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 four programs in our Office of Graduate & Professional 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 (PROF 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 (PROF 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 (PROF 660)

Explore quantitative and qualitative tools and methods used to evaluate, present, and communicate data (big and small).

Electives
Take one program-specific elective tailored to your industry and career goals.
Field/Professional
Gain real-world skills in communication, teamwork, emerging technology and more.
Capstone
Harness what you’ve learned throughout your program to produce a capstone project.

Speaker: For most of the candidates who come into our program, they have a job usually somewhere around middle management, and they recognize the need to increase their ability to work with statistics because data and statistics help make decisions within a company. The Office of Professional Studies offers four online data analytics programs, and these include sports analytics management, human resource analytics management, and measure and evaluation.

We have a course in intercultural communication that addresses the diversity in where we work, how we work, and with whom we work. And it's a timely issue that isn't addressed just in this course, but it's addressed across the program. One of the benefits of being online is that we have students from across the country, and we also have students internationally. This diversity of students brings a better conversation to the table.

The faculty that we recruit are experts in their fields. As an example, we have the former director of engineering from NASA teaching a statistics course in our program. In addition to coursework, we also offer networking opportunities and career development opportunities. We've been to Special Olympics, WeWork, Microsoft, and have the opportunity to speak with executives there. We also continue to do a keynote speaker and career development panels.

We also have a strong advising staff who will work with students to make sure that the program is a good fit, the program at this time is a good fit, help them when time management to be able to balance work and school and life, and when necessary, advise them on the campus resources such as the writing center, working with a librarian and the health center, all to meet the needs of a student.

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.

“At American University's innovative Office of Graduate & Professional Studies, students learn the cross-sector, translative skills that employers increasingly demand and that shape future workforces.”

Fred Dust, partner
VIDEO Innovation and Design Firm

 

 

How is this different from other master's degree programs?

American University's Office of Graduate & Professional 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:

*Also offered as a 12-credit graduate certificate program that can be completed in 9-15 months

 

More Questions?

To learn more about how American University's online graduate degrees in the Office of Graduate & Professional Studies can help advance your career, call 855-725-7614 to speak with an admissions representative or request information.