The University of Illinois Springfield has added six new majors to its curriculum that are in high demand among incoming students.
Half of the new programs, including biochemistry, are connected to the health field. Students graduating with a degree in biochemistry would be in a good position to pursue careers in medicinal chemistry and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. For some of the students holding that degree, their first post-college job could be in Springfield.
The six new programs bring the total number of bachelor’s degrees offered at UIS to 31 and the number of master’s degree programs to 20. The university also has one doctoral program.
In addition to biochemistry, the other new bachelor’s programs are in exercise science, theater, public administration and public policy. The sixth new program is a master’s degree in data analytics, which has applications in the medical field and other areas.
All of the new majors started this fall except for theater, which starts next fall.
James Ermatinger, UIS interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost, said the university typically adds about one new program each year.
“A few years ago we looked at our data and noticed that students were requesting certain majors,” Ermatinger said. “We created a task force that identified several new majors. Departments on their own also produced proposals for new majors.”
The story was reported by The State Journal-Register on October 31, 2016.
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