Liberty University

An honest review, from a very honest person. I have had both good and bad experiences here at Liberty, and all of the bad experiences honestly are with the graduate level professors. The academic advisors and financial aid offices have been professional and respectful each time I've engaged in conversation with them, and frankly, they are far more honest with me than the majority of my previous and present professors have ever been. One big negative experience is that even when you follow the APA... Read More format, follow the professional APA format, or you utilize the APA/Professional APA Template document (where you just edit the title page and then type your paper, as it's properly formatted for you), the majority of graduate professors will state that you made multiple APA format errors on your discussion board posts, on your discussion board responses to other students, or worse, in your research papers and presentations. I utilize the professional APA template that Liberty provides, and I have worked with a few professors on perfecting the professional APA format in previous classes - with the few professors who cared enough to want to teach and help us students - and I made full points on their assignments once all corrections were made - yet other professors are out right rude, disrespectful, condescending, and act like it's an inconvenience that they have to help any student on any academic level by clarifying where the student has gone wrong with formatting - and GOD forbid they have to specifically state where you went wrong, the mistreatment from professors gets real bad. No two professors can seem to agree on what the APA format and Professional APA format does and does not contain, should and should not look like, etc. I've only had two professors in several years actually tell me when the formatting was properly executed, and they gave very detailed and helpful feedback. That's it. Otherwise, folks, you'll be stuck relying on the tutoring centers, writing centers, or heck, hiring your own tutor to review your papers, and even then, when the remarks come in that you messed up the formatting when you know you didn't, the frustration will spike your stress and anxiety. Another negative, the majority of professors I have had, have no respect for emergencies or life situations that present themselves that we as human beings have no control over. You can provide medical documents, legal documents, they DO NOT CARE, yet if it were their kid, or their pastor, I promise you, they would bend over backward to give them accommodations and extensions. I've only had three professors out of over a dozen understand that life circumstances and emergencies happen that we do not control, and as a blessing, they gave appropriate extensions, and I properly thanked them for that and ensured the work got done. Thirdly, another issue you'll encounter (if you're still reading this), is that if your perspectives, opinions, research, or paper topics do not (professionally or personal) align with the professor's "faith" and "beliefs", THEY WILL DING YOU ON YOUR GRADE BECAUSE OF IT. Also, if you are not comfortable with incorporating a biblical worldview perspective for every type of assignment for every class, well, you'll get frustrated quickly -- and FYI, they expect biblical worldview perspectives in your response posts to your peers' posts in your classes but fail to mention this is an actual requirement. The professors expect you to be mined readers. And when they mean biblical perspective, they expect it to have the tone of preaching, conversion, or proselytizing, which those three things are no more appropriate for the classroom than they are appropriate for meddling in politics and law. Liberty and its leadership and professors have long ago lost track of what it means to be Christian, just as the majority if not all Christian churches have long ago forgotten that as well. This university just wants your money, and they expect you to take the mistreatment from professors, and believe me, you can file as many complaints against a professor as you want, this university will sooner protect these professors then every discipline them or fire them for how they treat their students. Look for a place to transfer, as I know I will be doing just that.

Please note - you are required to integrate the school's Christian perspective into every class/assignment or suffer point deductions (at least in my masters and doctoral work). In my clinical mental health masters, one professor required me to present to the class or fail the semester (in my practicum) while I sat next to my three year old while she was in a hospital bed. It was unreal. I notified her of the hospitalization several days before my presentation was due (five days) and she said I would... Read More need to present, find someone else to present, or fail. I remained at the school because I was nearing graduation of my master's degree and because of the cheap cost. I tried once more to see if the doctoral program would be better - I am transferring out of my doctoral program. In my doctoral program I asked for assistance understanding an assignment (I said I was having trouble understanding parts of the assignment and despite reading the rubric and the instructions felt confused) and the professor copied and pasted the instructions into his email response to me. He did not offer additional help.

I was happy I got my master's in professional writing, but when I tried to get my masters in creative writing, I had many issues with this college. So many bad professors need to teach P.H.D. classes, not graduate level classes, and staff, including the Dean from the English Department. Many students are just as bad as the staff of this class. This school's policies are unfair and need to change so it can be beneficial for everyone. This school abusing their policies to everyone including me. This... Read More school does not represent a Christian school. This school is more of a political school, not a Christian college. I will get my master's degree in creative writing at a better college with better staff than Liberty University. I am never returning to Liberty University in the future. I advise students not to attend this college to get a degree in any major. It is best to go somewhere else. This school needs to be shut down for good.

