January 27, 2017—Northwestern Health Sciences University and Concordia University St. Paul today announced a partnership that allows chiropractic students at Northwestern to earn a Master of Exercise Science Degree from Concordia in half the time.
The agreement provides Northwestern’s Doctor of Chiropractic students credit for courses they already are taking at Northwestern and allows those courses to count toward the additional degree at Concordia. Most Northwestern students who enroll in the new program would need only 18 additional credits through Concordia to earn the Master of Exercise Science Degree, compared with the normal 36 credits.
“This agreement allows our students to achieve advanced credit standing at Concordia and saves them time and money,” said Tim Stark, director of the human performance center at Northwestern, a sports chiropractor and an associate professor in the university’s College of chiropractic. “Already, we are seeing our students take advantage of this program because they know that this will make them better chiropractic doctors.”
Twelve students already are participating in the program this spring, Stark said, adding that it is especially appealing to those seeking to work in sports and human performance chiropractic fields. That area is of growing interest among students and growing need, as chiropractic’s benefits are increasing recognized for helping prevent and heal injuries and for enhancing exercise and sports performance.
Northwestern and Concordia have a history of working together on programs such as these, benefitting students by allowing them to earn additional degrees and expand their knowledge for less cost and in shorter times.
“A big part of the future of higher education—and the value we provide to students—comes through innovative partnerships like this that are focused on students’ needs,” said Chris Cassirer, president and CEO of Northwestern. “We have a great relationship with Concordia and high confidence in all of the programs we offer together with them. We’re excited to start this program with them.”
