Ohio University's Board of Trustees signed off on two new undergraduate certificate programs at their quarterly meeting last week.
The board approved both an undergraduate certificate in war and peace as well as an undergraduate certificate in bioinformatics.
The war and peace certificate will be issued through the College of Arts and Sciences and comes as a result of an increased need for graduates in security studies as well as the Department of Homeland Security's increased emphasis on border control, immigration and intelligence analysis.
The program is designed to train individuals to meet the increasing demand in the securities field as the result of events surrounding the 9/11 tragedy
said Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit in a memorandum to President Roderick McDavis.
The certificate program is close to the Department of Political Science's world politics track, but that track will be eliminated when OU switches to semesters in 2012.
I'm certain that students in an array of majors could benefit from thinking about these issues from the perspective of the different disciplines to be represented in the major and certificate said Mark LeBar, an associate professor of philosophy, in a letter supporting the program.
The bioinformatics certificate, which combines biology with computer science, will allow students to have a specific plan to become a bioinformatics specialist.
The state of Ohio chose OU's proposal to develop a statewide bioinformatics consortium and will provide funds for 30 scholarships each year for the recruitment of students to study in the program.
The program will be an interdisciplinary degree program offered through cooperation between the College of Arts and Sciences and the Russ College of Engineering and Technology, Benoit said in a memorandum to McDavis.
The programs will help students be more competitive in the job market said Trustee Larry Schey.
The programs are not anticipated to require any extra expenses, and the certificate in war and peace is planned to begin Fall Quarter 2010. It is unknown when the certificate in bioinformatics is projected to begin.
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Leah Fightmaster
