Over the last eight-and-a-half decades, the NYU School of Professional Studies has made its mark as an institution of higher education by focusing on the needs of the workforce in NYC and beyond. The School’s ability to anticipate the demands of industry and to transform those needs into relevant and timely educational programs and services for students over the years, is what continues to make NYU SPS so unique.
Evolving to Meet the Needs of a Changing Workforce
Anticipating trends, identifying opportunities, building relationship, and forging ahead.
Yesterday and Today…
So much has changed during the School’s history—technology, communication, politics, social issues, and the globalization of business. The evolution in our classrooms and across the institution as a whole, paints a dramatic picture of just how much has transpired over the years and how the School has continued to innovate, becoming the transformational provider of higher education it is today.
Each decade new courses and degrees have been added that have addressed the needs of industry. A sampling of courses tells the tale.
Teaching and Mentoring the Next Generation of Leaders
An NYU School of Professional Studies education has always been about the quality of teaching in the classroom by faculty members who are experts in their fields and mentors to their students. Their encouragement and drive to push students to excel, problem solve, and think creatively and strategically, is what has made the School a top producer of leaders and innovators in industry.
Broadening Horizons
Across the decades, the School has embraced the idea of extending teaching and learning beyond the classroom, by immersing students in their area of interest through fields trips, site visits—and in more recent years—Global Field Intensives. These experiences provide different perspectives and allow students to network and to gain insight into the latest trends, issues, and opportunities.
Introducing New Technology
From the very first computers, to the Internet and wireless technology, the NYU School of Professional Studies has been at the very forefront of introducing the latest technology and educating people in its use. What was cutting-edge yesterday is unimaginably basic today, and what is state-of-the-art today was unthinkable in prior decades. We’ve come a long way, with ever-greater innovation just around the corner.
Addressing the Issues That Matter Most
From its early days during the Great Depression, through the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, to a world that is globally connected yet divided on so many fronts, the NYU School of Professional Studies has fostered an environment that encourages all to speak their minds. Through the years, students, faculty members, and administrators have been involved in expressing their views on the most important issues, often leaving the classrooms to take their place on the streets, and lend their support and their voices to critical causes.
Encouraging Diversity and Inclusion
The NYU School of Professional Studies prides itself on the level of diversity it has encouraged and nurtured throughout its history. Students and faculty members from all walks of life and all corners of the globe, teach and learn in our classrooms, enhancing our community by working together and bringing new and varied perspectives to the classroom and to the wide variety of activities in which they engage.
Building Industry Connections
Throughout its history, the NYU School of Professional Studies has been a partner of industries in NYC and around the world. It is these connections that serve as the underpinnings for the professionally focused teaching and learning that makes the School’s unique brand of education so invaluable. Through guest lectures by leaders in their fields, to internships at top companies and organizations, to the development and hosting of some of the largest and most prestigious conferences in the world, we are inextricably joined with the industries we serve.
Empowering Communication
From radio, to the early years of television, to the explosion of the Internet and social media, the NYU School of Professional Studies has been a leader in introducing new forms of communication to the masses by developing courses and degree programs that utilize these modes of interaction directly in the course content. We are continually monitoring the ways in which people and whole industries “speak” to one another, ensuring that what we offer is relevant to professionals who now communicate instantaneously around the world.
