ASU Watts College will pay grad-school application fees for first responders, essential workers

Arizona State University’s Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions is offering to pay the application fees for first responders and essential workers who apply for graduate degree programs in May, Dean Jonathan Koppell announced.

Additionally, Watts College is offering several classes pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic this summer and is encouraging students to take advantage of universitywide discounts amounting to hundreds of dollars for certain students enrolling in summer sessions.

The limited-time application-fee offer applies to first responders and essential workers seeking admission to graduate degree programs in the college’s criminal justice, public affairs, community development and social work schools, as well as in its interdisciplinary programs, including emergency management and homeland security, public safety leadership and administration, and program evaluation.

“We can never thank these first responders appropriately enough for their innumerable acts of dedication and self-sacrifice,” Koppell said. “At least, through this gesture, we hope to be better able to serve them as they expand and augment their knowledge and training for the next stages of their public service careers.”

Overall, Watts College plans to offer 100 graduate-level classes and 132 undergraduate-level classes during the 2020 summer sessions, which begin in late May and continue through early August.

Several three-credit courses pertaining directly to understanding and dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic will be offered. They include Public Management and Building Leadership Skills in the Context of a Pandemic in the School of Public Affairs; Criminal Justice Leadership During Unique Events in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice; and Nonprofit Organizational Behavior and Principles of Management in the School of Community Resources and Development.

The college also will present several one-credit courses in COVID-19-related areas, including Navigating Grief during COVID-19; Managing Stress during a Pandemic; and How to Lead During Times of Uncertainty: A Last Lecture Series Featuring Five Influential Leaders. These courses will feature some of the top leaders in these respective fields.

All of these three- and one-credit courses can be available to current ASU students and to students outside of ASU who are interested in learning more about these timely and important topics.

In addition, newly admitted first-year and transfer students and ASU graduating seniors about to enter graduate school in fall 2020 will receive a discount for each three-credit class they register for during summer session 2020. The discount is $500 per course for in-state students and $700 per course for out-of-state and international students.

“These initiatives are designed to help new ASU students jump-start their journeys this summer and let continuing students use the summer months productively," Koppell said. "We’re pleased to help them take control of their educational experience and move ahead on their career paths in public service.”

Learn more: Information on Watts College’s summer offerings. Information on ASU summer sessions.