Johnson and Wales University

Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is an American private, nonprofit, co-educational, career-oriented university with four regional campuses located throughout the United States. Providence, Rhode Island is home to JWU's first and largest campus. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU currently has 17,230 students enrolled in Business, Arts & Sciences, Culinary Arts, Education, Engineering, Equine management, Hospitality, and Engineering Technology programs across its campuses. The University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools & Colleges (NEASC), through its Commission on Institutions of Higher Education. Johnson & Wales University operates campuses in four locations: the founding Providence, Rhode Island campus housing JWU's business, hospitality, and technology programs (called Downcity and opened in 1914) with a subsidiary campus housing JWU's culinary and graduate programs (called Harborside and opened in 1985) in Cranston, Rhode Island; North Miami, Florida (opened in 1992); Denver, Colorado (opened in 2000); and Charlotte, North Carolina (opened in 2004). (Two previous campuses in Charleston, South Carolina (opened in 1984) and Norfolk, Virginia opened in 1986, were gradually consolidated into the Charlotte campus, starting in September 2003 and ending in May 2006 with the closures of the Norfolk and Charleston campuses. JWU currently has four academic units at four of its campuses: the College of Business, the College of Culinary Arts, the Hospitality College, and the School of Arts & Sciences. The Providence Downcity campus is home to the College of Business, the Hospitality College, the School of Arts & Sciences, and the School of Technology. The Providence Harborside campus is home to several additional academic units: the Alan Shawn Feinstein Graduate School and the College of Culinary Arts. The Providence Harborside campus is also home to the School of Education, which offers specialized master's and doctoral degree programs. Students just entering the field can earn a Master of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T. Program) and current teachers can earn a Masters of Education degree (M.Ed.) For current teachers who want to advance their degree, there is a doctoral program where they can earn their Ed.D. Johnson & Wales University is well known for its Culinary Arts program but was first founded as Business and Hospitality programs. The university is the largest food service educator in the world. JWU is one of the top three Hospitality Colleges, according to the 2010 rankings released by the American Universities Admissions Program, which ranks of American universities according to their international reputation. JWU is home to 39th largest College of Business in the United States. The university offers a wide variety of degrees, including Accounting, Fashion Merchandising & Retail Management, Equine Studies/Equine Business Management & Riding, Management, Marketing, Criminal Justice, Entrepreneurship, Hotel & Lodging Management, and Sports/Entertainment/Event Management. The Providence Downcity campus offers 2 and 4 years degree programs in technology such as Network Engineering, Electronics & Robotics Engineering, Computer Programming, and Graphic Design. JWU's academic year is divided into three trimesters, each 11 weeks long, where the standard fall and spring semesters are replaced with fall, winter, and spring trimesters. Classes are also offered during the summer months creating a fourth academic period. This results in an earlier spring break and a typical summer break from May to September. During fall, winter, and spring terms, students usually take three to four courses a term. Students in the Culinary program are enrolled in five nine-day lab sessions, which take place Monday through Thursday each week. Such courses are only available for full-time students.