Education

Continuing Education: A Special Section

Choosing a Program to Improve Your Future

By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Photo Illustration by Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

The recession has spurred a bumper crop of classes and degree programs for people who want to change their careers. Some research will go far in helping choose the right option.

How to Bear the Tuition Burden Without a Paycheck

By TARA SIEGEL BERNARD

Tapping retirement accounts is generally unwise and borrowing should be limited to your expected starting salary when you graduate.

A NEW ARENA Colin Ford, director of corporate strategy at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center, chats with Eileen Shearer, a nurse. A former ESPN producer, Mr. Ford took graduate courses in public health before changing fields.

For Outsiders, Opening Doors to Health Care

By MILT FREUDENHEIM

Hospitals have added thousands of jobs, even as unemployment has soared. Workers in other fields use degrees and certifications to make the leap to health care.

HANDS ON Community colleges are increasingly focused on retraining workers. After 18 years as an automotive paint technician at DuPont, Scott Nordquist, left, studied to become an occupational therapist, helping patients like Richard McQuaide at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton, Mich.

More White-Collar Workers Turn to Community Colleges

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE

Hundreds of thousands of white-collar workers are taking advantage of the nation’s 1,200 community colleges to refresh their résumés.

BACK TO CLASS Bob Gressens signed up for continuing education at two universities to learn more about clean technology.

Sustainability Field Booms on Campus

By KATE GALBRAITH

Universities and community colleges are responding to a demand from the public for degrees or ad hoc courses on sustainability.

Architects Return to Class as Green Design Advances

By ROBIN POGREBIN

The American Institute of Architects is requiring all members to take four hours of courses in sustainable design every year.

Economix Blog
Q. and A. About Continuing Education

Q. and A. About Continuing Education

Tara Siegel Bernard and Catherine Rampell answer questions from readers.

CHANGE OF FOCUS Mark Spencer, who has a doctorate in chemistry, left NASA to be a photographer, then refreshed his credentials at M.I.T. so he could return to the technology field.

Adding Layers of Skills to a Science Background

By STEVE LOHR

Many continuing education students are trying to broaden their appeal by adding business and communications skills, or bringing their expertise to new fields.

SILVER LINING Graduate students at N.Y.U.’s Stern School of Business in a course on risk management, an increasingly popular field in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

An Education in Risk Management Can Offer a Leg Up

By JENNIFER SARANOW SCHULTZ

Some educational credentials can help displaced professionals set themselves apart and stay competitive as firms’ needs evolve, especially with a growing focus on risk.

More Education News

Education Life
Your Story

Your Story

Tales from the trenches, in students' own words and pictures, on sex, roommates, stress, God and surviving freshman year.