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Pace University's educational model embraces experiential learning to deliver exceptional outcomes to a diverse student body.
The Pace Path: How One University Answers the Challenge to Higher Education
Growing up in Whitehall, Pennsylvania, Zakiya Sims ’18 had a dream, to be a writer. She recalls always coming up with and playing with story ideas, but that was before a novel thing called Myspace captivated her and changed everything—except her sense of ambition.
The young storyteller was suddenly possessed by a passion for computers and software, so when it came time to look at colleges, she chose to move to New York City, one of the country’s tech incubators, and to Pace University, whose Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems has long been a tech innovator, responsive to important industry trends.
It was a wonderful combination. As a black woman—traditionally underrepresented in the STEM world—Zakiya worked hard and excelled while also inspiring the next generation of would-be programmers as a mentor for the support organization, Black Girls Code. Perhaps best of all, she immersed herself not just in rigorous academics but challenging internships—a signature element in the Pace University curriculum. She worked at a multinational bank and a defense contractor, boosting her resume with the prestigious experiences, then graduated in 2018 already employed as a software engineer at the Walt Disney Company.
“Pace has shaped the trajectory of my life and career,” she says.
At a time when the mission, methods, and value proposition of American universities are being questioned, the success of Zakiya Sims, and many like her, offers a powerful model for how universities can respond both to the desire to maintain traditional educational values and to the new demands of the knowledge economy and a challenging workplace. It is a pragmatic, proven model that Pace has employed for generations to launch the University’s diverse students on careers as innovators and leaders in fields ranging from dance and theater to business, teaching, and health care.
The Pace model values traditional academic rigor and the foundation provided by a liberal arts education. It embraces a deep immersion in majors and subject areas so that students develop a strong understanding of their disciplines, understand industry trends and innovations, and learn the skills that lead to achievement in the most promising, high-growth sectors of the economy.
Pace’s model includes strong advisory programs and mentors, many of them alumni already launched on successful careers and able to provide workplace insights. And, in a key element of this approach, there is a vital role for internships, clinical programs, research collaborations, and community work to provide students with the invaluable real-world experiences that can jump-start careers. Pace students benefited from more than 7,000 such experiential learning opportunities last year.
And this takes place in a richly diverse environment that embraces students distinguished by their drive, no matter their economic background. One of the University’s great attributes is that nearly half of its newest incoming students are first generation college students.
The University’s proven model, known as the Pace Path, delivers not just an excellent education but excellent outcomes, another Pace signature. The proof? The Equality of Opportunity Project, in a path-breaking study published last year, ranked Pace the number one four-year private university in the country for propelling lower income students to the middle class and beyond. It underscored the fact that Pace is a nationally-recognized force for social and economic mobility, giving students a solid liberal arts foundation and strong connections to the workplace as elements behind a lifetime of success.
This is why Pace was named by PayScale to the top 12 percent of colleges for return on tuition investment. The OnStage blog ranked Pace’s BFA degree in its renowned musical theater program fourth best in the country. It stated, “No school in the country is doing better things to build their program more than Pace University. This program does an excellent job of preparing students for the rigors of the industry with coursework not only to make them better performers but also to handle the business end as well.”
“At Pace, we know that today’s jobs require an education that combines broad knowledge and practical understanding,” says Marvin Krislov, the University’s president. “The Pace Path gives our students a broad-based liberal arts education enhanced by the deep understanding gained from real-world experiences. Our students graduate ready to hit the ground running in their careers.”
What is indisputable is that the evidence not only supports the value of a college degree to career success, but that the importance of college is growing.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, median annual earnings for Americans lacking a high school degree amounts to $25,636 while the unemployment rate for the same population is 8%, the highest of any of the educational categories. Workers with a high-school diploma achieve a median income of $35,256 per year and an unemployment rate of 5.4%. But Americans with a bachelor’s degree have a median annual income of $59,124 and 2.8% unemployment.
The advantage Pace offers is not just a high-quality degree but programs that connect students with the fastest growing, cutting-edge business opportunities. For instance, Pace’s Lubin School of Business has launched majors in business analytics and financial risk management, as well as a major in arts and entertainment management. The Seidenberg School is expanding into the important area of user interface design and is partnering with Pace’s College of Health Professions to explore courses in health care data management. The School of Performing Arts offers a unique semester in Los Angeles. The Pace Law School has a respected program in environmental law.
That is how Pace launches careers that maintain their upward trajectories. Just ask Zakiya Sims. “Thanks to my Pace education, I know that I am well on my way to achieving my dream of launching my own tech startup,” she says.
If you want to learn more about how your company or organization can work with Pace University to recruit our top talent, email careers@pace.edu or visit our Employer Information page.
