Emporia State University is set to “suspend” a pair of majors as part of its reinvestment work for the future. However; those two programs will not be altogether disappearing.
ESU announced Wednesday afternoon that a new undergraduate degree program has been created within the departments of Social Sciences, Sociology and Criminology to help counter well-documented declining enrollment numbers across two specific programs. The new History and Government bachelor of science degree was approved earlier this month by the Kansas Board of Regents and will launch in the fall of 2023.
The new program will merge political science and history and divide it into three specific components American history and government, world history and government and ideas and institutions. ESU Interim Provost Dr. Brent Thomas says the combined major will be a more efficient option for students in the future.
Thomas says the university currently employs and will continue to employ, a “significant” number of historians and political scientists even after the new degree program launches next year.
Students who graduate with the new degree will be prepared for future careers in the fields of public service, politics, government and government relations. The degree will also allow students to move onto pursue graduate degrees in programs such as history, political science, law school and library science.
Roe R. Cross Distinguished Professor of history and ESU government relations officer Dr. Greg Schneider says in a news release, “We are excited to be able to offer this new program which we believe offers the breadth of knowledge, in-depth study and hands-on learning experiences which will set up graduates very well for a variety of career opportunities.”
This is the sixth reinvestment announcement for Emporia State after the Kansas Board of Regents approved the university’s Framework for Workforce Management.
