By Xhaxany Cuellar, Editor in Cheif
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor has signaled a strategic move toward new majors in areas with high job market demand and long-term potential growth in order to stay relevant in a fast-changing academic and economic landscape.
The university began laying the groundwork for more specialized STEM programs over the last several years by adding 23 new degrees since the 2021-22 academic year. That process continues this fall with four additional degrees including a new pre-anesthesiology program.
It also means several majors in the Humanities and Social Sciences are being phased out. “The three that I can confirm are Spanish, sociology, and film studies,” said Ashley Smith, UMHB director of marketing and public relations.
The decisions come after studying enrollment trends and evaluating where students are getting jobs.
"When we see trends, we start looking, we talk to faculty and eventually, the decision is made,” said Dean of the College of Humanities and Sciences Dr. Stephen Baldridge. “If it is decided to discontinue a major, a decision is made. But that's after several years of looking at trends. Do we think this is kind of a temporary dip, or do we think that this is more of a steady decline that's not going to come back up?
“The Spanish and sociology majors have been experiencing a steady decline, with Spanish having more minors than majors,” Baldridge said. The recently reported film studies program had more majors, but its growth potential remains small and costly.
UMHB is a “traditionally residential university,” meaning classes are held in person with a ratio between 25-30 so students can interact one-on-one with professors, and rarely offering alternatives such as hybrid programs online. “We have certainly considered other modalities, but have not elected to move forward with these types of undergraduate programs to this point,” said Baldridge.
Recent statistics from the Texas Labor Analysis support that enrollment has broadly shifted to STEM fields. According to the Top 25 Statistical Reports for an occupation in Central Texas, the most in-demand occupations that require a bachelor's or master's degree are registered nurses, general and operational managers, and elementary school teachers, except for special education. These occupations are within the Top 3 with the highest demand in Central Texas and are each projected to grow.
“We open and close programs,” Smith said. “It's not uncommon for that to happen based on the need and the market. I have a list of programs, some that we have opened within the last three years that I would say are still considered new, and then some that are being opened or officially launched.”
Among these programs is a pre-anesthesiology assistant program scheduled to open in the Fall of 2025. According to Dr. Brian Brabham, associate dean and professor in the School of Exercise and Sports Science, “The goal is to prepare students for applications to professional schools. So in this case, we've designed the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences with the health science major and a pre-anesthesiology assistant concentration to meet the prerequisites for applying to anesthesiology assistant programs that are out there.”
This program contains similarities to pre-med and pre-physical therapy, however the math specification is much higher. The program falls under the umbrella of the School of Exercise and Sports Science and College of Health Sciences, however it is not sports related. The goal of the program is to encourage students to be competitive when applying to go into the Master’s of Science or anesthesiology assistant programs. “Once they do that, then they get out there (into the health care industry) and they become an anesthesiology assistant. So it's a medical program that they go through out there. In fact, some of the schools require the MCAT or the GRE as well, to even apply to their program. So very similar to pre-med,” stated Brabham.
The anesthesiology field is very competitive, with most schools requiring at least eight hours of observation of an anesthesiologist or an anesthesiology assistant. The program plans to help students get more hours than needed by requiring students to do 50 clinical hours. Brabham stated, “Most anesthesiology assistant graduate programs require at least 8 hours of anesthesia exposure through observation in an operating room. As part of our Pre-AA degree, students will take a health science clinic that will require 50 hours of observation which will put them well above what schools are looking for as part of the application process.”
The successes of the program will be measured through acceptance, Brabham said.“I track acceptances. So, how many of the students start, how many of them get accepted, and also how many of them matriculate through and actually stay with this program? Because we do have GPA requirements on our pre-programs, they have to have a 3.0 at 45 credit hours and a 3.2 at 60 credit hours, because we want to protect them.”
Also offered this fall for the first time are two Bachelor of Science in Music degrees, one with an emphasis in worship technology and the other with an emphasis in performance; and a new doctorate in occupational therapy.
New degrees starting in the upcoming academic year (2025-2026):
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science - Pre-Anesthesiology Assistant Concentration
- Bachelor of Science – Music with Emphasis in Worship Technology
- Bachelor of Science – Music with Emphasis in Performance
- Occupational Therapy Doctorate
The following degrees have been added since the 2021-2022 catalog year:
- Bachelor of Arts – Religion and Public Life
- Bachelor of Science – Bioinformatics
- Bachelor of Science – Critical Technological Studies
- Bachelor of Science – Cybersecurity
- Bachelor of Science – Educational Advocacy
- Bachelor of Science – Information Systems
- Bachelor of Science – Music with Emphasis in Music Business
- Bachelor of Science – Neuroscience
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Exercise Physiology – Clinical Exercise Physiology
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Exercise Physiology – Personal Training Fitness
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Exercise Physiology – Strength and Conditioning
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Chiropractic Concentrations
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Med Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Occupational Therapy Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Physician’s Assistant Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Physical Therapy Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science – Pre-Athletic Training Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – Health Science
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – EC-12 Physical Education – Teaching Certification Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Health Science – EC-12 Physical Education – Coaching Concentration
- Bachelor of Science in Public Health – Public Health
- Bachelor of Science in Public Health to Master of Public Health
- Master of Public Health
