A&M-Commerce is implementing three new degree programs that will help to provide cutting-edge education to prospective and current students.

The new degrees, which have been approved by the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, are a bachelor of science degree in environmental science, a bachelor of fine arts degree in new media, and a master of social work degree.

The bachelor of science degree in environmental sciences will be offered by the department of biological and earth sciences starting Sept. 1.

Dr. Royce Lee, head of the department of biological and earth sciences, said he and faculty in the department have been planning the curriculum and making preparations for the program for the last three years.

The environmental sciences program is especially important for students who major in earth sciences, Lee said. "Most of these students readily find employment in some area of environmental science. There are also students who are interested in our ‘classic’ sciences who find employment in the environmental sciences," he pointed out.

Also beginning this fall, students can start their studies in the innovative field of computer generated design, imaging, and visualization by majoring in a new degree program — the bachelor of fine arts in new media.

"Animation, visualization, and electronic design of many kinds have entered our lives in immeasurable ways, from the lead-ins of television broadcasts to the creation of dinosaurs for the series on the Discovery channel," department of art head Bill Wadley said.

The new degree is designed so students may take the general studies curriculum and basic art courses at A&M-Commerce. The advanced courses necessary for the degree will then be offered at the Universities Center at Dallas in downtown Dallas. UCD will be equipped with Macintosh and Silicon Graphics labs and classrooms for graphic design, art direction, illustration, copy writing, audiovisual presentations, and distance learning.

Students will also be required to complete an internship at an advertising or graphic design firm. The Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is "one of the nation’s major advertising centers and the Dallas advertising community has been enormously supportive of our efforts to get this new degree," Dr. Wadley said.

A&M-Commerce art alumni have been helpful in giving suggestions and other assistance in the drafting of this new program, he continued. Plans for the implementation of the new master’s degree in social work are under way. Two graduate electives that will count towards the MSW are being offered this summer and they will be repeated again in the fall semester.

In July, two new faculty members in social work will begin their duties. They are Dr. Edward Skarnulis, who will become the department head, and Dr. Helene Halvorson, who will be the MSW program director.

Two additional faculty members will join the department of social work in the fall semester. "It is anticipated that MSW students will be admitted to the new program in January 2001," said Dr. Barbara Grissett, interim department head.

The MSW Program will focus on serving the rural northeast Texas region. "There is a strong need in the region for the program and we have a lot of interest from potential students," Grissett said.

A&M-Commerce will become the first and only university in the A&M System to offer an MSW degree, she noted.