04-16-2023 Education - Flipbook - Page 5
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, April 16, 2023
PAID ADVERTISING
30 new academic programs
prepare students for the
workplace of the future
Befekadu, Ph.D., assistant professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering. The program educates students
in a high-demand, multidisciplinary field that supports
today’s advanced manufacturing industry. Morgan is the
only university in Maryland to offer each of the three
programs.
The past two years have marked an era of historic highs
for Morgan State University, in categories ranging
from student enrollment to financial investment in the
institution to the dollar value of new, planned or underconstruction campus facilities. But, more quietly,
the University has also logged record numbers in another
critical area: the establishment of new academic programs.
Since 2020, Morgan has introduced more than 30 new
programs increasing its total degree offering to more than
140. In the past year alone, the University has launched
nine programs. Many of these academic offerings are
not only innovative — aligning with Morgan’s strategic
plan — they are also unique among the programs offered
by higher education institutions in Maryland, emphasizes
Hongtao Yu, Ph.D., provost and senior vice president for
Academic Affairs at Morgan. Included among the latest
program offerings are a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical
Theatre, a Master of Science in Neuroscience, a Bachelor
of Science in Coastal Science and Policy and a Doctor of
Social Work.
Morgan’s academic ‘building boom’ has also helped place
the University near the front of a trend: enrollment of
nontraditional and traditional students in interdisciplinary
degree programs, Provost Yu adds. In Fall 2022, the
University reported an historic enrollment high of more
than 9,100 students. Some of the students choosing
Morgan are doing so in part as a result of the programs
being offered.
“We have paid special attention to transdisciplinary
skills that are needed for the new workforce,”
Dr. Yu says.
Yu cites the recent establishment of the Morgan Completes
You program, offered by the University’s new College
of Interdisciplinary and Continuing Studies (launched in
2021), as a prime example of the University’s focus.
“In 2021, Morgan received approval from MHEC to
launch 18 interdisciplinary degree programs. We call it
Morgan Completes You. These 18 programs are used to
train students who went to college, who have some credits
already but were not able to complete their college degree,”
he explains. “We put them into these interdisciplinary
degree programs where they can earn their degrees and
gain skills for their employment.”
With an unprecedented number of recent programs off
the ground, Morgan has shifted its focus to maintaining
their excellence and sustainability — their long-term
success, Dr. Yu says. “We just need to make sure that all
the programs we’ve launched will do well and distinguish
themselves nationally.”
Toward that goal, generally, the new programs are
doing quite well. The Master of Science in Advanced
Computing program, for example, has students actively
studying software engineering; data science and artificial
intelligence; machine learning; or cybersecurity and is
tracking toward an enrollment of more than 60 students by
Fall 2023, reports Computer Science Assistant Professor
Monir Sharker, Ph.D., the program’s director. The
Bachelor of Science in Interior Design has seen explosive
growth lately, says Betty Torrell, associate professor of
Undergraduate Design and the program’s new director.
Morgan also recently began offering the Bachelor of
Science in Mechatronics Engineering led by Getachew
According to recent national survey results, some of the
year’s highest-paying college majors are transdisciplinary
and engineering focused. To prepare proficient, workforceready graduates in these arenas, a variety of high-demand
STEM oriented degree programs have been added to
Morgan’s academic roster. In addition to a degree track in
the burgeoning field of mechatronics, students are pursuing
degreesinIndustrialEngineering(Ph.D./M.S.),Sustainable
and Resilient Infrastructure Engineering (Ph.D./M.S.),
Computer and Electrical Systems Engineering (Ph.D./
M.S.), Transportation Systems Engineering (B.S.),
Sustainable Urban Environmental Engineering (B.S.) and
Secure Embedded Systems Engineering (Ph.D.).
In terms of its current roster of academic offerings,Yu says,
“Morgan is in a great position.... The credit goes to the
faculty,” he adds. “They’ve come up with great ideas for
new programs, great proposals and sound arguments for
why these novel, innovative programs must be established.”
—Provided by Morgan State University
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