Master of Professional Studies (MPS)

The Master of Professional Studies (MPS) is an interdisciplinary graduate degree program in social science and the professions with a concentration in Human Resource Management or Environmental Management. The MPS explores the application of research and experience to complex social and political issues. The Core curriculum focuses on the theoretical structure and methodology of social science disciplines and their application to the professions.

The program is offered primarily to working adults who seek professional development on a part-time basis. Courses are offered in the evening, on Saturdays, and online through SPD. Students may choose to combine face-to-face and online courses in our traditional MPS program, or they may apply to the MPS Online program and take all of their courses via Internet.

The Master of Professional Studies degree with a concentration in Human Resource Management 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.

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 trianing 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.

MPS Concentration
Students choose 18 credits with which to create a concentration in Human Resource Management (HRM) or Environmental Management. Students may apply courses from the MPS concentration toward an Advanced Graduate Certificate (AGC) in Human Resource Management or Environmental Management. Program requirements would be completed concurrently, but prospective students must apply to the AGC program separately from the MPS. Visit the webpages for the Advanced Graduate Certificate in Human Resource Management or Environmental Management for complete 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 512 /MBA 515 Comparative and International Management
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)
CEX 593/MBA 593 Special Topics in Human Resource Management

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
CES 521/MGT 520 History of Labor Relations (formerly "Bullets to Ballots")
CEV 539 Working 9-5: Social Class and Culture in American Literature (effective Summer 2008)
or, a graduate-level course approved by advisor

Environmental Management Concentration
Six 3 -credit courses, distributed among the areas listed below. Credit requirements are indicated for each area.

Core Requirement - 6 credits
CEY 501/MAR 514 Environmental Management
CEY 503/MAR 536 Environmental Law and Regulations

Area Courses - 12 credits (at least 3 credits must be selected from Area C)

Area C Courses - a minimum of 3 credits must come from Area C
CEY 505/MAR 518 Environmental Engineering
CEY 507/MAR 521 Long Island's Groundwater
CEY 512/MAR 512 Marine Pollution
CEY 522/MAR 522 Environmental Toxicology
CEY 557/MAR 557 Introduction to Risk Assessment and Management
CEY 597/EST 597 Waste Management: Systems and Principles

Area D Courses
CEY 508 Living with Radiation
CEY 509/MAR 525 Environment and Public Health
CEY 594/EST 594 Diagnosis of Environmental Disputes
EST 586 Environmental and Waste Management in Business and Industry
EST 595 Principles of Environmental Systems Analysis

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.)

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. (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.