Regents authorize Tarleton to pursue two new graduate degree programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 16, 2018

STEPHENVILLE, Texas — The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents authorized Tarleton State University to seek final approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to create two new graduate degree programs that will address the growing demand for professionals in geoscience and animal science.

The new master’s of science programs, if approved by the Coordinating Board, will begin in fall 2019 and increase Tarleton’s degree programs to more than 100.

“This is a major step forward,” said Dr. Karen Murray, Tarleton provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “These new opportunities support the university’s longstanding commitment to academic advancement, to improved employment options for students, and to meet the growing professional workforce needs in North Texas and beyond.”

No equivalent programs are available within 100 miles of Stephenville.

The proposed master’s in geoscience, part of Tarleton’s College of Science and Technology, will prepare students for leadership in industrial, educational and research-oriented careers, from petroleum and structural geology to paleontology.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates a 14 percent increase in employment opportunities for geoscience experts over the next eight years, with Texas employing more geoscientists in oil and gas exploration than any other state.

Graduates of the proposed master’s in animal science, a 36-semester-hour program in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, will be prepared for careers as animal geneticists and nutritionists, and dairy and poultry scientists. Texaswages.com projects a 17.6 percent growth in animal science positions through 2024.

For a list of degree programs available at Tarleton, visit www.tarleton.edu/degrees.

Tarleton, founding member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven education marked by academic innovation and a dedication to transform today’s scholars into tomorrow’s leaders. It offers degree programs to more than 13,000 students at Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian, RELLIS Academic Alliance in Bryan, and online, emphasizing real-world learning experiences that address societal needs while maintaining its core values of tradition, integrity, civility, excellence, leadership and service.

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Contact: Cecilia Jacobs, Assistant Vice President for Marketing & Communications
254-968-1620
[email protected]

A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of nearly 17,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. True to Tarleton’s values of excellence, integrity and respect, academic programs emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.
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