Perspective - Academic Excellence

One of the central missions of Calvin College is the education of leaders in the arts & sciences and in the professions. Graduate study is a significant activity designed to assist the college in meeting this mission. Students who study at Calvin are expected to have potential for leadership in their professional field of study. This potential should be apparent in materials filed with their application, including letters of reference, undergraduate transcripts and required professional essays.

The courses taught in Calvin's M.Ed. program are designed to challenge such students. Students are expected to become knowledgeable about the foundations and developing theoretical constructs in each of the courses undertaken in a degree program and to be able to demonstrate mastery of these foundations and theories in the thesis or integrative exam that accompanies degree programs.

Students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale to remain in good standing at Calvin. Those who fail to do so are placed on academic probation; those whose GPAs fall to below 2.7 are subject to dismissal. Students who have completed all degree requirements but whose GPA is below 3.0 do not receive their degree until they have taken sufficient graduate courses to raise their GPA to 3.0. Calvin's courses and programs are based on an expectation of excellence, not merely accumulating the requisite number of credit hours for a degree.