April 11, 2013

Board of Governors approves new degree in international studies

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – The Board of Governors of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE) has approved a new Bachelor of Arts degree in international studies to be offered by Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.

This program is designed to prepare students for careers in several high-priority occupations that require international competencies, including management and financial analysts and scientific and technical sales representatives. It will build on Shippensburg’s minor in this area and its current array of more than 120 interdisciplinary offerings of international studies courses. Transfer students and veterans returning to college, especially those with international experiences, will be able to build upon their prior learning.

The program design, which includes a foreign language requirement, also will encourage collaboration with other PASSHE universities. It is anticipated that some students might take Arabic courses online from California University of Pennsylvania to complement the Africa and Middle East Studies concentration of the major. Students also could take Chinese courses via videoconference from East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania if they choose that language as part of the Asian Studies concentration.

For more information about the program, please contact the university.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, with about 115,000 students. The 14 PASSHE universities offer degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. About 500,000 PASSHE alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

The state-owned universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. PASSHE also operates branch campuses in Clearfield, Freeport, Oil City and Punxsutawney and several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and the Philadelphia Multi University Center in Philadelphia.