I earned a BA from a large state university, an MA from a medium-sized state university, and an MS from a certain private aeronautical university so when I began my PhD at Liberty, I had some perspective. People tend to not understand that a PhD is a research/science degree and if they haven't written a master's thesis, the dissertation is probably going to seem overwhelming and not what they expected. The thing about graduate school research is that you want to graduate; solve world hunger later.... Read More Enter the program knowing what you want to study, and write all of your papers in hour courses on that topic so by the tine you reach the dissertation phase, you have your background ready to go, and your lit review will be a breeze to write. Make sure your data is realistic to gather, and that you are able to defend your chosen methods. I knew what I was getting myself into because I had written a master's thesis and I watched my husband go through a traditional PhD program. Thankfully, I finished on time. I comment Liberty for giving everyone a chance, but one of the downsides to that is they admit pretty much anyone, even if they probably are not prepared for a doctorate degree. One of my fellow students once said in a discussion board post, "I don't really like research, so I am not sure what to study." Clearly, this woman did not understand what a PhD is. Again, it is literally a research degree. I am not sure why you'd apply for such a program if you do not like research. Anyway, the school is not liberal... I would actually call it a-political, so I learned actual subject matter rather than being constantly beat over the head with propaganda. It was nice. Yes, the school is Christian, but it is balanced; it is accredited by the same regional body as every other school, so they are required to meet certain standards. Rigor-wise, it was actually pretty much exactly the same as every other school I've attended, though I would actually disagree with others, in that there was not a whole lot of busy work. It definitely kept me busy though, and that quantitative stats class is probably the program's biggest weed-out class (it was brutal... really...). I actually really enjoyed my program and the Christian aspect was an added bonus; it was good for my testimony, and also for my intellectual growth. That said, I don't think it is for everyone. The truth is that we are all made for a purpose. Not everyone is a good fit for a university degree or even a graduate degree and that is totally fine. Additionally, some people are put off by religion. Liberty might bother you. Do your homework on everything so you understand what you're getting into. But yeah, it was probably the best education experience I have ever had. Good luck to you.

Notice the rating is 3 stars. That’s because there is a lot of bots/fluff with these 5 stars. If you’re thinking about this school, I highly suggest looking at the negatives first. They give insight to how “Godly” this school really is. If your life isn’t fixed, and you feel like some random emergency might cause you to withdraw early, just don’t take this program. Liberty University only cares about the money. I went there residentially for undergrad and had to do online for the master’s because... Read More of Covid. A family emergency along with hospital visits forced me to withdraw because I had ti take care of my parents. Emailed my professors, let them know what was up. They were all very understanding and I withdrew. I put in my withdrawal with my reasonings being immediate family emergency. It was 2020, going to the hospital started to be a common phenomenon. I was only 2 weeks into the course. Later on I got a call from the financial department saying that since I didn’t stay they sent back my financial aid. I owe them $5000. Why would I pay the price of the full course if I didn’t take the full course? A percentage is understandable but they told me I had to pay for the full course. Then the financial aid guy told me that was because I didn’t withdraw at the right time. I should just go back and register to get the financial aid back. So I registered for different courses. I was going to stick through the program just so I didn’t have to pay for a semester I barely started. I was actively looking for work because I lost my job due to Covid and the care act stopped, so I wasn’t getting anymore money, but wanted to try and finish while being preoccupied with taking care of parents and looking for work. When I looked at the course work for the graduate Psychology and Christianity course it looked familiar. I took that class residentially as an undergrad. I pulled up my old syllabus and compared it to the graduate on. It’s the same syllabus WORD FOR WORD with a different font. All the coursework is the same. Including all the papers. Liberty…. You know better. Why am I taking a class I already took. The only difference was instead of 2 textbooks you apparently need 3. Which I didn’t even bother because if the assignments are the same (I even checked all the assignments rubrics and instructions and they are identical to the undergrad work) why would I need a 3rd textbook if I didn’t need it in undergrad. I even got points off during a test because they didn’t agree with my idea of “evolution.” That was the final straw. I had to pay for the courses I withdrew. I had to take the same course with the same assignments. (And we all know you can resubmit assignments because it’s plagiarisms) and I’m getting points taken off because I didn’t disagree with evolution? I left during the withdraw time. Also Liberty University didn’t accept my reasonings for withdraw. They don’t accept any documents that aren’t professionally made with wet sign. I told them the financial aid person told me to reapply just to get my financial aid back and they said they can’t corroborate my claim because “Liberty university employees don’t count as third party.” Oh so y’all covering y’all ***. I have the medical reason for leaving the first time, but they want a reason for why I reapply and when I tell them and show email documents all they say in response is “we don’t accept that and you didn’t thoroughly explain the circumstances.” So the committee can’t read?

