Stay Home...Go Far. The Master of Professional Studies Online

The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) Online is an interdisciplinary graduate degree program in social science with a concentration in Human Resource Management. The MPS curriculum strikes a balance between theory and practice, to guide HR practitioners in making informed decisions about management and policy.

The courses in the concentration focus on the fundamentals, addressing a wide range of topics in the areas of human resource administration and employee relations. The core curriculum provides the theoretical structure and methodology of the social science disciplines and their application to the professions.

The Master of Professional Studies degree with the Human Resource Management concentration meets the educational prerequisite for admission into the SPD's Post-Master's Advanced Graduate Certificate in School District Business Leadership. The HR concentration is offered in collaboration with Stony Brook's College of Business and has been approved for online delivery by the New York State Education Department.

This program is offered completely online; we have an on-campus version as well. To find out more about online learning at the School of Professional Development, visit our SPD Online website.

Degree Program
This degree program consists of 30 credits, distributed among the areas listed below. Credit requirements appear in each area or section.

MPS Core Curriculum - 9 credits

• 3 credits from Area A
• 3 credits from Area B
• 3 credits from EITHER Area A OR Area B

There are no transfer credits or substitutions allowed for 9-credit core curriculum.

Area A Courses
CEI 504 Human Behavior as Rational Action
CEI 505 Foundations of Social Science Methodology
CEX 520 Ethics in Management

Area B Courses
CEI 560/POL 560 American Democracy: Its Critics and Defenders
CEI 596 Seminar on Leadership in Organizations
CEN 580 Assessment of Socio-Technological Problems and Issues

MPS Project Seminar (CED 595) - 3 credits
The goal of the SPD Project Seminar is to teach students to understand and conduct graduate level research. The research paper may or may not result in a project, e.g., a model curriculum for an employee training program. Students will be guided in selecting a topic for their research paper. Methodology and resources will be reviewed as the student’s work is developed.
Prerequisite: Matriculation in MA/LS or MPS degree program; completion of 12 graduate credits within the program.
Note: S/U grading applies. No "I"/Incompletes will be given. If a "U"/Unsatisfactory grade is received, the course must be repeated. There are no transfer credits or substitutions permitted for CED 595/Project Seminar.

Human Resource Management Concentration
Students choose 18 credits with which to create a concentration in Human Resource Management (HRM). Students may apply courses from the HRM Concentration toward an Advanced Graduate Certificate (AGC) in Human Resource Management. This is a separate credential that requires a separate application (see the AGC in HRM page for details).

Human Resource Management Concentration

Required Courses - 6 credits
CES 516/MBA 533 Survey of Employee Relations
and either
CES 515/MBA 532 Survey, Human Resource Administration
or CES 523/MBA 523 Human Resource Management Workshop

Concentration Courses-12 credits
At least one course must be from each of the three categories: Human Resource Administration, Employee Relations and History and Culture.

Human Resource Administration
CEI 585 Principles of Adult Learning
CES 510/MBA 510 In Addition to Wages: Employee Benefits (prerequisite: CES 515 or CES 523)
CES 511/MBA 513 Human Relations in the Workplace
CES 513/MBA 531 New Developments, Human Resource Administration
CES 526/MBA 526 Job Evaluation and Compensation Systems (prerequisite: CES 515 or CES 523)
CEX 523/MBA 509 Continuous Quality Improvement
CEX 537/MBA 537 Employee Training - Career Development
CEX 538/MBA 538 Organizational Change and Development (prerequisite: CES 515 or CES 523)

Employee Relations
CES 514/MBA 514 Collective Bargaining in Public Sector (prerequisite: CES 515) [formerly MGT 514]
CES 518/MBA 534 Contemporary Issues in Employee Relations
CES 519/MBA 519 Grievance Handling and Arbitration (prerequisite: CES 516)
CES 524/MBA 524 Employee Negotiations Workshop
CES 525/MBA 525 Employment Law (prerequisite: CES 516)
CEX 547/MBA 530 Negotiation and Conflict Resolution

History and Culture
CER 537 Public Policy and Labor Markets
CES 517/MBA 527 Women, Work, and Dollars
CEV 539 Working 9-5: Social Class and Culture in American Literature (effective Summer 2008)
or, a graduate-level course approved by advisor

Timeline
All degree requirements must be completed within five (5) years from the semester date of admission as a matriculated student.

