Advance your career and education at Paul Smith’s College

Explore and learn more about our growing graduate program offerings that offer a hybrid virtual and in-person experience to suit your needs and your schedule.

Flexible Coursework Online

Designed with adult learners in mind, our MSc and certificates can be completed in 12 months. Most coursework is delivered online for easy access from any location, and learning is reinforced in three short residencies that immerse students in the unique natural landscape on and around the Paul Smith’s College campus. These onsite sessions build deep connections and professional networks with faculty and peer students while allowing learners to continue their careers and personal lives wherever they live. Recent graduates, military veterans, and full-time professionals can all achieve an advanced degree without sacrificing their ability to earn an income.

Experiential Teamwork On Site

closeup of two hands tying a bundle of sticks on the groundMS Natural Resources Conservation: In addition to a rigorous study of natural ecosystems, environmental ethics, and best practices for planning, management and research, students will work in small teams to conduct a hands-on conservation project working with real clients in the field. Students can opt to embed their final project with their current workplace, thereby enhancing and advancing their engagement with an existing professional community.


landscape of two students readying ropes to climb an ice-field rock faceMPS Sustainable Tourism Management: Students study a highly relevant, applied curriculum that centers on best environmental and cultural practices in sustainable tourism in both US and international settings. Using highly experiential instructional approaches, the program’s faculty immerse graduate learners (in an instructional model that builds on) in a short Adirondack residency at the beginning of the program and an international tourism exploration at the end, providing real-world contexts for engaged learning. Both residencies are only a week in length to facilitate career integration. The program builds student capacity in leadership, communication, and environmental stewardship within the high profile and evolving field of sustainable tourism.

Register today to speak directly with our Director of Graduate Studies, Eric Holmlund at the link below.

Book a 1:1 Information Session

Online Graduate Certificates

Designed for working professionals

We offer three certificate programs in critical aspects of natural resources conservation and management. The certificate program is perfect for anyone seeking to upgrade their education and skills, and for exceptional Paul Smith’s College undergraduates seeking additional credentials and content. Certificates in Aquatics Resource Management, Forest Resource Management, and Sustainable Communities teach you essential skills that you can apply immediately to your work. They are 100% online, and can be completed in one year.

Register now for a Virtual Open House

Our Virtual Graduate Open Houses are informative — and informal — sessions for anyone considering taking a step towards becoming a Paul Smith’s graduate student.

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

6:00 PM to 7:00 PM – MS Sustainable Tourism Management
7:00 PM to 8:00 PM – MS Natural Resources Conservation

During each session you’ll have the opportunity to learn firsthand from faculty, current students, and admissions staff about Paul Smith’s College’s world-class graduate school programs.

A few of the topics we’ll cover include:

  • A brief program overview
  • The admissions process
  • Our unique hands-on, minds-on learning methods

Faculty + Staff

Paul Smith's professor teaching student to use climbing equipmentWe, the Faculty at Paul Smith’s College, strive to preserve an exceptional way of teaching and learning informed by the real work of humanity – to be environmentally and socially responsible to the planet and its people. Our way crosses all disciplines, explores connections, and expresses itself confidently in thoughts, words, and deeds. At the core of our experiential education, we hold these values to be indispensable: a) a deepened engagement with our students, it is real and in place; b) an integrated education that cultivates the student as a whole being in mind, body, heart, and soul; and c) the history, culture and environment of the Adirondacks as a place that speaks to our deeper sense of self and purpose. We strive to preserve our way and our values to be a universal example that connections of people with people and of people with environments is at the heart of education.

Meet Our Graduate Program Faculty