I think the program started off well. Everything is easy to navigate and appreciated the digital textbooks for each class. Later on, there were courses that would’ve benefitted from instructions from professors once in a while. Assignments and applications for final projects lacked clarity or tutorials of what to even do. If I had to choose this school,again, I’d probably choose a different major, probably something religious based. But for a technical major, I would’ve chosen another school. Maybe... Read More the residential experience is different than online courses. Maybe letting the online courses see the residential classes in video is could’ve been added.

The Criminal Justice program is worth it if you are a working professional. I completed my masters in person at another university, so I value that experience. However, traditional universities make it almost impossible to accept middle aged working professionals. They don’t want you, but Liberty does and it is a means to an end. Don’t expect to be coddled. Don’t expect the professors full attention. You’re a working professional, and so are they. You will do a lot of self study, and take away basically... Read More what you put into the program. It is accredited so that is a plus. Was it perfect? No. Was it doable and affordable? Yes. I am satisfied so far.

Liberty University is an excellent institution that has a lot to offer its students. One of the most impressive aspects of the university is the quality of its professors. It's clear that the faculty are knowledgeable, experienced, and committed to helping their students succeed. It's great to hear that you've had a positive experience with them and that they've been able to answer your questions and provide support throughout your time at the university. In addition to the great professors, Liberty... Read More University is also known for the level of support it provides to its students. It's clear that the university values its students and is committed to helping them achieve their goals. Whether you're looking for help with coursework, navigating the administrative side of things, or just need someone to talk to, it's great to know that you can count on the support of the university staff. Overall, I would highly recommend Liberty University to anyone looking to further their education. It's clear that the university is committed to providing a high-quality educational experience, and its focus on student success is evident in the support it provides. Congratulations again on your upcoming graduation, and I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

I completed a Master's of Art in Human Services Counseling with a cognate in Military Resilience. The MA was 30 total credits and I was able to complete the degree in one year. I set it up so that I would start and finish a class each month. I was able to stagger them in such a manner. During my pursuit of the degree I was placed on academic review after the first term. This was not due to the fault of the university. I was working an average of 70 hours a week and I had to adjust my time management... Read More skills to be successful. Once I got on track with my time management I came off of academic review and never looked back. I have since completed a MBA at another university and I can tell you I learned more at Liberty than I did at the other university or any of my undergraduate universities. Some have said that Liberty is known to give "busy work". I found this to be somewhat true but based on the individual instructor. If you are going to go to graduate school and expect to have 3-5 page papers, your not. I have to complete one or two 10-20 page paper while at Liberty, per course. Yes it seems tedious but it reflects on the amount of knowledge you retain, which is evident when you take the quizzes and exams. In my opinion if you are looking for an easy school then look somewhere else. If you are wanting to learn a lot and can handle the stress of graduate school then Liberty is a good option to look into.

I'm an online student and it is great for me. I am a full-time student and I work 30 hours a week. I have always gotten pretty quick responses from my Professors. The military tuition discount really helps out a lot and online learning for me is ideal. If I had set log-in times I would not be able to take a full course load. I got behind recently because of some personal issues and holiday traveling, they were very understanding and did not pry for information. I was allowed to turn in assignments... Read More after the last day of class by all of my Professors and I will pass because of it. I do not know what is up with Campus learning but I do not have any complaints. Also, the people complaining that Christian principles are incorporated into every facet of learning, I do not know why you would enroll here. That is what it means to be a Christian, bringing Christ into every area of your life every decision, even down to your thoughts. If you are not a Christian you probably should figure out what authentic Christianity is about before you think about enrollment here so you won't be surprised.