Discover DAUS: the Division of Applied Undergraduate Study at SPS

The most important benefit of DAUS, according to Billie Gastic Rosado, associate dean and clinical associate professor at DAUS, is its flexible scheduling. “DAUS is special because it enables transfer, part-time, adult, and other post-traditional students to pursue a degree at NYU in a way that fits their needs,” she says. “Across higher education, there are an increasing number of students who need programs that are more flexible. At DAUS, students don’t have to choose between work, family, or other important aspects of their lives. In fact, our classes are enriched because students are so well rounded and engaged in different things.”

Lisa came to SPS with an associate’s degree. She is studying for a BS degree in Organizational Behavior and Development, part of the Human Capital Management Professional Pathways program. Lisa has young children and works about 55 hours a week in the human resources department at WW (formerly Weight Watchers). “I am an executive assistant now, but I want to move up,” she says. “Taking these classes at night after working all day is hard, but what I’m learning in school I’m applying in real time. I think that SPS is an amazing program for someone like me.”

Shakia works 84 hours a week and travels frequently for her job. She works as content management and data collection lead for NATO’s intelligence directorate in Afghanistan and as the liaison for the military’s intelligence data entry team in Fort Gordon, Georgia. “Traveling through a war zone while taking three courses is overwhelming,” she says, “but SPS has made my experience returning to school an unforgettable journey. When I first started working in Afghanistan, I attempted school at another university. Their online services were not as swift and mobile as NYU’s. The internet in a third world country can prove difficult at times. Luckily, NYU’s help desk support has been more than efficient. Outside of traveling within Afghanistan, I have also been able to meet class requirements in the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Maldives, Germany, and India. Without the sophistication of SPS’s online learning environment, I don’t know if I would have had as much success.”