in contact with because the class sizes were very large. It was frustrating to ask questions because it took awhile for a response. |
| Cost | 1 | For the cost of tuition I could have gone to another college and paid for an entire semester of classes rather than paying for only one class. I do not recommend this school. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | The class would meet once a week for three hours. Then the learning groups met once or twice a week depending on the project requirements for that week. The online portion was the most flexible because I could independently complete my portion of work at anytime. |
| Academic Facilities | 3 | The campus building was not very big when I went there. The classes were over crowded and the professors were always overwhelmed. |
| Social Life | 1 | The school did not have additional activities. The campus was just one very small building. |
| Placement Services | 1 | The school does not seem to care about students or their placement in their chosen career fields. There are not any recommended inter programs offered to enhance the learning experience. |
| Alumni Network | 1 | The only alumni support I have received was a final bill. It seems that the school does not care about their students unless there is money to be made. |
University of Phoenix • West Michigan Campus And Online
Studying Bachelors Of Science In Business Administration And Masters Of Business Administration (completion in: 2008)
• 8/24/2011
"I have not procured employment in line with my educational degrees. The cost per credit hour is higher than most traditional universities offering similar programs. Many employers see an online degree as second rate in comparison to a brick and mortar school."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It would depend on which program they are pursuing. The cost would be another factor. The type of work they are seeking after college would also be a factor because some businesses in some industries will have more of a negative bias against online universities than others. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 8 | The course work was informative and in tune with the current business trends of the corporate organizational structure. There was minimal assistance with procuring employment once graduation commenced, though. |
| Instruction | 8 | The course work was informative and relative to the business industry. Too much emphasis was placed on writing papers and not as much on applications and real life examples. |
| Cost | 3 | Classes were expensive in comparison to other universities in the region. Flexibility of class schedules was much better and somewhat offset the higher cost per credit hour. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The night classes worked well since I worked during the day. Online classes also worked well and I was able to do coursework any time of the day or night when I had time to do it. |
| Academic Facilities | 9 | There was a lot of support available. Tutors were available for every class. The technology was up to date and relevant to what is expected in the corporate environment. |
| Social Life | 5 | This campus did not provide the typical college atmosphere. The college had mostly non traditional students who were away from school for many years and have gone back to complete a degree. |
| Placement Services | 3 | Job placement was not that helpful in contacting possible employers looking to hire college graduates. The career services network had information but left the students on their own to make contacts and seek employment. |
| Alumni Network | 8 | The network and support is not very helpful in procuring job leads and employment opportunities after graduation. There was a lack of relevant job fairs for graduating students to pursue employment with companies interested in recent college graduates. |
University of Phoenix • Atlanta, GA
Studying Business Administration/Bachelors Degree (completion in: 2014)
• 12/17/2011
"I am happy with the school and its reputation because I'm still attending. However, the cost is a bit high."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | yes | I will recommend my school to anyone who wants to major in business. UoP offers a structured program that allows people to do assignment together. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 8 | Overall, it has been a great experience to be here at the University of Phoenix. As students we always have complaints about the cost of classes, but the knowledge I've gain helps me see past the cost. |
| Instruction | 10 | I come from a country that doesn't offer the classes that UoP does. I would have to say that I'm satisfied. The curriculum is well organized and helps me keep pace. |
| Cost | 1 | The cost is entirely too high, but it's still worth it. The only issue is if I will get a job to pay off all the loans I needed to take out to complete school. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 5 | UoP allows their students flexible schedules that won't conflict with their other responsibilities. You can either take online or on-campus classes. |
| Academic Facilities | 10 | Being able to access the portal gives me the opportunity to get what I need when I need it. Also, the resources are easily available to all students. |
| Social Life | 10 | I've had the opportunity to present my assignments and work with great students. They showed me things that I really didn't know existed. |
| Placement Services | 5 | Phoenix offers many job placement programs and career planning services and assistance that students can take advantage of. When signed up to receive alerts and updates, a student can always stay up-to-date. |
University of Phoenix • Tukwila, WA
Studying Business Management (completion in: 2012)
• 12/25/2011
"I put my rating as average. The good and bad balance each other out."
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale
| Characteristic | Rating | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Would Recommend? | maybe | It depends on the person. If they want to just buy a degree I wouldn't recommend it, but if they want to learn and do the work I would. |
| Satisfaction With Major | 5 | You get from the education what you put into it. A student at UoP has the opportunity to get a quality education if they work and study, but it seems like a lot of people just skate through it and somehow pass. It is a really good option for working adults to get their degrees in a reasonable amount of time. It would take five times as long at a traditional university. |
| Instruction | 4 | Some teachers are very good, others are not. Some are excited and good at teaching, while others follow the text book and seem to be talking to the walls instead of the students. |
| Cost | 6 | It's very expensive to go to UoP. But with the loans I won't feel any of that cost until after I graduate. |
| Schedule Flexibility | 10 | The university has been extremely flexible with my schedule. If I can't go on-campus they let me go on-line, and when I've had life events that made it difficult to go to school they scheduled me for breaks that kept me on track with my loans and my program. |
| Academic Facilities | 4 | The on-line materials are okay. I have been, and continue to be, irritated that my course textbooks can not be read on a Kindle. I usually have to read them on my computer, which is uncomfortable and awkward. In every course evaluation I've complained about it, and I've contacted the UoP staff repeatedly about it, but nothing has been done to make course materials e-reader compatible. |
| Social Life | 3 | There aren't any sports teams or social events that I am aware of. This doesn't bother me though, as I'm not interested in them. |
| Placement Services | I am still in school, so I haven't needed to use any placement services yet. I also haven't looked into what assistance is available, so I can't really comment. | |
| Alumni Network | 6 | They try to be really supportive. I haven't needed it much, so I've not taken advantage of it, but they do have a lot of support for the students. |