January 17, 2013
Troy University’s College of Arts and Sciences sees addition of bachelor’s degrees with the New Year.
Approved for introduction this semester, the Bachelors of Applied Sciences and the Bachelors of Liberal Arts offers to TROY students a structured but manageable course of study.
This degree will allow nontraditional students the opportunity to obtain a degree in an area in which they already have experience but lack a degree in their particular field.
“The Liberal Studies program is a multidisciplinary program focusing on critical thinking, analytical and communication skills,” said Bill Grantham, assistant dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Grantham felt that students need these particular skills to compete in today’s job market; however, he understands that some students hope to progress on to graduate education, which he feels this degree strongly prepares them for.
“In addition to being an attractive program for entering freshmen, the program should be particularly appealing to students who are already established in careers and would like to pursue a college degree or to continue their education as returning students,” Grantham said.
The Liberal Arts program includes 60 hours of course work, but in a short amount of time, students are exposed to tools and to skills that will make them a stronger candidate when applying for jobs or professional schools.
“This major offers a broad range of academic skills to help prepare students for careers or graduate studies,” Grantham said, and because of this unique structure of coursework, “several students have already inquired about this particular degree.”
What makes the liberal arts degree so interesting is that it allows the student to focus on a distinct area of interests, something very similar to the biology program offered in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Because of this, Grantham feels that this degree “should attract new students who plan to pursue professional careers as well as returning students who hope to improve professional skills and advance their careers.”
But what does this degree offer that other majors cannot?
This degree “offers a very broad based, general academic background not currently available from other majors,” said Grantham, which is probably why this degree can compete with colleges around the nation, as it is an ‘appealing program’ that is offered both on campus and online.”
A second degree, bachelors in applied sciences, which is not new to the Troy curriculum but an addition on the Troy campus, offers mainly nontraditional, adult students the opportunity to gain better skill and experience in their applied fields.
According to the degree description on the Sorrell College of Business website, the bachelors in applied sciences: Resource and Technology Management is designed to assist students to develop the knowledge skills and attitudes necessary to understand and cope with the challenges faced by businesses and organizational leaders in a global work place.
“The bachelors in applied sciences is a degree, not a major,” said James Rinehart, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, “This particular degree will eventually offer several majors inside of it.”
Currently, the Troy campus offers the Resource and Technology Management through this degree, in which it provides a firm foundation for professional business leaders, according to the Sorrell College of Business website.
“This type of degree is an interdisciplinary degree,” Rinehart said, “Such that, a student can take courses in both the College of Business and the College of Arts and Sciences.”
The resource and technology management major deals mainly with the operation of technology and business management in industrial companies such as Hyundai and Acura.
The degree is offered with the understanding that the student will graduate with the credentials to be dubbed a suitable, professional business leader.
Likewise, the degree is said to build upon the technical studies that a student may have already acquired at other colleges or institutions.
“There’s a gap in the traditional manner of higher education,” Rinehart said.
This gap accounts for the many problems that business have today, who are declining in business success due to managers having no experience with technological advances.
Rinehart believes that higher education focusing on mathematics and science is gravely undeveloped in Alabama, but that high tech industries continuously introduce themselves within our borders, especially throughout the past few years.
“Applied science industries are moving into Alabama,” Rinehart said, “And we are just, simply, trying to fill these positions?”
Said positions can include such industries such as military and automotive, especially fire and military sciences. Technology is a rapidly growing field, Rinehart feels and Troy University is trying to supplement it by changing also.
While Auburn University offers courses of study in engineering, with no focus in managing those engineers, Troy comes in to remedy that problem.
“Currently, the degree in applied sciences is being upgraded and modified to reflect an applied sciences background,” said Rinehart.
Applying these changes means that the degree has to be relocated from the College of Business and the department of chemistry and physics, with Chairman Dr. Govind Menon, who offered much input into how the degree could better supplement students and the businesses they would eventually be working in.
Troy University continues to improve itself for both the benefit of its students and the community it serves. With changing times, comes the need for educational and instructional modifications.
The university recognizes this and proceeds to be proactive in the matter.
For more information, pertaining to either the Bachelor’s in liberal arts or the Bachelor’s in applied sciences, contact the College of Arts and Sciences at (800)-414-5756.
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