Specialized degree programs rise in popularity
As students prepare to enter a job market flush with candidates bearing traditional degrees, they are forced to ponder the questions: Communications or cooking? History or hospital management? English or information technology?
For perhaps the first time in the storied history of U.S. higher education, students ”“ prospective and current ”“ are beginning to question the value of a liberal arts degree in today”™s economy.
As they deliberate, Westchester colleges have reported that increasing numbers of their students are opting for specialized degree programs.
The shift should come as little surprise. In Westchester and the Hudson Valley, health care, information technology, biotechnology and financial services are among the fastest-growing industries.
In response, a number of local colleges have placed an increased emphasis on their corresponding studies, including two- and four-year degree programs in business management, nursing, health services, information technology and accounting, among others.
At the same time, more unusual specialized degrees and pre-professional programs are emerging, ranging from interior design to the culinary arts to criminal justice.
Education consultant Jane Klemmer attributed some of the new programs ”“ and the newfound interest in those programs ”“ to an anxiety about what job will be waiting at the end of the tunnel.
“I think it comes out of a fear of not really knowing what is going to be available for our kids when they graduate and what the future is going to bring,” said Klemmer, owner of Klemmer Education Consulting L.L.C. in Briarcliff Manor. “There are always going to be new fields developing, yet some of them are going to need specific education that may not even exist today.”
Cost is another important consideration. With increasing numbers of students electing to go straight into graduate programs after receiving their bachelor”™s degree, Klemmer said specialized degree programs often represent a more affordable alternative.
“I don”™t think you can divorce this conversation from the cost of college ”¦. People are trying to avoid that extra expense of graduate school,” she said.
At Monroe College, with campuses in New Rochelle and the Bronx, the curriculum combines a liberal arts core with specialized programs, which range from accounting and business management to baking and culinary arts.
“There”™s no doubt that especially in an economy where people need a focus more than anything, there”™s a bigger demand for career-oriented degrees like we offer,” said Carol Genese, director of the Office of Career Advancement at Monroe. “Enrollment is strong and one of the things about Monroe is we”™re able to really keep our finger on the pulse of the job market and what employers want.”
Monroe, like other area colleges, maintains strong relationships with some of the county”™s biggest employers and is constantly responding to the market”™s demand, Genese said.
“We”™re able to respond well with degrees and programs as we look toward what the trends will be and what the predictors for the hottest jobs will be.”
As of late, those jobs include positions in the hotel and restaurant industry, in health care and in information technology management, Genese said. Add it all up, and she said internship and job opportunities for graduating Monroe students are “absolutely” back to pre-recession levels.
At Berkeley College, with eight campuses in Westchester, New York City and New Jersey, administrators addressed the growing demand for specialized degree programs with the creation of a School of Professional Studies two and a half years ago.
The school”™s offerings are eclectic, including degrees in paralegal studies, criminal justice, interior design and health services, but Dean Judith Kornberg said students have responded so far with gusto. Already, the criminal justice degree is among the most popular at Berkeley.
By combining a strong liberal arts component with specialized programs, Kornberg said Berkeley students have been well-equipped to handle the job market.
“I think it”™s incredibly valuable. You want somebody who”™s knowledgeable in the field, but you also want a well-rounded employee to be your representative,” she said.
The concern now becomes one of the relevance of a liberal arts degree, and whether the rise of specialized degree programs will leave a void in the workforce, Klemmer said.
“Young people and their families are career-focused earlier and are beginning to question whether the liberal arts is the most efficient route to professional success,” she said. “They are discounting the importance of the critical-thinking piece that you”™re more apt to get with a liberal arts education.”
Klemmer questioned whether the lack of those critical-thinking skills would hurt new graduates down the road as they move from career to career.
“That critical-thinking piece is what will enable students to be flexible once they graduate from college and go through the five or so careers they are likely to have in their lifetime, as opposed to going to a pre-professional program where they”™re more likely to learn [specific skills].”