- Areas of Emphasis
- Program Advisors and Application Deadlines
- Admission and Program Requirements
- Program Structures
- Course Descriptions
- What can I do with an MPS degree?
- Alumni Profiles
- Program Events
Few colleges and universities offer a Master of Professional Studies (MPS), and the distinct focus on humanistic/multicultural education in our MPS Program is unique. So a question that is frequently asked as we discuss the Program with potential students is "What can I do with an MPS degree?" The answer we share is "Quite a lot!" As the lists below illustrates, over the past 30 years of its existence, the Humanistic/ Multicultural Education Program has prepared professionals for successful and impactful careers in human service and not-for-profit work and in higher education, as well as in K-12 public education.
Through its competency-based approach, the Program focuses on the development critical professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes, including: appreciation for diversity, the use of experiential and reflective practices, effective human relations and critical thinking skills, democratic and collaborative practices, and a self-reflective, process-oriented approach to diversity and issues of social justice and organizational leadership that fosters personal, institutional, and social change.
Though the acquisition of these competencies will support graduates' work in a wide range of settings, here is a list of the many regional organizations and institutions that have hired this Program's graduates, as well as a list of the types of roles and positions these graduates have worked in:
Organizations & Institutions
Human Service/Health Care
Anderson Center for Autism
Ulster County Mental Health Association
Orange County Department of Social Services
Children's Home of Poughkeepsie
Crystal Run Village
Sullivan County Child Care Council
Northeast Center for Special Care
Occupations, Inc.
Ulster County Office of the Aging
Green Chimneys School
Kingston Hospital
New Horizons Resources, Inc.
Cardinal Hayes Home for Children
St.John Bosco's Child and Family Services
Not-for-Profit
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange County
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County
Planned Parenthood of Mid-Hudson Valley
Frost Valley YMCA
Grace Smith House
Mediation Center of Dutchess County
Children's Media Project
Family of Woodstock, Inc.
Glenmont Jobs Corp.
Woodstock Country Day School
Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Marist Upward Bound Program
Higher Education
SUNY New Paltz
Vassar College
Marist College
Mt. St. Mary College
Bard College
Pace University
Farleigh Dickinson University
New York Institute of Technology
Orange County Community College
Ulster County Community College
Dutchess County Community College
Rockland County Community College
Columbia-Greene Community College
SUNY Maritime College
Professional Roles & Positions
Human Service and Not-For-Profit Organizations
Executive Director
Director of Education
Director of Intakes
Supervisor of Clinical Services
Vice President of Marketing and Development
Program Director
Residential Counselor
Employment Specialist
Community Educator
Higher Education
Student and Support Services
Dean of Campus Life
Associate Dean of Campus Life
Assistant Dean of Freshman Admissions
Assistant Dean of Students
Assistant Dean for Community Development
Chairperson of Child Care and Human Services
Director of Student Life
Assistant Director of Student Activities and Conference Services
Director and Assistant Director of the Educational Opportunity Program
Director of Student Accounts
Assistant Director of Financial Aid
Service Learning Coordinator
Instructional Media Coordinator
Adolescent Specialist - Migrant Worker Program
Admissions Counselor
Academic Advisor
Career Placement Advisor
Program Coordinator
Complex Director
Internship Coordinator
LGBTQ Coordinator
Deputy Title IX Coordinator
Part-time and tenure-track faculty teaching in:
- education
- sociology
- human services
- language
- communication
- film studies
Public Education
The Humanistic/Multicultural Education Program offers a 36-credit MPS degree that leads to NYS Professional Certification in the following special subject areas: music, physical education, health, technology, and family and consumer science. As one of the few institutions in the region that provides a Masters Degree and Professional Certification in these special subject areas, this program plays an important role in providing a graduate-level course degree and a college-sponsored pathway to New York State teaching certification in these subjects areas. Our graduates have worked as special subject teachers in virtually every school district in the Mid-Hudson region.
K-12 teachers seeking Professional Certification (Elementary or Secondary) and who are committed to a multicultural approach to teaching have taken advantage of our alternative program to become Professionally Certified through the MPS Program. These teachers work in a variety of school districts in the Mid-Hudson Valley and beyond. Also, many teachers have returned to earn a second Masters through this program.
The Program's Masters of Professional Studies has also provided a foundation for public school educators to pursue careers in the following areas: student assistance counselors, guidance counselors, attendance officers, school nurse/teachers, assistant principals, principals, school district superintendents.