New college degrees designed to job-proof graduates

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

NPR.

Ricky Mulvey (0:06)

This is The Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Ricky Mulvey.

Wailin Wong (0:09)

And I'm Waylon Wong. Case Brown is a senior at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He wants to be a doctor, maybe an anesthesiologist, or maybe an orthopedic surgeon, because he used to be a baseball player.

Ricky Mulvey (0:21)

I would love to work with athletes as well, but at the end of the day, it's open to whatever I fall in love with in med school.

Case entered UT San Antonio is a biology major, but he recently switched majors to something called health sciences. It's a brand new degree that the university launched this year. The idea is to make students more competitive in professional programs for medicine, dentistry, and other health care careers.

Wailin Wong (0:45)

UT San Antonio isn't the only college that's updating its course catalog for a new generation of students. Dozens of schools have introduced artificial intelligence programs. Arizona State University offers a Bachelor of Arts in Content Creation, aka Influencing.

Ricky Mulvey (1:01)

Huh, half ring light, we'll learn.

Wailin Wong (1:03)

I think my teen is going to be all over this program. Today on the show, we look at how colleges and universities are launching new programs they hope will attract students and train them for the jobs of the future.

Eddie Hernandez is a professor in Human Anatomy and Physiology at UT San Antonio. His students call him Dr. H. So we will too. Dr. H said conversations about a new health sciences degree program started a few years ago.

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We have a fantastic biology degree here at UTSA with very long standing, but it seemed a little broad and it also seemed like it didn't reflect our specific population of students.

Ricky Mulvey (1:46)

Students like Case Brown, the senior who switched his major from biology to health sciences. A few months ago, Dr. H told Case, guess what? The college has this new major. It checks off all the prereqs that you need for medical school. Plus, you'll get more tailored courses that will prepare you for an actual career as a doctor. It was pretty much Dr. H came to me and was like, hey, Case, this is new.

This is how I benefit you. I was like, cool. Sign me up.

Wailin Wong (2:10)

Dr. H says the health sciences program offers a clinical anatomy lab course and an advanced physiology class. There's also hands-on training with suturing and putting a cast on someone's arm.

The idea is to give these students an edge and make them more competitive when they move on to graduate school.

SPEAKER_1 (2:27)

I feel like this was the reason why I approached Case with the possibility of switching to the health sciences degree because of how many new skills he would have under his belt, to be able to put on his resume and on his application one day, to make him a more competitive applicant.

Ricky Mulvey (2:50)

The health sciences majors get to choose among six specialty tracks including medicine, dentistry, and physical therapy. Dr. H says by his last count, there are around 500 undergraduates in the current cohort. That's roughly 15 percent of the entire department of biology, health, and the environment.

Wailin Wong (3:06)

And he says that if these future doctors and physicians assistants stay in Texas to build the careers, that will be another win for the program.

Ricky Mulvey (3:14)

And sustainable careers are the ultimate goal of these new degrees. That puts programs without a clear pathway to a job, on the chopping block.

Wailin Wong (3:21)

In fact, the Trump administration has a new policy that cuts off federal loans for students pursuing degrees with low earnings potential.

Ricky Mulvey (3:29)

Pour one out for the philosophy majors.

Wailin Wong (3:31)

And the last decade or so has already been hard for the liberal arts in the US. The number of bachelor's degrees awarded in humanities is down 30 percent since 2012

That's according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Ricky Mulvey (3:45)

Jason Fox is the chief academic officer at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. He taught graphic design at SCAD before that.

Wailin Wong (3:53)

Do you have a favorite font?

Jason Fox (3:55)

That's a great question. I do.

It's Univere.

Some people call it Universe.

Wailin Wong (4:00)

I don't know that one. I know Papyrus. I don't know.

Jason Fox (4:03)

I'm going to look it up.

Ricky Mulvey (4:05)

Jason's college has art right there in its name, and yet it still has to make tough calls about what programs to keep. This year, the college stopped accepting new enrollees in sculpture. Students can still take sculpture classes, but they can't get a degree in it. Jason says the decisions come down to jobs and earnings potential.