ESU Offering Nationally Recognized Professional Science Master's Program

Posted by: admin on July 12, 2012, No Comments

Starting this fall, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate College is offering a nationally recognized Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree program that will give students the tools to use the hottest computer and satellite technology in the fast-growing field of environmental science.

ESU’s PSM program was the second one in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) to receive national PSM Affiliation and to be included on the national listing of PSM programs at www.sciencemasters.com. To receive this level of national recognition, ESU’s program combines advanced training in an emerging and interdisciplinary field in the sciences with courses in professional skills such as communications and leadership, and an internship experience.

“This is a wonderful accomplishment for our institution,” said Dr. Marcia G. Welsh, president of ESU. “Our ability to offer this graduate degree program speaks to ESU’s vision to build a solid learning community while maximizing the integration of technology into our already strong science and business management and leadership programs. Most assuredly, our students will be well-equipped to lead companies and organizations of any scale.”

“It’s designed to prepare students for leadership positions in high-technology positions in business and government,” said Dr. Marilyn J. Wells, ESU vice provost and dean of the Graduate College. “You need your brilliant scientists for research and development, but you also need people who can build teams, manage projects and strategically develop an organization.”

“The programs are developed closely with the input of an employer advisory board because we need to know what they need,” Wells said.

PASSHE received a $50,000 grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to assist in the development of at least five new Professional Science Master’s Initiative programs at several of its universities. The programs are designed to meet workforce demand in high technology sectors, creating new student opportunities in graduate education. Kutztown University, another PASSHE school, offers a Professional Science Master’s degree in computer science.

The ESU Professional Science Master’s students will learn geotechnology, which the U.S. Department of Labor has identified as one of the most important emerging fields. Geotechnology uses computer technology and satellites to map everything from shoreline erosion to flood plain boundaries to population shifts. The international science journal Nature has said of the practitioners: “These high-tech geographers have turned computer mapping into a powerful decision-making tool.”

ESU’s program will be under the direction of Dr. Shixiong (Shawn) Hu, chair of the geography department. Students will graduate with a master of science (MS) in General Science with applications of Geographic Information System (GIS)/Remote Sensing (RS) to Environmental Science. They will be required to take 36 credits in courses such as Applied Geographic Information Science, Introduction to Remote Sensing, and oral and written communication.

The Council of Graduate Schools approved ESU’s Professional Science Master’s program in June, making it part of a growing trend in graduate education. In 2008, only 58 institutions offered PSMs, today 124 do.

“This is an exciting opportunity for students to pursue an interdisciplinary cutting-edge graduate education, embracing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), while developing the business acumen sought by prospective employers,” said Dr. Tom Tauer, ESU assistant provost.

Instead of a thesis, the PSM typically requires students to complete a collaborative research project, as well as an internship with an employer in the business, government or non-profit sectors. ESU expects to make use of its senior membership in the Marine Science Consortium which has affiliations with NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility inVirginia,  and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Students will gain hands-on skills in field data collection, laboratory analysis and environmental modeling which businesses and agencies are looking for. “These master’s degree graduates will be ready to go from Day One,” Wells said. “Employers get a fresh set of eyes and new young minds.”

A master’s of General Science was one of the first graduate degrees the university offered when the Graduate College launched its first programs in 1962.

“We are taking a degree program in the sciences in which we’ve had a historical strength, and preparing students for 21st century careers,” Wells said. “It’s building on our legacy.”