Maybe you already have a degree (or two) but are looking for a change in your career trajectory. Perhaps you need to upskill to secure the promotion you’ve been eyeing. Whatever the scenario, there is never a bad reason to come back to school and advance your education. And even if you missed the deadline to enroll in the current semester, a new semester – with on-campus, online and hybrid course options – is always just around the corner at the University of Louisville.

So, what are the routes of study for ���Ǵڳ�’s returning learners? Let’s explore a few.

Advanced degrees to advance your career

If you’ve looked at job postings in recent years, you aren’t imagining it – more and more companies are listing a master’s degree as a desired qualification. And according to the , this trend will only continue over the next decade. Advanced degrees are commonplace in medical, law and even academic fields. But today, marketers, business leaders, nonprofit professionals and more can all benefit from the knowledge and skills gained through pursing a master’s degree. This pursuit can be especially beneficial to mid-career employees seeking to level up from their mid-level roles.

Whatever your industry, to help you take your next step. From or to and , the university provides a diverse selection of standard-to-niche graduate studies to help you craft the future your career and academic curiosity deserves. Even better, over two-dozen programs are – a bonus for the busy professional.

Professional certificates to boost your skillset

In the world of work, things are not often static. Roles and requirements change as technology and industry culture evolve. Is artificial intelligence changing the way your professional processes work? Has your role adopted new responsibilities that would benefit from – or require – new credentials or training? If so, .

The university currently offers 32 cutting-edge certificates that cover a wide range of industries and professional goals. Most require only 12 credit hours to complete with several that can be completed in tandem with (or in preparation for) a corresponding master’s program. Additionally, all certificate courses can be taken 100% online and asynchronously to accommodate your schedule.

With certificates ranging from areas such as to , UofL has you covered when you’re ready to upskill.

Continuing studies for the lifelong learner

Sometimes, going back to school is less about professional goals and more about personal growth. Maybe you’re an art lover who’s always wanted to learn about the old masters of art history. Or you’re a Francophile who’s dreamed of speaking fluent French on your next trip abroad. If you’re interested in it, there’s a likely chance that UofL offers a class to scratch the itch for its students.

Continuing Studies is a non-degree program for learners 22-years-old and older to take up to 24 credit hours in any discipline they are interested in. For those Kentucky residents who are a little bit older than 22 – 65 to be exact – the university proudly participates in the program, which allows older adults to take a select number of courses at UofL tuition-free.

Whether you’re looking to pursue a master’s degree, obtain a professional certificate or satisfy your academic interests through casual study, UofL has a pathway to help take you there.

“I felt like I was kind of just stuck on a hamster wheel,” McNary said. “My sister asked if I had thought about going back to school and I said, ‘Absolutely not!’”

He didn’t know how he could fit classes in around his full-time job, but his sister suggested he look into online programs that would provide more flexibility. What he discovered convinced him it could work.

A search led him to University of Louisville’s , a relatively new program at the time in the College of Business. He chose UofL over the two other programs where he was accepted because of the business networking opportunities UofL could make available to him.

“The vast network that University of Louisville has as a resource for job placement was the most appealing part for me,” McNary said, adding that he also was impressed by the exceptional helpfulness of faculty.

Eye-opening fellowship unleashes McNary’s potential

During his MBA coursework, McNary got a taste of the franchising industry while participating in the Yum! Franchise Accelerator Fellowship offered through the .

The three-month fellowship offered an elective curriculum in franchise management, key experiences and mentorship by Yum! Brands executives and franchise owners. The fellowship culminated in a pitch competition for seed funding and a path to franchise ownership.

“I always wanted to create my own restaurant,” McNary said. “That’s always intrigued me. So, I was thinking I could learn about the business and if I didn’t win, I would at least have the information to do my own thing.”

A trip to California during the fellowship offered an eye-opening look at the Taco Bell brand.

“Spending four days out there in Irvine with the team and the employees and going through the different departments solidified that it was something I wanted to do.”

McNary was a finalist in the competition, and Tacala, the largest Taco Bell franchisee in the U.S., offered him an opportunity for additional training and mentorship. McNary joined Tacala after receiving his MBA from UofL in May 2023, and he was put in charge of one of the lowest performing of Tacala’s 370+ locations, a store in Auburn, Alabama.

Under McNary’s leadership, that store improved month by month, consistently finishing in Tacala’s top 50 Taco Bell restaurants, and it finished as the number one Taco Bell store between Aug. 7-Sept. 3, 2024.

