The USAG Schinnen Education Center, in conjunction with the University of Maryland, offers a new masters degree program that molds students in flexible classroom environments to become competitive in emerging job markets and, depending on tuition assistance, enables a student to earn a degree 70 to 80 percent less than the prevailing market cost in the states.

“We’re very excited about launching several new degree programs that are relevant to military customers. They were designed with them in mind and meet the demands of the job market today and in the future,” Dr. Judy Smith, Director of Graduate Programs for the University of Maryland said.

The University of Maryland has recently begun offering a 36-credit hour program for a Master’s Degree in Public Administration (MPA), and they are hoping to expand face-to-face courses to the Benelux area in the fall.

The program requires the student to concentrate in either Health Care Administration, Environmental Management or Homeland Security. “Our research shows that military members more often transition to government or government contractor jobs than to jobs on Wall Street. So an MPA with these concentrations is very relevant to a military member,” Smith said.

Because of several tuition assistance programs, students commonly pay $270 per credit hour or less overseas, but it’s not uncommon to pay more than $900 per credit hour in the states, according to Byron Johnston, USAG Schinnen Education Center Director.

“With the MPA, we’re planting the seeds for what we hope will become a viable offering of many Master Degree programs. The large area of responsibility for USAG Schinnen means we want to find students from Belgium, the Netherlands and northern Germany and build a schedule of hybrid classes that offer a mix of seminar weekends and online instruction,” Johnston said.

“There are many teachers, medical personnel, family members and military members in our tri-border region. I’m amazed that Coast Guard personnel drive all the way from Rotterdam for classes or to take advantage of our testing facilities. It’s up to a two and half hour drive for them, but they do it. A small group of determined students could make an MPA program in our region work,” said Johnston.

Masters Degree programs are planned to be offered later this year include a Master’s Degree in counseling and a Master’s Degree in technology, each with its own refined areas of concentration, specialization and, in time, licensing options too, Smith explained.

Colleges contracted by the U.S. military to provide educational services overseas are fully accredited. To learn more, contact the USAG Schinnen Education Center at 0031-46-443-7651.

Published March 1, 2010