Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 20:43:34 +0000

Major Change: Five Fresh Degrees Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 13:43

Kelsey Yandura

Did Greta Gerwig’s Barbie film boost Birkenstock sales? Does a high-fat diet increase anxiousness? How are business leaders addressing “Zoom fatigue” among employees? Can a jellyfish-inspired robot track climate change?

The questions facing industry professionals today can range from complex to straight out of a science fiction novel. To keep up with and prepare students for the ever-evolving times, academic institutions need to constantly reevaluate course content and degree offerings.

�� Boulder’s leadership strategically approaches the challenges of continuous modernization in higher education by examining both what and how students learn. This allows the university to remain on the leading edge of education while empowering students to navigate a fast-changing world.

“Our degrees don’t focus on a finite set of competencies, but on teaching students how to learn and lead,” said Katherine Eggert, vice chancellor for academic planning and assessment at �� Boulder. “What our graduates learn today may be outdated by tomorrow. They’ll need to acquire new skills quickly from the moment they start their careers.”

The university’s academic strategy is centered on equipping students with adaptable, real-world skills in programs that embrace multidisciplinary approaches, foster collaboration and generate creative solutions to complex problems.

Here are five of the latest undergraduate and graduate degree paths �� Boulder has unveiled over the past four years.

Corporate Communication (MA)

�� Boulder Online

When Kiana Junior (MCorpComm’25) graduated from the University of Wyoming in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition, job prospects in her field of study were dire.

“I took the first job I could, which happened to be in the real estate industry,” said Junior. Three years later, she’s bounding ahead on a totally new path: working as a brand communicator and pursuing her master’s in corporate communication at ��, a fully online degree program introduced in 2020.

In the field of corporate communication, professionals study the way companies and organizations communicate with internal and external audiences to share information and manage brand perception.

“It’s the practice and art of distilling information with integrity and consistency,” said Junior. “Consumers and employees expect transparency and social responsibility from corporations, now more than ever — especially when it comes to social responsibility, environmental compliance and diversity.”

The curriculum is designed to be student-centric. “The students learn from a mix of university faculty and current and distinguished practitioners who are working in the field,” said Tobias Hopp, director of the program. “It’s a dynamic educational experience.”

The results speak for themselves.

“I could read something in class one day and take it to work the next day,” said Junior. “It’s directly applicable every single week.”

Business Analytics (BS)

Leeds School of Business

Businesses have access to more data than ever — but it’s what they do with this data that provides value. Streaming site subscriptions, airline loyalty memberships, coffee shop sales and nail salon customer reviews — each of these datasets can provide a wealth of information for the respective businesses.

That’s where business analytics comes in: using data to glean insights, inform strategic decisions and recommend meaningful changes within a business. This fast-growing field of study became a new undergraduate focus within the Leeds School of Business in 2022.

“It’s about critical thinking with data,” said Kai R. Larsen, professor of information systems at Leeds. “Datasets are only getting bigger. We tried to imagine what a major would look like so that students could really understand the story behind the numbers.”

Business analytics students learn how to translate and distill hard numbers into helpful information. It is designed to be paired with another area of emphasis within the business school, such as marketing, finance or accounting.

“The beauty comes from how to put all these parts together,” said Larsen. “Not only understand the problem, but be able to analyze and also distill the information into something that’s valuable.”

Public Health (BA)

College of Arts and Sciences

After wildfires in California in 2008, Colleen Reid, an associate professor of geography at �� Boulder, began studies to understand how wildfire smoke affects population health. Recently, she has been collecting data to understand how wildfire smoke gets into homes and schools and may affect children’s health in the Denver metro area. Reid hopes school districts can use the findings from her work to protect children from future high air pollution events, such as wildfires. Her work demonstrates the importance of careers in public health.

Starting in the fall of 2025, �� students will have the opportunity to pursue similar lines of work through the new public health major (BA) — a discipline focused on protecting and improving the health and well-being of communities and people. The field examines the underlying determinants of health within populations. For this new major at ��, students will learn about public health through courses within many different disciplines, including biology, statistics, geography, physiology, sociology, psychology and more.

