The teaching/learning transaction, which is central to the Master of Arts Program in Applied Professional Studies, involves several constituent groups: students, professional advisors and faculty mentor.
Students: The graduate students in the M.A. program are adults with at least three years of experience related to their fields of study who want to tailor their degree programs to address their personal and professional goals. Thus, the program serves a variety of students studying in diverse fields and ranging in age from their mid-twenties to their mid-sixties. In general, students come from fields which are not readily served by existing graduate programs, either because these fields are new or rapidly changing or because students wish to take existing fields in new directions. In addition, some students, having previously completed graduate study in other programs, utilize this program as a systematic means to update and expand their knowledge and skills as well as gain an additional graduate degree. To encourage collaboration among the rich diversity and resourcefulness of learners in the graduate program, students engage in the Liberal Learning Curriculum in learning clusters of approximately 15 other graduate students. The cluster provides a supportive learning environment as well as a network for professionals.
Professional Advisors: Within the individualized Focus Area portion of the program, each student works with a professional advisor (a recognized practitioner/expert in that field). Along with the student and the faculty mentor, the professional advisor serves as a member of the student’s Academic Committee and acts as a crucial source of both challenge and support to the student. Further, the professional advisor plays a key role in directing and facilitating the individualized portion of the M.A. curriculum and, in conjunction with the faculty mentor, helps the student identify long-range professional goals and design a program of study appropriate to meet these goals. Professional advisors are chosen based on their qualifications given the nature and scope of the student’s identified Focus Area.
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General Information 
