University of Lynchburg Introduces Three-Year Bachelor’s Degrees in Public Health and Education

From University of Lynchburg--Author Suzanne Ramsey

The University of Lynchburg has launched a program through which students can complete bachelor’s degrees in public health or educational studies in 96 hours, or three years, versus the traditional four-year, 120-hour model — saving students time and money.

The five-year pilot programs for Lynchburg’s new Bachelor of Applied Public Health and Bachelor of Applied Educational Studies, were approved at the December meeting of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges Board of Trustees.

Lynchburg is the first of SACSCOC’s 750-plus accredited institutions approved to offer these types of degree programs.

“This decision reflects the confidence SACSCOC has in our strength as an institution and as a leader in higher education,” University President Dr. Morrison-Shetlar wrote in an email following the announcement. “It demonstrates their belief in our academic excellence and our ability to innovate.”

As stated in an addendum to the prospectus for each program, using the term “applied” distinguishes the BAPH and BAES from their 120-hour counterparts, which will still be offered at Lynchburg. It’s also “intentional and descriptive, signaling to students, accreditors, and employers that the curriculum focuses on practical competencies and career-oriented learning.”

Creating these new undergraduate degree programs in public health and educational studies involved what is described in the prospectuses as “careful consideration of credit hour requirements, core curriculum, and major-specific coursework, with a focus on student learning outcomes.”

Earning a bachelor’s degree in three years instead of four will save students approximately $40,050, making the programs financially efficient. “Return-on-investment” is also a plus, with students gaining “an additional year of earning potential,” estimated at $87,750 to $113,600.

The programs are also designed to be graduate pathways, offering “seamless transition” to master’s degree programs at Lynchburg, such as its Master of Public Health and Master of Education.

Those pursuing the Master of Education, for example, “will take several graduate-level courses at the undergraduate level and could finish with a master’s degree and a teaching license in four years,” said Dr. Stephen Smith ’97, ’99 MEd, interim associate vice president of academic and strategic operations.

“This would start them at a higher salary than their traditional, 120-hour degree counterparts.”

The BAPH and BAES programs will begin admitting students — “up to 15 new first-time, full-time students in its first semester,” according to the prospectuses — in March 2026.

Ideal candidates for the programs are described as students who demonstrate the “motivation, maturity, and preparation to handle an accelerated applied degree pathway” and who are “goal-oriented and driven” and “value efficiency.”

This past June, the University also joined the College-in-3 Exchange, a nonprofit described on its website as a “Learning Community” for public and private colleges and universities offering three-year bachelor’s degree programs. The organization has 72 institutional members across the U.S.

University of Lynchburg “is at the forefront of a growing national movement to make accessible high-quality, lower-cost degrees that reduce time to completion, align with workforce needs, and ensure that students from every background can benefit from an affordable path to a college degree,” said Madeleine F. Green, executive director of College-in-3 Exchange.

Green added that benefits of membership include “opportunities to meet each other virtually through our monthly Zoom meetings, ‘College-in-3 Connects,’ and in-person at our Annual Convening, alongside additional engagements through the year.

“They participate in vital research conducted by College-in-3 that will tell the story and determine the success of three-year degrees.”

For more information about Lynchburg’s Bachelor of Applied Public Health and Bachelor of Applied Educational Studies programs, contact Dr. Stephen Smith ’97, ’99 MEd, interim associate vice president of academic and strategic operations, at smith.s@lynchburg.edu.