Russell Sage College Partners with edX to Develop Hybrid Occupational and Physical Therapy Degrees

New programs expand access to rigorous education in high-growth, in-demand healthcare fields

TROY, N.Y. and LANHAM, Md., Dec. 8, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Russell Sage College and edX, a leading global online learning platform from 2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU), have announced a new partnership to develop and launch two hybrid degrees, a Master's of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) and a Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT), with Sage's School of Health Sciences. The MSOT degree will be the first hybrid occupational therapy program available on edX.org.

Sage's full-time, hybrid programs will be modeled after the college's in-person programs and will feature live online sessions, asynchronous coursework and in-person campus immersions. This hybrid approach helps expand access to education and fill a critical need for occupation therapy and physical therapy professionals. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment demand for both occupational and physical therapist jobs is projected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations, 14% and 17% respectively from 2021 to 2031.

"Russell Sage's well-established expertise in training and developing health professionals, combined with edX's global platform designed to support strong student outcomes, allows us to reach a broader audience and have an even greater impact on addressing the nation's growing healthcare needs," said Sage President Christopher Ames.

Sage and edX will work closely together on clinical fieldwork experiences for each cohort, leveraging edX's dedicated clinical placement team. edX currently has over 116,000 placement sites in its network and has supported over 30 million fieldwork hours for a variety of programs across its partner network.

"Sage joins a growing network of institutions that are leveraging the unrivaled reach, technology and support of the edX platform to expand access to high-quality online education," said Andrew Hermalyn, president of partnerships at edX. "We are thrilled to partner with Sage to design and deliver MSOT and DPT programs aligned with the School of Health Sciences' strengths of community engagement and professional excellence."

Anticipated launch dates for the MSOT and DPT degrees are Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 respectively, pending approvals from the New York State Education Department (NYSED), the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) and the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE).

Russell Sage College enrolls approximately 2,300 students in bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs on campuses in Albany and Troy, New York, and online. For more information, visit www.sage.edu.

edX is the global online learning platform that exists to help learners everywhere unlock their potential. edX was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 to make the world's best education available to everyone. Today, as a 2U, Inc. company (Nasdaq: TWOU), edX connects over 46 million ambitious learners with the skills, knowledge and support to achieve their goals. Together with the world's leading universities and companies, edX offers thousands of free and open courses, professional certificates, boot camps, credit-bearing micro credentials and undergraduate and graduate degrees. Discover purpose-built online programs in technology, business, healthcare, science, education, social work, sustainability and more at edX.org.

SOURCE 2U, Inc.