The City University of New York kicked off the Spring semester today with new graduate programs that will prepare students to become leaders in generative AI and early child care, two critical priorities for New York State and City.
“CUNY is investing in helping students successfully graduate and succeed in today’s economy,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez. “With our launch of graduate programs in generative AI and early childhood education, we are providing vital tools to equip New Yorkers with the skills needed to get hired, advance their careers and lead in fields shaping the future and closely aligned with the needs of our city and state.”
The semester also begins with news that Governor Hochul will be expanding CUNY Reconnect, her free community college program for adult learners who are pursuing a degree in high-demand fields. In her executive budget for the next fiscal year, the Governor added $60 million to expand Reconnect to career paths including emergency management and air traffic control and transportation, and to adults obtaining a nursing degree even if they already completed a degree in a different discipline. Financial support will also be provided for former foster youth who wish to finish their undergraduate studies. CUNY Reconnect has already helped nearly 6,000 New Yorkers between the ages of 25 and 55 enroll at a CUNY community college to pursue tuition-free degrees.
Growing AI
This spring marks the launch of a Master of Science in Generative AI at the CUNY School of Professional Studies (SPS), the University’s first graduate-level program dedicated to AI and among the first of its kind in the nation. The program was designed for executives and decision-makers with STEM or data science backgrounds.
The semester also begins with the recent announcement of an award from Google.org totaling more than $1 million to support the CUNY Graduate Center’s work with the statewide Empire AI consortium. It was the third major gift the University has received in support of expanding its growing academic and research initiatives in AI.
In addition, CUNY has awarded more than $3 million in new grants to faculty and academic staff who are leading CUNY’s development of AI across the University. The grants support faculty- and staff-led AI initiatives to strengthen academic programs, expand student-centered services and modernize institutional processes that support teaching, learning and student success.
Preparing Leaders in Child Care
The University is also launching a Master of Arts in Early Childhood and Policy Leadership, a fully online, asynchronous graduate program launching at CUNY SPS. This program, offered in partnership with the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute’s Career Development Center, is designed to prepare early childhood professionals to become effective leaders, advocates and decision-makers in early childhood education policy and administration.
One of the few programs of its kind in the nation, the 30-credit M.A. blends rigorous academic study with practical skill development, equipping graduates to lead organizations, influence policy at local, state, and federal levels, and advance equity, quality and family engagement in early learning.
The master’s will be essential to carrying out the mayor’s and governor’s visions of universal child care in NYC and NYS. The governor proposed several measures to strengthen New York’s early childhood education workforce by expanding credentials and other training pathways and broadening access to workforce scholarships and other forms of financial aid. Her plan also directs CUNY to expand and streamline early childhood education programs. CUNY already trains over one-third of all new teachers in the New York City Public Schools. One out of every 20 undergraduate degrees granted by CUNY in 2022-23 was in education, and education is the University’s largest area of study at the graduate level.
Spring semester classes began today at most CUNY colleges. Classes at the CUNY School of Law began last Monday. For Guttman, Kingsborough and LaGuardia community colleges, the spring semester will start on March 4. These colleges operate on a distinct academic calendar constructed to allow students additional flexibility to earn more credits per semester.
