{"id":25462,"date":"2010-11-30T08:19:46","date_gmt":"2010-11-30T13:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=25462"},"modified":"2011-05-31T12:42:59","modified_gmt":"2011-05-31T16:42:59","slug":"professional-master%e2%80%99s-program-a-boon-to-connecticut-tech-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2010\/11\/professional-master%e2%80%99s-program-a-boon-to-connecticut-tech-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Professional Master\u2019s Program a Boon to Connecticut Tech Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"<p>Four<\/a>
Four recent UConn graduates of the Professional Science Master's in Applied Genomics, who all found jobs at the same biotech company, returned to campus recently to share their experiences with current students in the program. From left, Maria Bonatsakis, Erica Waltz, Felicity Acca, and Katie Johnson. Photo by Christine Buckley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Felicity Acca graduated from St. Joseph\u2019s college in West Hartford in 2006, she knew she wanted a job in the science and technology industry. But when she began sending out her resume, she found that her biology major just wasn\u2019t doing the trick.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the technology companies wanted people with more research experience,\u201d she says. \u201cI spent two years trying to find a job in my field.\u201d Part of the reason, she says, is that there were few hands-on laboratory classes required for her undergraduate major.<\/p>\n

So in 2008, Acca enrolled at UConn in a novel program of study that\u2019s cropping up at colleges across the country. Called professional science master\u2019s (PSM) degrees<\/a>, these programs combine hands-on science experience with professional skill development and a full-time internship to prepare students for jobs in the technology industry.<\/p>\n

Now, Acca and three other women from her graduating class are employed at the same biotechnology company. Along with Acca, graduates of the PSM program in applied genomics<\/a> Maria Bonatsakis, Katie Johnson, and Erica Waltz make up about a fifth of the staff at the Branford, Conn. branch of Illumina Inc<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear to me that this program is making a difference,\u201d says Linda Strausbaugh, professor of genetics and genomics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s the really valuable professional training that sets these students apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strausbaugh is head of UConn\u2019s Center for Applied Genetics and Technology<\/a> and oversees the professional science master\u2019s program in applied genomics. The program was started in 2002, and all of its 56 alumni to date are employed or have moved on for further graduate study. The college also supports professional master\u2019s degrees in applied financial mathematics and microbial systems analysis.<\/p>\n

When the national PSM movement started just over a decade ago, Strausbaugh says, the idea was to give people an alternative to the Ph.D. track if they were interested in professional jobs in science, mathematics, and technology.<\/p>\n

In addition to intensive on-campus research experience, such as weekend-long trainings on specific laboratory techniques, the UConn program includes a three-month internship at a local business. Waltz spent her internship working with Connecticut\u2019s Forensic Science Laboratory<\/a> in Meriden, where she validated and did quality control studies on DNA testing kits that are used in criminal cases throughout the state. She also wrote her master\u2019s thesis on this work.<\/p>\n

Johnson notes that the program teaches more than just research and laboratory techniques. \u201cWe also learned business skills, like professional communication, management, interviewing, and resume writing,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Adds Bonatsakis, \u201cIt gives you the edge you need to get a job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonatsakis was the first of the women to be hired by the company, then known as the technology start-up Affomix. The company is involved in proteomics \u2013 the study of how proteins express themselves in the body. Technology companies are interested in proteomics because in the future, this field may have biomedical implications in the same way that individualized medicine and genomics does today.<\/p>\n

After only a few months on the job, Bonatsakis realized how well the UConn\u2019s program had prepared her for the position.<\/p>\n

\"<p>Students<\/a>
Students in the Professional Science Master's in Applied Genomics listen to recent graduates of the program. From left, Kenton Wilcox, Jessika Lobraico, and Emmeline Liu. Photo by Christine Buckley<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When the company started to expand, they asked if she knew anyone like her, as they were so impressed with her resume and professionalism. So she contacted a few of her friends from the program, and it wasn\u2019t long before Acca, Johnson, and Waltz were all interviewed by the company \u2013 within the same week \u2013 and subsequently hired.<\/p>\n

The trend hasn\u2019t stopped there. The four women recently visited a PSM class to relate their experience to current students, and they came with a request from their supervisors that students interested in the company should send along their resumes when they graduate.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Connecticut has seen small technology start-ups popping up all over, increasing the technology job opportunities in the state. The fact that four UConn PSM students were hired by one Connecticut company, says Strausbaugh, speaks to the strengthening partnership between their program and the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve always been good for small businesses,\u201d adds Strausbaugh. \u201cOur graduates understand what it\u2019s like to work for a company, and they have the scientific skills to match. I think these graduates can go anywhere they want to go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UConn’s professional science master’s degrees prepare scientists for careers in the tech industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[63],"class_list":["post-25462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-22 06:48:34","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25462"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25462\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37563,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25462\/revisions\/37563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25462"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=25462"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=25462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}