To better equip students for a changing market, SPU will offer four new majors and three new minors beginning autumn 2018. Some existing majors will also see changes.
New degrees include:
• Bachelor of arts in social justice and cultural studies for students who want to study culture, representation, and power. Students will analyze gender, race, class, and sexuality and explore forms of protest, resistance, and social change. The major offers four tracks: pre-law human rights and policy; art for social change; mediation, peace, and conflict resolution; and advanced cultural studies.
• Bachelor of arts in life science for students interested in biology who do not plan to attend graduate school. A more flexible science degree, students in this major could pursue a second major or minor.
• Bachelor of science in mechanical engineering (see article).
• Bachelor of arts in criminal justice (see article).
New minors include:
• Film studies, which focuses on film history and art, building critical thinking, writing, and visual literacy skills.
• Information studies for students to examine the relationships between people, information, and technology, with seven emphases: general; art; art history and visual studies; computer science; history; philosophy; and visual communication.
• Leadership Studies to help students in leadership positions to explore a holistic view of leadership within various disciplines.
• Worship arts leadership for students to learn theological perspectives on worship and how to plan different types of worship services.
Additionally, instead of having distinct areas of concentration, the Christian theology major will broaden to include studies in Christian mission, Scripture, educational ministry, and theological studies.
The psychology major has new tracks: For the bachelor of arts degree, concentrations include developmental psychology; social-personality psychology; clinical counseling psychology; community psychology and behavioral mental health; sports psychology; and animal behavior. For the bachelor of science degree, tracks include behavioral and cognitive neuroscience, and animal behavior.
To accommodate flexible learning needs, the School of Education’s doctorate programs are shifting to a hybrid format of online courses for ease of access, with a two-week summer residency to maintain personal connections and mentoring.
