About Sybil
Sybil Smith has served as Executive Director of the Division of Graduate Professional Studies in the Rabb School for Continuing Studies since 2002.
Under her direction, the unit has grown its offerings from two to seven professional graduate programs, with all but one program offered online.
During the prior 20 years, she held positions at Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT), Boston University (BU), and Harcourt Higher Education (HHE). Her responsibilities included direction of International Programs and Affirmative Action at WIT, University Summer Sessions and Continuing Professional Education at BU, and Associate Provost at HHE.
She has held several elective, regional and national professional leadership positions over the years, and is currently Chair of the University Continuing Education Association-New England Region.
Welcome
Sybil Smith
Welcome to the Division of Graduate Professional Studies in the Rabb School!
Our division exists to provide a Brandeis University academic experience to working professional people who require part-time graduate programs. Our applied professional programs are available primarily online. Founded in 1997, the Division has by now furthered the professional growth of hundreds of successful master’s degree holders. It continues to serve several hundred professional people currently enrolled in graduate programs as they carry on with their full-time work.
Academic programming in this division is flexibly designed to be as accessible as possible to professional people with complicated life responsibilities. Should they feel the need to “taste” one or another program prior to committing to it, students may take up to four courses prior to matriculating. The basic requirement for admission into one of our part-time graduate programs is an earned bachelor’s degree from a regionally-accredited U.S. institution or its equivalent. GRE or GMAT exams are not required.
We currently offer seven part-time, professional master's degree programs, described in detail elsewhere in this web site. Six of the seven programs are available entirely online, and one of the seven programs is available entirely on ground. Our online programs and courses are entirely web-based (no “talking heads”) and have been commended by theNew England Association of Schools and Colleges, the regional accrediting body for New England. Our programs and courses are all outcome-based. Student work is assessed against stated outcomes, as are all courses and programs. Our instructors are all credentialed, working professional people, extensively experienced in their fields and able to bring practical experience into the classroom. Classes are limited in size to 15 to 25, depending upon subject and learning medium. Our staff members provide individualized support to students, with assistance available from start to finish, from course selection, registration, advising and application to planning for graduation.
All of this description is my way of underscoring that we care about our students, about their professional development at the graduate level and about making their advancement via a well-focused, professional master's program as accessible and practical as possible for them. I invite you, wherever you are geographically or professionally, to explore this web site and to contact our office in any of several ways, so that we may assist you in deciding whether Brandeis is for you.
Again, welcome!
Sybil P. Smith
Executive Director
Division of Graduate Professional Studies
Rabb School of Continuing Studies
Brandeis University