McNary believes he has found his calling in franchising.

“I find more satisfaction in this role than I have in all of my corporate roles,” he said. “There are some things that make it a little challenging, but I really appreciate the people part of it, I’m a people person.”

In January, McNary moved into the role of area coach nearby Tacala’s Restaurant Support Center in Birmingham, Alabama, working with a group of restaurant leaders to help them succeed in their stores. When his apprenticeship time with Tacala is complete, McNary hopes to work with Tacala to purchase and develop his own franchise locations.

“To be able to join and to learn the ropes from such a juggernaut, it’s been a real blessing,” he said. “I understand how lucky I am to be in this position, to be a part of this program and to get an opportunity to operate my own set of Taco Bell restaurants. I know this wouldn’t have happened without me attending UofL.”

Expanded opportunity for a thriving future��

College of Business Interim Dean Jeff Guan calls McNary an inspiration.

“Ethan’s journey is a shining example of the profound impact our programs can have,” Guan said. “Stories like his reaffirm our commitment to delivering a world-class education — one that not only prepares our students to navigate the complexities of the business world but also equips them to lead with purpose and make a meaningful difference.”

Kathleen Gosser, Yum! Brands Associate Professor of Franchise Management Practice and director of the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the College of Business, mentored McNary during his time at UofL.

“Ethan is incredible and is learning all he needs to know about becoming a Taco Bell franchisee one day,” Gosser said. “His experience shows what a great opportunity franchising can be for entrepreneurs. And he is learning from the best. For the fifth��consecutive year, Taco Bell is the number one franchise in the U.S. as ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine.”

Jamie Harrison, vice president of people & culture and interim chief people & culture officer at Taco Bell, sees Ethan’s journey as a testament to the brand’s people-first approach.

“Ethan’s dedication and passion for franchising are truly commendable, and we are proud that he is a member of our Taco Bell team. We applaud Tacala for sharing Taco Bell’s commitment to engaging top talent and delivering an environment where individuals like Ethan can achieve their full potential.”

“It’s exciting to be on this journey with Ethan. Since joining Tacala in 2023, he has enthusiastically worked through all restaurant positions to immerse himself in the business and prepare for management and ownership of a thriving business. Ethan’s passion for people and high standards combined with this experience will set him up for success in the future,” said David Morrison, chief operations officer of Tacala Companies.

McNary already is giving back to the program that injected fresh energy into his career, happy to mentor other students interested in franchising. He visited Louisville to speak to Gosser’s class and participated in the Online MBA program’s 5^th anniversary during Homecoming 2024.

Three UofL programs are rated in the top 21% in the country by U.S. News & World Report in their 2025 list of Best Online Programs. The rankings underscore ���Ǵڳ�’s commitment to providing high-quality, flexible education options for nontraditional students and working professionals.��

U.S. News & World Report rated ���Ǵڳ�’s Bachelor of Science in Psychology at No. 9 in the country, placing it in the top 19%; Undergraduate Business Programs at No. 21 in the country, placing it in the top 10%; and MBA program at No. 75 in the country, placing it in the top 21%.

Several other UofL degrees also appear in the online program rankings including criminal justice, education, information technology and programs for veterans. ��

Kelvin Thompson, vice provost for online strategy and teaching innovation at ���Ǵڳ�’s Delphi Center for Teaching and Learning, highlighted the importance of online education in advancing lives and careers while offering the flexibility to balance life’s responsibilities.

“Providing accessible, high-quality online education is a vital component of our mission at the University of Louisville,” Thompson said. “Our students come from all walks of life and in all manner of circumstances – first generation, post-traditional, under-resourced, etc. – and recognition from organizations like U.S. News & World Report reaffirms our commitment to excellence in everything we do.”��

���Ǵڳ�’s online programs are designed to offer flexibility and accessibility while maintaining academic rigor. With dedicated faculty, a student success team with a range of student support services and online student scholarships, UofL continues to empower learners from diverse backgrounds to achieve their educational goals.��

The online programs rankings are just one category where U.S. News and World Report recognizes UofL in the top tiers of higher education. For example, in 2024, ���Ǵڳ�’s School of Medicine appeared multiple times on the Best Medical Schools lists, coming in at No. 21 for most diverse medical schools, No. 41 in most graduates practicing in rural areas and No. 65 in most graduates working in primary care.

For more information about ���Ǵڳ�’s online programs, visit ����

This year, two programs cracked the top 20 nationally. ���Ǵڳ�’s online bachelor’s in business and bachelor’s in psychology rank came in at #17 and #11, respectively.

