STEVENS POINT – Student learning and networking opportunities will expand as part of a new interdisciplinary approach at UW-Stevens Point that allows students to explore professional career paths in related fields.
Units in three of the four curricular colleges were reorganized to create seven new academic schools. Each is an umbrella for several programs and majors:
- In the College of Fine Arts and Communication, the School of Design and Communication includes art, graphic design, interior architecture, media studies and professional communication; the School of Performing Arts includes music, theater, dance and arts management.
- In the College of Letters and Science, the current 13 departments have been organized into four schools: School of Behavioral and Social Sciences; School of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry; School of Humanities and Global Studies; and School of Mathematics, Computing, Physics and Astronomy.
- In the College of Professional Studies, the School of Health Sciences and Wellness encompasses 10 undergraduate majors and 12 graduate programs from the former schools of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Health Care Professions, and Health Promotion and Human Development.
“The reorganization really helps us pool our resources and our strengths,” said Eric Yonke, retiring dean of the College of Letters and Sciences, in a news release. “In some respects, it is a natural progression, bringing together disciplines and departments with shared research interests and teaching approaches as well as common perspectives on career pathways for students.”
This reorganization is the result of two years of planning and input from faculty, staff members and students across campuses. The new schools will help create intentional career pathways for students as they move through degree completion. They are in effect for the fall semester.
The College of Natural Resources continues its interdisciplinary approach in five resource management areas plus paper science and chemical engineering.
