University Studies Degree

Proposed new Texas A&M University degree programs in “university studies” have been endorsed by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to help accommodate students who are in good academic standing but who are not able to pursue their desired course of study because of enrollment limitations or other stipulations in some of the university’s academic colleges.

A formal request for implementing the new degree in the fall of 2007 will now be submitted to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

The new degree program would serve the needs of students unable to find an academic major of interest to them and also serve those who seek a broad, interdisciplinary education that is not available through existing degree programs.

The creation of the new university studies degree has been encouraged by President Robert M. Gates, who has stated previously that “an academically rigorous, flexible interdisciplinary degree program such as this also has the potential to attract students with much higher grade point ratios, especially those uncertain what career path they wish to pursue. It has the support of both the provost and me.”

The degree is the result of a campus-wide study that shows such a need for a “reasonable course of study and a greater degree of options for students who are in good academic standing.” The target audience for the new degree is students who are not able to pursue their desired course of study and the degree plan would be stimulating and useful for life after college, the report shows.

The university studies degree will have a major area of concentration and consist of two minors, one of which is in a different college from that of the area of concentration.

University officials expect about 200 students to enroll in the university studies degree plan in its first year, growing to about 800 students within five years.