Welcome to the fall 2026 semester at the CUNY School of Professional Studies!
This year marks an important milestone for CUNY SPS: 20 years of online degree education. In 2006, the School launched its first fully online degree program, beginning two decades of expanding access to high-quality higher education for students seeking the flexibility of online learning. As we begin the fall semester, it is a fitting time to reflect on how far we have come and on the community that continues to move CUNY SPS forward.
To our new and returning students—who I am delighted to note number more than 5,200, a historic all-time high—please let me extend a special welcome. We know that you come to CUNY SPS with different experiences, responsibilities, and goals, and our faculty and staff are committed to ensuring that you have the support, opportunities, and resources to advance. That commitment is reflected in three areas: access, innovation, and success.
Access is what CUNY SPS does best: it opens doors to higher education opportunity for nontraditional online students and helps you navigate the journey once you arrive. From enrollment and advisement to academic and student support services, we are committed to meeting you where you are and helping you stay on track toward your goals.
Innovation has been at the heart of who we are as an online school for the past 20 years—and it continues to shape our future. With groundbreaking new degrees such as our MS in Generative AI, MA in Early Childhood Policy and Leadership, and MS in Strategic Nonprofit Management, and dynamic new career-focused certificate programs and tracks such as Cybersecurity, Health Psychology, Human Resource Management, and Accounting, we continue to offer programs designed to provide students with relevant, in-demand workplace skills. Our faculty bring their extensive expertise as scholars, researchers, practitioners, and educators into the classroom while continually exploring new approaches to online teaching and learning.
All these efforts are focused on your success—not only with earning a degree or credential, but preparing for what comes next. Through faculty mentorship, career development, and connections to professional communities, we want you all to leave CUNY SPS ready to take the next step in your career with confidence.
As we begin this new academic year and my fourth year as dean, I encourage you all to take full advantage of all that CUNY SPS has to offer. Explore opportunities within and beyond your academic program, stay connected with your academic adviser and instructors, build relationships with your fellow students, discover our many student clubs, and make use of the many resources available to support your online education.
To our dedicated faculty and staff, welcome back! Thank you for all you do to strengthen access, foster innovation, and support the success of our students. I look forward to seeing these efforts continue to grow in the year ahead.
And to everyone at CUNY SPS, thank you for making our community so strong and our upcoming year so promising. As we celebrate 20 years of online degree education and look ahead to what comes next, I wish you all a rewarding and successful fall 2026 semester!
Lisa R. Braverman, PhD
Dean, CUNY School of Professional Studies
dean@sps.cuny.edu