The University of North Texas system’s board of regents has approved several new degree programs, creating a pipeline for a variety of industries in the region.
The first newly approved bachelor’s degree program will offer emergency services as a standalone major.
As UNT Dallas Provost Betty Stewart noted, firefighters have shown particular interest in this program, which had previously been offered as a concentration for students pursuing a bachelor of applied arts and sciences, according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
The online program will be offered through the UNT Dallas School of Liberal Arts and Sciences and aims to make degree holders more competitive when applying to management-level positions.
“We will be the first university in the state offering a major in emergency services administration or a related field as recognized by the U.S. Fire Administration,” Stewart explained. “We want to give our first responders — paramedics, firefighters and so forth — an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree and they can bring in up to 42 hours of workforce credit toward this degree.”
Another of the new programs targets registered nurses with associate’s degrees looking to level up.
The new Bachelor of Science degree with a major in nursing will be offered at the UNT Health Science Center (HSC) in Fort Worth.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, the HSC approaches patient care with a “whole health” perspective. For instance, earlier this year, it piloted the Performing Arts Medicine Clinic, focusing uniquely on treating and preventing injuries affecting artists for free.
A new Master of Science degree with a major in nursing practice innovation was also added to UNT’s roster. The five-semester program will focus on patient care at the administrative level.
“Both degrees will offer unique interdisciplinary curriculums that will hone professional nurses’ skills and transform the health of communities around them,” explained Cindy Weston, dean of the HSC’s College of Nursing.
The new nursing programs are expected to begin by the fall of 2024. They provide an important pipeline for nurses amid a looming shortage.
Texas currently ranks second to last in the U.S. for nurses per capita. Over the last two years, Texas schools had to turn down about 30,000 potential students due to limited space in nursing programs, according to UNT’s news release.
As The Dallas Express reported, the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies predicted that 16.3% of the demand for registered nurses in Texas would go unmet by 2032.
