Yesterday I went to a prospective student open house for the University of San Diego's Nonprofit Leadership and Management graduate degree programs. There were nearly 60 prospective M.A. and Ph.D. students in attendance, some
"experienced-experienced" senior-level nonprofit professionals, some mid-level professionals, some novices, and even some fresh out of undergrad. Now, I am
always eager to speak with prospective students about graduate degree programs...regardless of the institution. And, I am even more eager to speak to students about graduate programs with a pro-social focus.
So, you can imagine my delight as I scanned the conference room last night!
I was tremendously overjoyed to hear so many prospective students speak with passion about why they wanted to go to graduate school, what they were doing now, the hopes and dreams they had for the future, etc.
All of this got me thinking about the plethora of pro-social graduate degree programs that have recently been emerging in higher education, and the hopes that many people (especially many people in my generation...Millennials) have of "changing the world"...and all of the different paths that we take in attempting to do so.
In a previous post I listed doctoral, masters, and undergraduate degree programs all related to the study of Leadership. However, leadership degree programs are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of "emerging" educational routes students are pursuing in hopes of "changing the world." There are nonprofit management education degree programs (just check out the extensive list of doctoral, masters, and undergraduate nonprofit degree programs complied by Dr. Roseanne Mirabella of Seton Hall University), degree programs in sustainability (for instance, Columbia University's PhD program in Sustainable Development), graduate programs in social responsibility (for example, the interdisciplinary Masters Degree in Social Responsibility offered by Saint Cloud University), and even graduate degree fair's hosted by Idealist.org dedicated to students interested in pursuing graduate school "for the greater good."
So, in the midst of meeting students last night, I started thinking about why so many people now want to pursue careers (academic and professional) for the "greater good." Don't get me wrong, I think that all of these programs are great, and they allow students to think beyond immediacy and "the pursuit of self"--focusing on future generations, and areas such as humanitarian relief, social disparities, generational wealth, and a whole gamut of social issues. However, are we really able to change the world? Or are we all simply a bunch of idealists? And, exactly how do we go about "changing" it? And, what exactly are we "changing"?
Consider the stories of two prospective students that I had the pleasure of meeting last night.
- Prospective Student One: A young man with an undergraduate dual chemistry/biology degree and interested in the area of environmental sustainability, he currently is employed by an environmental nonprofit organization, and wants to pursue a graduate degree in Nonprofit Leadership and Management because he feels that many environmental nonprofits do not engage in management and policy decisions guided by research. So, given his academic background in the "hard" sciences, he decided he wanted to pursue a more "applications-focused" and management oriented graduate degree. A practical decision, and definitely a man with a plan!
- Prospective Student Two: A young woman with great passion. But, passion for what...she has no clue, she just knows that she wants to change the world. She pursued a undergraduate degree in linguistics, and is able to speak 3 languages fluently. So, given this ability she is thinking about the Nonprofit Leadership and Management degree as a way to get involved in international NGO work -- however, exactly what kind of work...she does not know. Definitely not a woman with a plan, but with a lot of passion!
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