Wright Graduate Institute

About the Wright Graduate Institute

The learning model utilized by the Wright Graduate Institute is based on principles of adult learning and designed to accommodate the needs, requirements, and learning styles of midlife and mid-career professionals. Programs at Wright combine theory with practice in a learning model that emphasizes academic understanding, research and writing skills, experiential learning, and application.

Students in each degree program learn through a mix of mentoring and independent study based on learning objectives for each course unit. Faculty assistance is provided using a range of media including face-to-face contact, telephone, and electronic media. Wright’s programs employ contract-based and competency-based assessment, student-to-student peer feedback, project and portfolio reviews, and traditional doctoral evaluation methods such as the Comprehensive Assessment, Dissertation, and Oral Review. This flexibility comes into play in several areas: for example, in the selection of elective elements of the program, based on the student’s interests and aspirations; and in the choice of in-depth focus of study for each course unit; and in the student’s choice of domains to which to formally apply the learning.

The basic course unit at Wright is the “Area of Competence” (AC), a system modeled after the “Knowledge Areas” (KAs) employed by Fielding University and “Knowledge Area Modules” (KAMs) of Walden University.

Each eight-credit AC is composed of four components, worth two credits each:

• Academic overview
• In-depth academic study of an area
• Experiential learning analysis and assessment
• Application

For more information, visit the Wright Graduate Instititute web site.