Today’s college graduates want to do more than make money — they want to change the world. While a six-figure bank balance is a good thing (very good, in fact), their motivation is to do what they love. With student’s interests, and our world, rapidly shifting, the types of degree programs being offered are also changing.
Today’s leaders need to know not only how to run a business, but how to do it in a sustainable manner. Today’s psychotherapists need to know not only how to cure anxiety, but how to engage people in the therapeutic process. From protecting the environment to trying to make the world a happier place, these five graduate programs are arming students with tools to leave the planet better than they found it.
1. MBA Sustainable Management, Presidio School of Management: San Francisco‘s Presidio School of Management offers a one-of-kind MBA in Sustainable Management program. This rigorous program offers students not only the qualifications of a traditional MBA, but also teaches them how to be environmentally-responsible leaders. Core classes include Leadership for Sustainable Management and Culture, Value and Ethics.
2. MA in Holistic Health Education, John F. Kennedy University: Holistic medicine is a type of health care that analyzes every aspect of a person: physical, emotional, nutritional, environmental, social and spiritual. There are only three schools in the nation that offer an MA in Holistic Health Care; John F. Kennedy University in California is one of them. In this three-year program, students study healing foods, Eastern medicine and alternative methods to handle stress. Graduates become nutritionists, writers, alternative healers and wellness coaches. Alumni say that the program revolutionized every aspect of their life from how they eat to how they socialize.
3. MS in Organizational Change Management, The New School: The New School in New York is an innovative, progressive school that arms graduates with the ability to bring “actual, positive change to the world.” One of their many groundbreaking master’s programs is the MS in Organizational Change Management. This program is focused on “leadership that makes change.” Core courses include Group Process, Facilitation and Intervention as well as Organizational Change Interventions: Theory, Design and Implementation.
4. MA in Art Therapy, New York University (NYU): Art Therapy is a respected psychological practice that involves the creative process as a form of therapy. NYU is one of the few schools that offer an MA in Art Therapy. Students are taught to combine the disciplines of art and psychotherapy to achieve positive results in patients. During the program, students are exposed to all aspects of the therapeutic process including family art therapy and diversity in art therapy. This rapidly-growing field has achieved great success with those who’ve been resistant to traditional psychological treatment.
5. MS in Applied Positive Psychology, University of Pennsylvania: Dr. Martin Seligman, a pioneer in the field, runs the MA in Applied Positive Psychology at UPenn — the first program of its kind in the world. The program’s core goal is to arm graduates with the power to make the world a happier place. Students take classes like Approaches to the Good Life and Applied Positive Interventions. To learn more about positive psychology, read Dr. Seligman’s landmark book, Authentic Happiness.
These universities are training the next generation to make their communities happier, greener and more efficient. Perhaps a future leader is you?
Photo by ASU_PCG via Flickr.