A Timely Initiative
With funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, PASSHE is launching a system-wide Professional Science Masters (PSM) Initiative to meet workforce demand in high-technology sectors, creating new opportunities for students in graduate education.
According to PASSHE's Strategic Initiatives, "PASSHE universities must be known as places where knowledge is generated to advance understanding across all academic disciplines, improve professional practice, and enhance the quality of life in the regions served" - cornerstones of the PSM degree.
According to the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis of the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, 970,000 of the new jobs in Pennsylvania will be in STEM and health care professions by the year 2018.
Since 2006, more than 20% of the Pennsylvania workforce has been comprised of science and technology jobs.
Furthermore, STEM-based jobs are predicted to outgrow the state's overall growth rate.
Therefore, PASSHE's PSM degrees, and the universities which offer them, will create new opportunities for students in graduate education, will expand opportunities for internships that link theory and the application of knowledge, and will help to transform PASSHE's role in creating the Commonwealth's future.