Along with business and psychology, the university’s fully online programs were acknowledged among some of the top education opportunities for online students in 2024 across the following categories:

• Best Online Bachelor’s
• Online Graduate Criminal Justice
• Online Graduate ����ֱ��
• Online Graduate Engineering
• Online Graduate Technology

UofL also is ranked among the Best Online Programs for Veterans across many of the same categories.

“Online learning, especially in a post-pandemic society, remains an extremely important area of growth and development for the university,” said Kelvin Thompson, vice provost for online strategy and teaching innovation. “Today’s students often navigate the complexities of careers, families and myriad priorities while pursuing their education. We continually strive to offer programs that maintain the esteemed quality associated with UofL while evolving to meet the complex needs of contemporary learners. Recognition from sources such as U.S. News & World Report encourages dialogue about how we at UofL can keep moving forward in meeting the diverse needs of our students.”

In pursuit of extending education opportunities to the Greater Louisville-area and beyond, UofL launched seven new online programs in 2024 including four new public health graduate certificates, an engineering graduate certificate in Six Sigma and a master’s in business analytics. The university currently offers over 70 programs completely online.

Online programs are targeted toward the non-traditional students, including adult learners, working professionals, military and degree completer students – as well as anyone looking to earn a college credential through flexible, high-quality online education.

Learn more about ���Ǵڳ�’s

The University of Louisville online student is a lieutenant in the United States Coast Guard. Serving at Sector Ohio Valley in Louisville as chief of the investigations division, she is responsible for overseeing the response to marine casualties in an area covering over 3,000 miles of navigable waterways on 12 major rivers.

Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Queary has served in the Coast Guard since 2014. She began her career in the Prevention Field at Marine Safety Unit Texas City as an apprentice marine inspector. Queary also served in Marine Safety Unit Chicago where she was the assistant chief of the inspections division, and at Hampton Roads Recruiting Office in Chesapeake, Virginia, as an officer trainee.

Queary says her career highlight was serving in the Houston area in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey relief and recovery operations. She was directly responsible for ensuring that ports reopened safely and timely with minimal impact to commerce. Despite the long hours and complex operations, she also dedicated off-duty personal time to help rebuild homes and restore damaged communities.

She started at UofL in spring 2022. Although there were many factors in her choosing UofL, she said the school’s academic reputation and variety of majors/programs were at the top of her list. She also appreciated that UofL is military friendly.��

With an expected graduation in December 2023, Sasha intends to use her degree continuing to serve as part of the Coast Guard’s recruiting mission. After retirement from the Coast Guard, she plans to use the knowledge, skills and qualifications learned in the program as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion advocate in the private sector or academia.

Aug 4, 2023, is the 233rd birthday of the U.S. Coast Guard and its precursors, the Revenue Marine, the Revenue Cutter Service and the U.S. Life Saving Service.

The program is��designed to increase the number of advanced social work practitioners of color through recruitment and education of students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU).

UofL News talked to Strode about the impact of this program and how it helped him pursue his career goals.

UofL News: How has the HBCU Cardinal Express to Success Program benefited you, specifically?

Strode: The HBCU Cardinal Express to Success Program opened the doors to opportunities that I had never considered. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to attend grad school. The most notable benefit was the streamlined process of going from undergrad to graduate school. As a person of color graduating from a HBCU, I internally limited my grad school options. The program broadened my options and showed me there were many more possibilities than once considered. The HBCU Cardinal Express to Success Program gave me confidence and reassurance��that I could complete a graduate��program.��

UofL News: Why are programs like this needed?

Strode: Programs like this are needed because of the stress and overwhelming task��and ‘hoops’ that are associated with moving from undergrad to graduate school. This program gave structure to a complicated process. Programs like this are needed to help give individuals��who are ‘on the fence’ the extra push that they need to attend grad school.

UofL News: What is your career goal?

Strode: Currently I am working as a therapist for individuals with intellectual��or developmental disabilities��at a community mental health organization in Lexington called New Vista. My future career goal is to obtain my LCSW and open a therapeutic��practice��serving at risk youth.�� ��

UofL News: Anything else you’d like to share?

Strode: I ran into financial and family issues that prompted me to drop out after two semesters. After a year hiatus, I was contacted by UofL and assisted with re-enrolling and completing the MSSW program.�� ��

Strode completed his degree through the . .

