Educational Studies & Leadership

What can I do with an MPS degree?

 

        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.