Beginning in January 2013, Missouri University of Science and Technology plans to offer a new multidisciplinary studies degree program that takes advantage of the university’s emphasis on engineering, science and technology, as well as its liberal arts programs, while allowing students greater flexibility in customizing their education.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved Missouri S&T’s proposal to offer a bachelor of arts degree in multidisciplinary studies at its meeting Thursday, Sept. 13, in Columbia, Mo. The proposal now goes before the Missouri Coordinating Board for Higher Education for final approval.

“Today’s college students will enter a world that requires them to be technologically literate as well as skilled and self-motivated critical thinkers,” says Dr. Lance Haynes, chair of arts, languages and philosophy at Missouri S&T, who will serve as director of the multidisciplinary studies program. “This program will appeal to those intellectually curious students who seek to pursue an academic track that blends the sciences and engineering with the social sciences and liberal arts.”

In addition, the program “will build on S&T’s emphasis on engineering, science and technology to give students a greater opportunity to make connections across a variety of fields and issues,” Haynes says.

For example, through the multidisciplinary studies program, a student interested in ecology could combine coursework in geology, biology and mining engineering, Haynes says. Or a student interested in a career in education could combine business and economics studies with S&T’s teacher certification program, he adds.

Using only existing faculty and funding, the program is expected to attract 32 full-time students and seven part-time students within five years. Haynes also expects the program to be popular among military personnel stationed at nearby Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

For more information about the multidisciplinary studies program, contact S&T’s admissions office at 573-341-4164 or email admissions@mst.edu.