MISSION

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of Barry University, as stated in the Charter, is to offer its students a quality education. Furthermore, Barry University commits itself to assuring a religious dimension and to providing community service and presence within a more caring environment.

VISION: Barry University seeks to instill in its students St. Dominic’s vision of a world that celebrates God’s dwelling within us and among us, where life is reverenced and nurtured, where hatred and injustice are eradicated and where the intellectual life is promoted and supported.

In so doing, Barry University is committed to forming students who

• embrace the intellectual life through study, research and reflection as a means to contribute to the advancement of knowledge and to the refinement of the human spirit;

• understand the value of seeking a personal response to the presence of God in their lives;

• reflect on the fundamental questions of human experience and study the responses to these questions proposed by the liberal arts and sciences;

• pursue continued spiritual, intellectual, physical, and professional growth and development;

• demonstrate concern for all individuals in an atmosphere where Gospel values prevail, where people care for and about one another, where diversity is embraced, where individuals are nourished; and

• assume responsibility in religious, social, economic, environmental, and political affairs as a means of effecting needed change in the Dominican tradition of activist justice.

Grounded in study and reflection and guided by prayer, Barry graduates will make responsible decisions for the common good to help shape global communities where peace and justice prevail.

NATURE: Barry University is an independent, coeducational Catholic international institution of higher education that fosters academic distinction in the liberal arts and professional studies within the Judeo-Christian heritage and the tradition of St. Dominic. Founded in 1940, the University is sponsored by the Sisters of St. Dominic of Adrian, Michigan, and is governed by an independent, self-perpetuating Board of Trustees.

ENVIRONMENT: Barry University is a comprehensive university with its main campus located in Miami Shores, Florida with other sites throughout Florida. The University attracts a diverse student body, including traditional and non-traditional students from a variety of geographic, ethnic, religious and socio-economic backgrounds who are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunities provided for learning and personal growth. The University seeks to recruit and retain a diverse faculty who enrich it with their own traditions and heritage, who are dedicated to teaching and advising, to searching for and disseminating truth through scholarship, research, and creative activities and to serving both the University and the larger community in a multicultural environment. The University seeks to maintain a diverse and student-centered staff whose activities enhance the quality of University life. Through its students, faculty and staff Barry University provides a learning environment that challenges all to accept intellectual, spiritual, ethical, physical, and social responsibilities.

ACCREDITATION

Barry University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097; Telephone number 404-679-4501) to award bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degrees.

The graduate programs in Theology in the School of Arts and Sciences hold associate membership in the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).

The School Psychology program is approved by the Department of Education (DOE) of the State of Florida.

The undergraduate and master’s programs for the School of Nursing are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. The undergraduate nursing program is approved by the Florida Board of Nursing.

The Adrian Dominican School of Education and the teacher education programs in the schools of Human Performance and Leisure Sciences and Natural and Health Sciences are approved by the DOE as standard teacher training programs, and, because of Florida’s reciprocal certification agreement, are in a position to graduate students eligible for teacher certification in most states. The Exceptional Student Education Program with a specialization in Mentally Handicapped and Specific Learning Disabilities is a DOE-approved program. The School of Education’s graduate PreK-Primary/ESOL and Elementary Education/ESOL programs are DOE-approved, with ESOL infused. The Educational Leadership program is also DOE-approved.

The School of Education’s Counseling programs in guidance, marital, couple, family counseling and therapy, and mental health counseling are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP).

The Montessori Education early childhood and elementary programs are accredited by the Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education (MACTE).

The Ellen Whiteside McDonnell School of Social Work’s M.S.W. program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

The Doctor of Podiatric Medicine Program in the School of Graduate Medical Sciences is accredited by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education.

The Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC–PA).

The Occupational Therapy Program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education. The Cardiovascular Perfusion Program is accredited by CAAHEP.

The Anesthesiology Program is accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs. Barry University is also a member of H.A.C.U., the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

The Andreas School of Business is a candidate for accreditation by AACSB – The International Association for Management Education. Candidacy status indicates that an institution has voluntarily committed to participate in a program of continuous improvement and is actively progressing toward accreditation status. Candidacy status is not accreditation and does not guarantee eventual accreditation.

Barry University's School of Law is provisionally approved by the American Bar Association (ABA).