“Public health goes beyond just individual bodies,” said Reid. “Seat belts are public health. Parks are public health. Climate change policy is public health. Food safety inspections at restaurants are public health.”

��’s public health program plans to equip students with the tools to address the needs of today’s world — making strides to not only solve health problems, but also prevent them.

Biomedical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Earlier this year, a �� Boulder-led team made strides in the quest to develop naturalistic materials that can repair and replace human tissue. Their breakthrough focused on creating a “Band-Aid for the heart,” and the process consisted of 3D printing adhesive, elastic materials that are strong enough to support tissue mechanically.

This work, which can lead to revolutionary uses such as internal bandages and cartilage patches, demonstrates the innovative possibilities in biomedical engineering. By connecting engineering principles to the fields of medicine and biology, professionals in this discipline create enhancements to health care.

“A biomedical engineer on a team can form a crucial bridge between the clinicians and the engineers,” said Jessica McLaughlin, a teaching assistant professor in ��’s biomedical engineering (BME) department. “It’s critical to have someone at the table who can speak both languages.”

Since 2020, students at �� Boulder have had this professional pathway open to them through undergraduate and graduate biomedical engineering degrees. The multidisciplinary major teaches students how to create technology to address complex health problems.

“Anyone who cares about human health should be interested in this,” said Corey Nue, a biomedical professor at �� Boulder. “As engineers, we’re really uniquely positioned to impact the field through new devices, diagnostics and therapeutics.”

Robotics (MA, PhD)

College of Engineering and Applied Science

Perhaps the most futuristic major on the list is ��’s new graduate program in robotics, which kicked off in the fall of 2023. The program combines coursework and research from a variety of engineering fields, bridging the gaps between science, engineering and artificial intelligence.

“Robotics takes everything from computer science to mechanical engineering to electrical engineering,” said Sean Humbert, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Robotics Program at �� Boulder. “These are the types of students we want to be getting — folks that want this multidisciplinary background to solve all sorts of problems.”

From agriculture and health care to security and defense, the applications of a robotics degree are endless. Students enrolled in the program can choose from more than 40 different courses taught by experts in areas like field robotics, reasoning and assurance, smart materials, human-centered robotics and biomedical robotics.

When leading the charge to bring the robotics program to life, Humbert envisioned a department built on flexibility and an eye for developing trends.

“It’s a rapidly changing field, and our terrific faculty span all of these different bins of research,” said Humbert. “We’ll be able to educate students and develop new classes as the new tools appear. It’s really exciting.”

Submit feedback to the editor

Illustrations by Israel Vargas

Take a peek at five new undergraduate and graduate degree paths �� Boulder has unveiled over the past four years.

Off

Traditional

Fall 2024

White

A Peek Into the Past and Present of �� Boulder Campus Life

Anna Tolette — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 17:21:02 +0000

A Peek Into the Past and Present of �� Boulder Campus Life Anna Tolette Tue, 11/12/2024 - 10:21

Kelsey Yandura

NOW

A glimpse of �� Boulder life today — graduation at Folsom, a snowball fight at Farrand Field, a crowd around Dalton Trumbo fountain outside of the UMC, the Buffaloes playing their hearts out against Arizona. As a university, we are always changing, evolving, growing. But one thing remains the same: Buffs are innovative and creative leaders who know how to balance working and playing in the Colorado sunshine.

THEN

As �� enters a new chapter, take a look at these snapshots from �� yearbooks past — clockwise, from the top: Pi Phi’s between classes (1937), students relaxing on the UMC terrace (1955), a snowball fight described as “a friendly winter pastime for students living in the dormitories” (1955), the 1992 convocation, studying at the library (1941), Buffs playing at home against the Texas Longhorns (1941), roommates in Andrews Hall (1983). The heart of �� has always been shaped by students and the life they bring to campus.