Clarkson University’s graduate programs are helping working professionals advance their careers without stepping away from them.
Designed with flexibility in mind, many of the programs allow students to balance demanding jobs, family responsibilities and continuing education through online coursework, evening classes and hybrid learning options.
For many students, graduate education is about more than earning another credential. It is an opportunity to strengthen technical expertise, build leadership skills, and gain the professional confidence needed to succeed in rapidly evolving fields. Whether transitioning into new roles, preparing for leadership opportunities, or deepening specialized knowledge, Clarkson’s flexible graduate programs allow students to continue building career momentum while pursuing advanced education on a schedule that fits their lives.
Here are the stories of two Clarkson graduates who leveraged flexible learning opportunities and employer partnership benefits, including discounted tuition through Clarkson’s corporate partnerships, to expand their expertise, advance professionally, and shape the next chapter of their careers.
Learning While Leading
National Grid executive Casey Kirkpatrick balanced family life, a full-time career and graduate studies at Clarkson University, completing both the Business of Energy Advanced Certificate program and an online MBA while strengthening the leadership and strategic skills he now uses across the global energy industry.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Kirkpatrick was already building his career at National Grid when he decided to enroll in Clarkson’s Business of Energy Advanced Certificate program. Designed in partnership with National Grid, the program combines technical and business-focused coursework for professionals working in the utility and energy sectors.
“Watching colleagues advance professionally through Clarkson’s industry-focused coursework showed me that the experience was both manageable and worthwhile,” Kirkpatrick says.
The certificate program helped Kirkpatrick deepen his understanding of industry concepts, communicate more effectively with colleagues, and engage confidently in discussions involving emerging terminology and strategic practices.
Encouraged by the industry-focused curriculum and flexibility of the online format, he transferred several credits into Clarkson’s online MBA program after completing the certificate.
“I’m a lifelong learner,” Kirkpatrick says. “I’m constantly trying to learn new things and challenge myself.”
Offered through Clarkson’s Reh School of Business, the MBA program is a flexible, fully online graduate business degree designed primarily for working professionals. It combines leadership and strategic decision-making coursework with industry-focused electives.
“The courses were very relevant to my day job, either enhancing things I was doing at work or helping me understand co-workers,” Kirkpatrick says.
He said the online format allowed him to pause, replay and adjust lectures as needed, helping him absorb material more effectively while balancing professional and family responsibilities.
Even during busier periods, Kirkpatrick continued taking one course per semester while balancing full-time responsibilities, reinforcing his belief that graduate education can realistically fit into a busy professional and family schedule.
“Flexibility was critical,” Kirkpatrick says. “I developed a routine of dedicating time each night to coursework after putting my children to bed.”
Kirkpatrick said the MBA strengthened the leadership, strategic and technical skills he now applies to complex energy challenges. Among the work he highlighted was developing a solar interconnection policy that introduced new approaches to cost sharing across the energy sector and leading research on emerging wildfire risks in the Northeast.
He said the program also developed his skills in unexpected ways, highlighting a marketing class that taught him how to design effective surveys and ask stronger questions to gather meaningful, actionable data.
Now 20 years into his career at National Grid, Kirkpatrick serves as Director of Group Strategic Engineering, working across business units in the United States and United Kingdom. He continues to advocate for Clarkson programs within the company, encouraging employees to pursue graduate education while balancing professional and family responsibilities.
“Clarkson played a significant role in my career development and growth,” he says. “The programs can truly help employees specialize their engineering knowledge while accelerating career progression within the company.”
Engineering Her Future
After graduating from Dickinson College in 2019 with a degree in environmental science, Lydia Fox began her career at GlobalFoundries as an engineer in the company’s facilities department.
She entered the workforce without a formal engineering background and quickly realized she was stepping into a complex and fast-paced environment. Still early in her career, she saw an opportunity to build a stronger technical foundation.
“I didn’t have an engineering background coming into GlobalFoundries,” Fox says. “I wanted to continue my education in a way that complemented my engineering work and deepened my understanding of the field.”
That’s where Clarkson University came in.
In 2020, Fox enrolled in Clarkson’s Master of Science in Engineering Management (MSEM) program, which is designed for working professionals in technical and engineering-related fields who want to strengthen both leadership and technical management skills.
Developed with input from partners including GlobalFoundries, the program combines online learning with limited in-person sessions, allowing students to advance their careers while completing a curriculum aligned with current workforce needs.
“The timing of the classes worked nicely, and for the most part I felt like I could balance them fairly easily with my career responsibilities,” Fox says.
Coursework focuses on areas such as project management, data analytics, operations, systems thinking, leadership, and decision-making within technical organizations.
Fox found several courses immediately applicable to her work, particularly a class focused on SQL and database fundamentals. While challenging at the time, the course helped her better understand databases, data relationships, and troubleshooting processes she now regularly uses in her role.
The program also follows a cohort-based model, allowing students to move through portions of the curriculum alongside other industry professionals.
“There were a handful of people I knew throughout the program, and it was really nice to learn alongside the same group,” she says. “They were not necessarily just colleagues from my company, but from other companies in the area as well.”
As Fox progressed through the MSEM program, she also advanced at GlobalFoundries. She began in facilities engineering before transitioning into factory automation. In this role, she helps ensure the efficient, safe, and timely movement of semiconductor wafers throughout the manufacturing facility—a highly technical responsibility requiring both systems thinking and precision.
In August 2023, Fox completed her Clarkson degree, closely aligning her academic achievement with her career transition.
Today, as a Principal Automation Engineer, Fox describes her work less as traditional engineering and more as problem-solving — an approach shaped by both her professional experience and Clarkson education, which helped her adapt quickly and continue learning in a constantly evolving field.