NOTE: When a student is admitted or readmitted to an SPD degree or certificate program, students may petition SPD to have courses that are older than five (5) years, and no older than 10 years, individually evaluated by the appropriate department/faculty to determine if the credits may be applied toward current SPD degree/certificate requirements. Grades in such courses must be "B" or better. (B- grades are ineligible for review.)

Advantages of the MPS Online Program
The advantages of taking the online version of the MPS program over the traditional (face-to-face) MPS are:

• Priority registration for SPD's popular online courses
• Online students log into their courses whenever and wherever they have Internet access, 24 hours a day/7 days a week
  
• Earn a master's degree without ever traveling to or setting foot on campus
• On-campus University fees are waived

Note: Students matriculated into the MPS Online degree program cannot register for any face-to-face course. All courses must be taken online.

Online Student Requirements

Do you have what it takes to be an online student? Read these FAQs before you apply.

Tuition and Fee Information

The tuition for the MPS Online is the same as any other Stony Brook graduate program. Tuition rates are available on the Bursar's webpage.

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How to Apply
Applications are accepted online via Apply Yourself. All applicants must provide a valid email address and must be using a web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) that is Javascript-enabled (as most browsers are). If you have any questions about the technical requirements, see the Apply Yourself website.

To complete the application process, you will need to do the following:

1. Complete an online orientation and submit the required online Orientation Checklist at the end of the online orientation section, under SIGN OUT.
2. Write a personal statement that expresses your educational and/or career goals. The statement should be a minimum of one and a maximum of five pages. Save the statement to your hard drive. (If you are not using Microsoft Word, you will need to save the document in a Text-Only or Rich Text Format.)
3. Go to the Apply Yourself website and click on the "Create Account" button. By creating an account, you will receive a unique ID so you can check your application status online.
4. Submit the nonrefundable $100 application fee, either via credit card, check, or money order. (Instructions are on the Apply Yourself website.)
5. Arrange to have an official, sealed copy of your transcript sent to SPD. Mailing address: School of Professional Development, N-201 Social & Behavioral Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4310. (The full ZIP code must be used.) The transcript must show that you have earned a bachelor's degree with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75 (if your GPA is lower than 2.75, please see the note on Conditional Admission, below). If you earned your bachelor's from Stony Brook, SPD will access your transcript electronically.
6. Print, fill out, and return Immunization Form (28 KB; Requires Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer).
7. Additional requirements apply for International Students (see Information for International Students).

If you cannot complete the application online, you can call SPD (631.632.7050, option 3) and arrange to have an application sent to you. Please note, however, that printed applications take longer to process.

Conditional Admission
If your official transcript indicates an undergraduate cumulative GPA below 2.75, you will be considered for conditional admission. Conditionally admitted part-time students must achieve a 3.00 GPA after attempting six graduate credits (applicable to their program) at Stony Brook. Full-time students (12 or more credits) must achieve a 3.00 GPA after their first semester. If a 3.00 GPA is not achieved as aforementioned, students normally will not be permitted to re-enroll. However, a student may petition SPD's Committee on Academic Standing to be allowed to continue taking courses as a non-matriculating student.

Application Deadlines*

• July 15 for Fall admission.
• December 15 for Spring admission.
• March 15 for Summer admission.

*Applications may be accepted after these dates, but there may fewer course options available for late applicants.

Contact Information

For program advisement questions:

Dr. Manuel London
Associate Dean of the College of Business
Director of the Center for Human Resource Studies
312 Harriman Hall
Stony Brook, NY 11794-3775
Tel: 631-632-7159
Fax: 631-632-9412
Email: manuel.london@stonybrook.edu

For application questions:

Admissions and Advisement
School of Professional Development
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4310
Telephone: 631-632-7050, option 3
Fax: 631-632-9046
Email: spd@stonybrook.edu

Statement of Student Responsibility
Students themselves—whether new, returning, or continuing—are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and adhering to their degree and/or certificate program requirements. (SPD’s Non-matriculating (non-degree) Graduate Students [GSP] are responsible for adhering to the guidelines related to non-matriculated status.) All SPD students are responsible for reviewing, understanding, and complying with University and SPD regulations, policies, and procedures, as described in all official publications, the University website, and the SPD website, including, but not limited to, SPD’s online references, the SPD Student Handbook and SPD Academic Calendar.