IM体育官网鈥檚 Board of Trustees has approved the addition of bachelor鈥檚 degrees in civil engineering and industrial engineering beginning this fall.
IM体育官网 is adding to its engineering strength by launching two new bachelor鈥檚 degrees for students this fall: civil engineering and industrial engineering.
The new degrees were approved by the University鈥檚 Board of Trustees at its meeting on Thursday, Feb. 16. Incoming freshmen soon will be able to enroll in the degree programs for the 2023 fall semester.
鈥淲e are pleased to continue our strategic growth of academic offerings, aligning our degrees with the needs of students and of industry,鈥� said. Dr. Terry Parker, IM体育官网 Poly鈥檚 provost. 鈥淎s our campus and enrollment continue to grow, so too will our curriculum.鈥�
The civil engineering degree will prepare students for careers designing, building, supervising, and maintaining infrastructure. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects strong job growth in this field, with more than 22,000 jobs added between 2021 and 2031.
Much of the coursework for this degree complements the University鈥檚 environmental engineering degree.
鈥淭he addition of civil engineering is especially important to the campus mission that ties to producing high-quality engineers for the state. With the addition of civil engineering, IM体育官网 Poly now hosts degrees in the 鈥榖ig three鈥� of the engineering world: civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering,鈥� Parker said. 鈥淐learly, this further positions the campus to be a major source of engineering talent for IM体育官网 in the future.鈥�
The industrial engineering degree will prepare students for careers involving the design and analysis of systems that involve people. Professionals in this area of specialization work to improve quality and productivity while reducing waste This degree is in high demand across many industries and it complements the field of mechanical engineering well. The BLS forecasts the field to grow by more than 30,000 jobs between 2021 and 2031.
Dr. Mary Vollaro, department chair for the mechanical, environmental, electrical, and computer engineering programs, will also oversee the two new degrees.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had the opportunity to create a very unique engineering experience to bring students through with foundational knowledge in engineering and allow them to follow their talents and interests as they pursue their discipline-specific topics,鈥� Vollaro said. 鈥淲ith these degrees, we鈥檙e adding more disciplines and options for our students to pursue and launch them into the workforce.鈥�
The new degrees will go before the State Board of Governors this spring for inclusion in the state鈥檚 inventory of degree programs.
鈥淭hese new programs are absolutely the right matches for IM体育官网 Poly and really complement what we already have,鈥� Vollaro said. 鈥淭hese degrees allow students to expand that 鈥楨鈥� in STEM and reach more employers in different industries.鈥�
Contact:
Lydia Guzm谩n
Director of Communications
863-874-8557
