Universities of Wisconsin campuses have approved dozens of new programs in the past year, with expanded science or more-advanced degrees taking precedence.
UW system adds 34 programs, many in growing industries | Wisconsin State Journal
Between October 2023 and the UW Board of Regents meeting in December, the board approved 34 new programs, with most of them at the bachelor’s degree level, in addition to a handful of master’s or doctorate programs.
The majority already existed in some form on their campuses or across the UW system but have been restructured and needed a refreshed stamp of approval.
But there are several new majors and degree programs, as universities look to respond to student interest or workforce needs.
UW-Superior is being added to the UW systemwide program that lets students earn a nursing degree online. Other programs are currently minors, such as the UW-Madison School of Ecology’s Design, Innovation and Society program, which is expanding to become a major due to rabid interest.
Expect more majors to pop up in future years as the UW system looks to carry out its workforce development plan, with areas of emphasis such as health care, computer science and artificial intelligence and engineering.
These are the recent additions:
Online only
Two campuses are offering a new online-only master’s degree program.
UW-Green Bay started offering a fully online master’s degree in supply chain management this fall after getting approvals in 2023. The northeastern region is home to one out of every 100 transportation and logistics jobs in the country, the university wrote in its proposal, and it’s a leading industry for job growth.
UW-Stevens Point will add an online-only master’s degree in social work starting next summer. That industry, too, is expected to grow, with the need for child, school and family social workers expected to increase by 5% in the next decade and substance abuse social workers by 7% in that same period.
Educational leadership
Green Bay also is adding a doctoral education leadership degree — often referred to as an Ed.D., instead of a Ph.D. — because, the school says, northeastern Wisconsin lacks a local program.
Educational leadership degrees are for teachers and education professionals who want to serve as principals, superintendents or other administrators.
At least half of the degree will be online. Many times, students in educational leadership degree programs work in schools or educational entities as they complete their degrees.
Expanded engineering
For years, UW-Madison and UW-Platteville have been the go-to UW schools for students who want to major in engineering.
Now, the UW system is adding to the engineering ranks.
UW-La Crosse and UW-Milwaukee both added engineering programs last month as the demand for engineers across the state rises. La Crosse’s program will be in-person, with Milwaukee offering some hybrid or online course options.
The UW system estimates that within five years these two programs will add about 140 students. UW-Platteville has about 2,200 engineering students and UW-Madison has about 6,000 engineering students, three-quarters of them undergraduates.
The largest gripe from engineering employers around the state is that there simply aren’t enough engineering graduates. That’s part of the reason for a big push for a new engineering building at UW-Madison, so the College of Engineering could accept more of the 10,000 or so applicants it gets each year.
Agroecology
The one true “new” program introduced in the last year is UW-Madison’s degree in agroecology, which examines food, fiber and fuel production and how the sustainability of procedures can be improved.
UW-Madison created the new program as students were asking for a sustainable farming program, with focuses on organic practices and small farms. Madison isn’t adding any new courses to teach the major but will, instead, pull together existing classes across the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Arts at UW-Stout
UW-Stout is adding multiple arts programs to its repertoire: a fine art degree in illustration and game and media design.
The bachelor’s in fine art in illustration is a new area of growth for the university, its proposal to the Regents in April said. UW-Stout is about 45 minutes from the Minnesota border, near the Twin Cities metropolitan area, which has a $2.7 billion creative economy. Some of those jobs rely on illustration and art, such as advertising, publishing and entertainment, and the industry is expected to grow.
Similarly, the university expects that jobs related to the production and study of video games will increase regionally and nationally. The university designed the degree “backwards,” first considering the occupations that students might choose and then designing the appropriate curriculum.
UW-La Crosse and UW-Milwaukee both added engineering programs last month as the demand for engineers across the state rises.
Source: UW system adds 34 programs, many in growing industries
