With three campuses, all located in Massachusetts, Bay Path College offers an M.S. in nonprofit management and philanthropy, designed to enhance a career in nonprofits. The degree is geared toward mid- and senior-level professionals already working in or with nonprofit organizations. In addition, Bay Path also offers an M.S. in strategic fundraising and philanthropy, intended for those preparing either to move into a fundraising career or to advance to a middle- to senior-management fundraising position within a nonprofit organization.
Through its School of Public Policy, the University of Maryland established a degree program in philanthropy and nonprofit management in January, 2010. Designed to develop the skills of those working in the nonprofit sector, the degrees are available for both undergraduate and graduate students. Hands-on experience is a large part of the graduate degree program, which includes such courses as grant-making and grant-seeking, fundraising and pro bono consulting with nonprofits. Future plans include a graduate-level specialization in nonprofit management and leadership.
The University of Denver offers a master's degree in leadership with a specialty in fundraising and philanthropy through its college of professional and continuing studies. The program is aimed at professionals who already hold management-level positions in a nonprofit or charitable organization or for anyone who aspires to enter this field. Areas of focus include the importance of ethical strategies in fundraising and maintaining donor support and the ability to organize volunteers, staff and other resources.
Indiana University's Center on Philanthropy offers a master's degree in philanthropic studies. Markedly different from the aforementioned programs, Indiana University bills its degree program as "the first master's degree program in America to focus on the history, culture and values of philanthropy." While other philanthropy-based degree programs focus on fundraising and management of a nonprofit, this program examines the social, cultural, economic and political roles that philanthropic and/or nonprofit organizations have filled in both contemporary society and throughout history.