UofL is one of just 23-member universities nationwide of the Federal Academic Alliance. At UofL there are currently over 50 online undergraduate, graduate, certificate and doctoral programs offered. ���Ǵڳ�’s online programs achieved several distinctions in the U.S. News and World Report 2021 ratings, including; Best Online Programs “Bachelors” and Best Online Programs “Grad ����ֱ��.”

Through the Federal Academic Alliance, colleges and universities provide educational opportunities to the federal workforce. It was created to help the federal government address critical skills gaps and mission critical occupations such as economics, human resources, cyber security, auditors, acquisition and science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

As a Federal Academic Alliance member institution, UofL Online Learning will host a booth at the Virtual Federal Government ����ֱ�� and Professional Development Symposium on Sept. 14. Sharon Kerrick, Assistant Vice President of the Digital Transformation Center, will present “How Data Analytics and Digital Literacy Can Propel Your Career.” This symposium is an event to assist federal employees with workforce skills and development enhancement.

To learn more about ���Ǵڳ�’s Federal Academic Alliance member benefits, view ���Ǵڳ�’s FAA .

Growing up, Blocker loved to learn. She placed a high priority on education and academia, so when the Louisville native graduated from Seneca High School in 2000, as a surprise to many, she chose to join the United States Marine Corps. While at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, Blocker became an Honor Graduate – a distinction awarded to the graduate who best exemplifies what it means to be a marine – while gaining knowledge of the world and learning from those with different lived experiences.

“I felt like I needed to get out of my bubble of Louisville to appreciate the world and learn about different people and cultures,” Blocker said. “I stayed stateside, but I met a lot of diverse, interesting people and learned a lot of life lessons from them.”

After spending more than two years in the Marine Corps, Blocker became a mom in 2004. Shortly after her son, Cameron, was born, he was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy, which inspired her to begin advocating for children and adults with autism and disabilities.

Blocker took on her next journey with a 12-year career with the United States Postal Service as a sales, service and distribution clerk. During that time, she married her husband, Shane, and became a stepmother to her Shanna and Raven.

While working for USPS, as the true lifelong learner she is, Blocker got to know and learn from people in the diverse communities she served.

Throughout the years, the goal of ultimately getting a college education remained in her mind. Blocker took classes here and there, sprinkling them in where she could, but it wasn’t until she got a job as a Program Assistant for Academic Services at ���Ǵڳ�’s Thorntons Academic Center of Excellence that she really made it a top priority.

“I didn’t appreciate my journey at the time,” Blocker said. “I was going to work for a university and I didn’t have my degree but once I got [to UofL] I knew that this was where I was called to be.”

Blocker realized that she had the opportunity to take six credit hours per semester at no cost as a UofL employee, so in January of 2020, she set out to obtain her degree. She started building upon the courses she’d sporadically taken over the years to work toward a bachelor of Science in Organizational Leadership. Full of ambition and a realization that she could meet her self-imposed deadline of earning a degree before 40, Blocker doubled and even tripled up on her course load.

With a busy schedule and lofty goals, online learning was just what the working mom needed.

“I’m an online learner all day long,” Blocker said. “I can rewind and hit pause when I need to take care of something else. I can work on it when my son is in therapy and I also feel like I retain so much more seeing things written down.”

In addition to her role as a program assistant, Blocker serves as a supervisor for the federal work study program, serves on the Strategically Organizing Against Racism (SOAR) committee, and serves as an advisor for international student athletes in the Louisville International Family Enrichment (LIFE) program.

“I want to show people that leadership can come from any level,” Blocker said. “It doesn’t matter if [we’re] in an entry-level job, we can make a change. If you help one person, that one person can help five people, and then 10 people.”

Though Blocker’s path to graduation has not been traditional, she wouldn’t have it any other way. The experiences and knowledge she gained from her time in the Marine Corps and with USPS gave her tools that she said she wouldn’t have had right out of high school.

Just 16 months after beginning her coursework, Blocker is set to become a first-generation graduate as a member of the Dean’s List.

“I have a very supportive family,” Blocker said. “My son thinks it’s so cool that mom goes to school and I feel like he gets inspiration seeing me do it.”��

Following graduation, Blocker hopes to pursue a master’s degree in Higher ����ֱ�� Administration. After that, her biggest goal is to apply her laundry list of passions – of which, there’s a common theme – empowering others.

“Passion fuels my purpose,” Blocker said. “I want to empower other people to be the best they can be – underrepresented communities, people with autism and disabilities and marginalized societies. If you listen, you learn so much. Even if [we’re] different, we can all grow together.”