Regents University Affairs Committee advances proposals for new degrees, certificates

Plans for new degrees and certificates at three CU campuses received approval from the Regents University Affairs Committee during its Jan. 23 meeting, held via Zoom.

The proposals are scheduled to be included on the consent agenda at the next meeting of the full Board of Regents, set for Feb. 8-9 at CU Boulder.

At CU Denver, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences plans a new master’s degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology and a new certificate for Prescribing Fellowship Clinical Psychopharmacology. Richard Allen, professor and associate dean of teaching, learning and curriculum, said both new programs serve workforce demand and address the mental health crisis in Colorado and the nation. The latter also takes advantage of a new state law allowing licensed psychologists (who also have earned certificates) to prescribe psychotropic medication for the treatment of mental health disorders.

CU Denver also plans a new bachelor’s degree in Climate Change Studies, helping to meet emerging demand for a workforce knowledgeable about climate change. CLAS Dean Pamela Jansma said the interdisciplinary degree draws on such fields as environmental science, biology, geography, political science, history, economics, social justice, communications, public health and more. It would be the first such degree in the state.

CU Boulder’s Department of Women and Gender Studies is adding a master’s degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies. The program will provide students an interdisciplinary education using a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches across the humanities and the social sciences to examine women, gender and sexuality in an international context. Department Chair Julie Carr noted that Women and Gender Studies is currently the only social sciences department at CU Boulder without a graduate program.

A new graduate certificate in Space Cyber Enterprise Management at UCCS will help address the growing demand for professionals responding to cybersecurity threats to critical space infrastructure. The online program will be based in the College of Business.

Also at UCCS, the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences plans two certificates, one graduate and one undergraduate, in Geographic Information Sciences, the field of collecting, analyzing and visualizing geographical information. Both programs are expansions of current certificate programs currently only available to degree-seeking students at UCCS; the new iterations are stand-alone offerings available to graduates, graduate students and professionals in the community.

The University Affairs Committee also advanced a proposal to discontinue a degree, the master’s in Health Services Research, Policy and Administration in the Colorado School of Public Health at CU Anschutz. Approved in 2012, the degree failed to meet projected enrollment; two students currently enrolled will be graduated, and no faculty appointments will end or be reduced.

The next University Affairs Committee meeting is scheduled for March 19.