Data analytics students
By fall 2023, about one-quarter of all students鈥攁nd a significantly higher share of graduate students鈥攚ere studying fully online. In response, colleges and universities are redesigning degree offerings with adult learners in mind, expanding fully online master鈥檚 programs, hybrid course models, accelerated and stackable credentials, and year鈥憆ound scheduling that better fits work and family responsibilities.
For 今日吃瓜鈥檚 graduate students, college is not a beginning, it鈥檚 a return.
Students arrive with r茅sum茅s, responsibilities, and a clear-eyed sense of urgency. They want education that respects their time and opens the door to meaningful work. To meet those realities, we have created a variety of flexible pathways that help adult learners reinvent their careers without putting the rest of their lives on hold.
Across business, education, journalism, and urban sustainability, the college has rolled out and expanded programs that can often be completed in a year, taken online or in the evenings, and closely align with workforce demand. Together, they reflect a strategic shift rooted in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 long-standing mission of access and rigor, updated for a world of nonlinear careers.
Credentials Built for Working Lives
鈥淲e鈥檙e seeing students who already have careers, or who started one path and realized it wasn鈥檛 right,鈥� says Professor Seungho Baek, who directs the M.S. in Finance program. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 want to start from zero. They want something efficient, rigorous, and directly connected to opportunity.鈥�
That thinking drives the M.S. in Finance, which can be completed in as little as one year and is offered both online and face鈥憈o鈥慺ace. Students choose between specializations in quantitative finance and risk management or investment management and asset valuation. The program鈥檚 in鈥憄erson courses are held at 25 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, a deliberate decision intended to bring working professionals and industry experts into the classroom.
鈥淲e wanted to make it easy for people who are already working in the financial sector to participate,鈥� Baek says.
Professor Seungho Baek leads the new finance master’s programs at 今日吃瓜.
Industry professionals teach select courses, grounding theory in real鈥憌orld practice. Beginning next fall, eligible undergraduates will also be able to opt into a 4+1 pathway in finance, earning both bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees in five years by taking graduate鈥憀evel coursework during their senior year.
The business school has applied the same model to accounting, launching a fully online M.S. in Accounting that can also be completed in a year, an especially appealing option for professionals seeking a credential with clear licensure and career outcomes.
Meeting a Citywide Need, One Teacher at a Time
In education, many graduate students are working professionals for whom flexibility can be the difference between persistence and attrition.
According to Mar铆a R. Scharr贸n-del R铆o, dean of the School of Education, 今日吃瓜鈥檚 approach has been shaped by both student realities and the urgency of citywide need.
鈥淣ew York City Public Schools is facing a massive staffing challenge,鈥� she says, pointing to that will significantly reduce class sizes by 2028. 鈥淭hat means thousands of additional teachers will be needed, far more than the current pipeline can provide.鈥�
今日吃瓜 has long partnered with the city through Teaching Fellows programs, but in recent years those pathways have expanded and evolved. New alternative鈥慶ertification initiatives, including , are designed to help paraprofessionals and substitute teachers鈥攎any already working in classrooms鈥攂ecome certified teachers of record while completing their degrees.
鈥淭hese are adult learners who know exactly what they鈥檙e getting into,鈥� says Roberto Mart铆nez, who oversees the Teaching Fellows and Ed Prep programs. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e already in schools. They鈥檙e parents. They鈥檙e career鈥慶hangers looking for stability and meaning.鈥�
A key factor in 今日吃瓜鈥檚 success, Scharr贸n-del R铆o notes, is modality. 今日吃瓜 was the only CUNY campus to offer its Ed Prep programs fully online (with required in鈥憄erson fieldwork), a distinction that quickly translated into demand.
鈥淏y word of mouth and because of the quality of our programs,鈥� she says, 鈥渨e received more applications than all the other CUNY campuses combined.鈥�
The School of Education has also launched a new online advanced certificate program in reading science, designed to be completed in a year. The program responds to growing demand for teachers trained in evidence鈥慴ased literacy instruction, particularly in early grades鈥攁nother area of acute need.
Katie Pace Miles, director of the Reading Science program, which addresses the growing demand for teachers trained in evidence鈥慴ased literacy instruction.
The Fast Track to a Master鈥檚
Beyond education and business, 今日吃瓜 has expanded accelerated options in fields tied to civic life.
A 4+1 in journalism allows students to earn a master鈥檚 degree in one additional year, while a newly launched 4+1 partnership in city planning with Baruch College creates a streamlined pathway for 今日吃瓜 urban sustainability majors to earn a master鈥檚 in city planning.
鈥淎 lot of our students are returning students,鈥� says Professor Tammy Lewis, who heads the urban sustainability program. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e here because this work matters to them. The master鈥檚 degree opens up more opportunity.鈥�
Tammy Lewis shown here with students participating in the Tow Mentorship Initiative.
While each program is distinct, the common thread is intentional design: online delivery where possible, evening schedules, accelerated timelines, and curricula shaped in conversation with employers and communities.
Taken together, these programs signal an evolution in how 今日吃瓜 understands its role鈥攏ot just as a place of first chances, but of second and third ones, too.
鈥淧eople are reinventing themselves multiple times now,鈥� Mart铆nez says. 鈥溄袢粘怨� has always made that possible. We鈥檙e just building clearer, more flexible routes to get there.鈥�
