UDC’s College of Arts and Sciences receives $2.225 million grant to create a General Science Baccalaureate Degree Program

UDC’s College of Arts and Sciences/Division of Sciences and Mathematics was awarded a $2.225 million grant from the National Science Foundation/Historically Black Colleges and Universities-Undergraduate Program (NSF/HBCU-UP) to create a General Science Baccalaureate Degree Program. The degree will give students the opportunity to explore courses across the three STEM colleges – the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), the College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES) and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS).

Educational scholars have found that a General Science degree will make learning easier and more useful to students, enabling students to tailor the new program to meet their needs and goals. The program will fulfill the demand for a versatile STEM education giving students skills that cover science, engineering, mathematics, technical, and non-technical disciplines. It offers options focused on life science, computer science, engineering, and environmental science, and it will prepare students for careers in healthcare, life sciences, defense, engineering, government, and academia.

Special recognition goes to Dr. Freddie Dixon, who serves as Co-Principal Investigator and Program Director of the new HBCU-UP grant. She is also Program Director of the UDC STEM Center, Program Director of the NSF/S-STEM Program and Professor of Biology in the Division of Sciences and Mathematics.

Dr. Xueqing Song, Chair and Associate Professor of Chemistry in the Division of Sciences and Mathematics, is a Co-Principal Investigator on the grant, and Dr. Carolyn Cousin, Director of the Biology Master’s Degree Program and Professor of Biology, will lead the research team supporting the initiative.

The new program will begin in Spring 2025 at the earliest.