Beyond developing expertise in technical subject matter, MSA students learn to collaborate effectively through intensive team environments. Part of that process, for students, is centered on self-awareness: understanding yourself, the strengths you bring to the table and how others perceive you.

Career Services

Career services are an integral part of the MSA experience, including assistance with resume writing, interview and presentation skills, and professional networking. All career services are staffed and coordinated by the institute exclusively for MSA students. Dozens of employers engage with the institute each year, and our career services team facilitates many job interviews between employers and MSA students. Read the latest Employment Report.

Hear from the institute’s associate director (and former head of career services), April Wilson:

Professional Development Coaching

We provide a variety of resources to support MSA students’ personal and professional growth and well-being. These include (but are not limited to):

• Self-awareness tools and frameworks, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator®, Gallup CliftonStrengths® and Tilt365®
• Structured self- and peer-feedback exchange at regular intervals
• Tools for goal setting, action planning, and building resilience skills

All MSA students also engage in monthly 1:1 professional development coaching with trained staff members. The institute’s coaching team embraces the International Coaching Federation definition of coaching: “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”

Coaching is a collaborative relationship wherein a student partners with their coach to:

• Understand your work environment
• Establish priorities
• Hold yourself accountable
• Change behaviors / break unwanted habits
• See other perspectives
• Plan an appropriate course of action
• Improve your decision-making skills
• Leverage your strengths
• Move beyond self‐imposed limitations
• Develop your leadership abilities
• Achieve your goals

Hear from Brandon Barbour, one of the institute’s professional development coaches: