Keep Pace with Today’s Workplace
From data-driven decision-making to intercultural collaboration, success in the modern workplace requires a whole new set of knowledge and skills.
Prepare with one of the six programs in our School of Professional & Extended Studies. Featuring both industry-specific training and the industry-spanning skills you need to thrive right now.
This curriculum model consists of four phases: Core, Electives, Field/Professional, and Capstone.
American University's Professional Studies Experience
A step-by-step introduction to this four-phase curriculum model.

Core
Work with a cohort of students from a variety of backgrounds and gain the broad-based knowledge today’s employers have deemed most important.
Innovation Through New Technologies (SPEX 600)
Explore the current and potential impacts of new, emerging, and rapidly evolving technologies on organizations and their operations, across a range of industries and sectors.
Intercultural Communication for Professionals (SPEX 610)
Improve intercultural competencies and communication skills, with a focus on aspects of intercultural communication highly relevant to technical experts and managers.
Data-Driven Decision-Making (SPEX 660)
Explore quantitative and qualitative tools and methods used to evaluate, present, and communicate data (big and small).

Take one program-specific elective tailored to your industry and career goals.

Gain real-world skills in communication, teamwork, emerging technology and more.

Harness what you’ve learned throughout your program to produce a capstone project.

THE DC EXPERIENCE @ AU
Every online student has the optional opportunity to visit the 90-acre American University campus in Washington, D.C., for two days of networking and professional development.
Connect with your peers and world-class AU faculty members to explore the boundaries of your chosen field and future career. Attend hands-on professional workshops, presentations, offsite field trips and private events like campus tours, all while experiencing the nation’s capital.

PERSONALIZED SUPPORT
From day one through graduation, you’ll have access to dedicated support in achieving your goals with American University. That includes one-on-one support from your program director, who can provide enrollment guidance and advice to help you plan and develop you career.
Plus, all students have access to our Career Directions Program, which includes online career workshops and career coaching opportunities.
Fred Dust, partner
VIDEO Innovation and Design Firm
How is this different from other master's degree programs?
American University's School of Professional & Extended Studies has long provided leading-edge, experiential learning that includes interdisciplinary and hands-on study. Because the rigorous coursework address employers' needs, students are prepared for a seat at the table with leaders and employers. Students graduate with knowledge and skills that can immediately be applied to real-world situations.
Upon graduation, students are ready to join the workforce equipped with these essential tools.

Knowledge
You'll understand how to:
- Identify and apply frameworks that define culture and intercultural communication
- Evaluate standards of success, failure, cultural self-determination, and responsibility to protect, as they relate to different cultural systems
- Evaluate the impact of technology on intercultural communications

Skills
You'll be able to:
- Apply intercultural behavioral skills to foster intercultural understanding in others
- Demonstrate reflective and critical thinking skills aimed at understanding one's own culture and positionality
- Develop and apply verbal and nonverbal intercultural communication skills
- Implement effective strategies to address cultural and ethical scenarios

Attitude
You'll set yourself apart by being able to:
- Appreciate the ethical considerations involved when intervening across intercultural/international contexts
- Demonstrate cultural awareness, openness, and sensitivity toward others
The career-focused nature of American University's online programs means you'll develop flexibility, cross-cultural competence, and collaborative skills essential for success in the 21st-century global knowledge economy.
Explore Programs
Designed in response to a need among employers for highly trained individuals, our newly redeveloped, 30-credit online curriculum prepares students for successful careers in the following specializations:
- MS in Agile Project Management*
- MS in Healthcare Management*
- MS in Human Resource Analytics and Management*
- MS in Instructional Design and Learning Analytics*
- MS in Measurement and Evaluation*
- MS in Sports Analytics and Management*
More Questions?
To learn more about how American University's online graduate degrees in the School of Professional & Extended Studies can help advance your career, call 855-725-7614 to speak with an admissions representative or request information.