Education and Camp Guide 2.1 - Flipbook - Page 6
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The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, February 1, 2026
Not Just a Dream
Graduate degrees for working
adults are within reach
By E. Rose Scarff, Contributing Writer
M
any working adults want to
advance their careers or make
a change into another field
altogether, but getting the
advanced education needed seems like a
dream. When they have family and financial commitments that need a paycheck
coming in, going back to school often
seems next to impossible. The programs
featured here are designed with working
adults in mind.
The
Master’s
in
Landscape
Architecture (MLA) program at Morgan
State University (seen in photos here) is
the oldest in the state since it has been
around for more than 40 years. The online
element is more recent, but in consequence it is now more accessible to working adults. Classes are a combination of
in-person, online synchronous, and online
non-synchronous. Some classes utilize all
these different modalities.
“We have a combination of both evening classes and in the afternoons,” says
Laurel McSherry, associate professor,
director, graduate landscape architecture
program, “so people can continue to
work.” It is a professional degree program
designed for students with a non-design
background. It takes about three years
for those without a design background,
although there is another track which is
shorter for those who have the required
background education.
Besides learning about design, students also learn about plants, buildings,
hydrology and urban farming, among
other things. In their third year, students
can take a semester off from classes to
work with an organization in their field of
interest. It is for about 20 hours a week
and they are paid.
A brief look at the landscape architecture students’ profiles on Morgan’s
website shows that students come from
many different educational and career
backgrounds, as well as different states
and countries, but all have a desire to
learn about design for the intersection of
natural and built environments. Most also
have a strong interest in sustainability and
community needs.
After graduation they will be able to
find work in small or large design offices
for landscape or architecture or interdisciplinary design. They might work in
urban planning. They could do public
sector work with the City of Baltimore or
the Department of Parks and Recreation,
or government jobs in Washington, D.C.
Some may become entrepreneurs to see
their landscape architecture dream come
to fruition.
Towson University has had an occupational science department for many
years, but their Ph.D. program for working
professionals is relatively new. It is geared
toward those who already hold a master’s degree in occupational therapy or in
social science. It is offered fully online or
in a hybrid format and is interdisciplinary.
Occupational therapy (OT) practice
ranges from medical settings to community-based settings. It can address issues
which might be more mental health and
psychosocial in nature. It might address
physical disabilities. “All under the
umbrella of helping people participate
in the activities of daily life, which we
call occupations,” says Kendra Heatwole
Shank, Ph.D., associate professor and
department chair for the occupational
science program.
Occupational science looks at the
science behind how people engage in
things that are meaningful to them across
their lifespan and the connection between
the things that they do and their well-being. Students in the occupational therapy
Ph.D. program might be drawn to further
research in their field and/or, to teaching
in an academic setting.
The number of schools offering this
degree is small across the country, so The
Society of the Study of Occupation: USA
offers a venue where practitioners can
exchange ideas and support the global
discipline of occupational science. The
Society’s goal is to build a body of knowledge of occupational science to benefit
humanity. Their yearly conference gives
professors and students in the occupational science field a chance to network
and share research.
Recently, Tessa Boston, who is in
her final year in the Ph.D. program, had
the opportunity to share her research
at the conference. “My dissertation
research examines how shared community experiences shape social inclusion and participation for people with
serious mental illness. My presentation
focused on the methodology of this
project,” says Boston, “which uses an
Appreciative Inquiry approach to identify
what is already working in communities
and imagine opportunities to build on
Not Just a Dream, continued on page 9
