Academics
This year, the Biology Department began a unique partnership with Kansas City University, which has campuses both in KC and in nearby Joplin, Missouri. The program is designed to save students time and money on their path to becoming a doctor or a dentist. A cohort of 35 students each year have the chance to accelerate earning a bachelor’s and a medical or dental degree in just seven years (one year less than the traditional path) closer to home.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/science/biology/ampup-application.html
Contact: Professor and Coordinator Mandy Peak.
A new “stackable” Business Studies program is the only stackable program on campus and rare among business schools nationwide. Like all majors in the Kelce College of Business, it is AACSB accredited. Each student chooses a combination of certificates and minors to "build their own major" tailored to their personal career aspirations. They gain knowledge and skills in a wide variety of business disciplines to ultimately thrive in small or large company environments and/or start their own businesses.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/business/programs/business-studies/index.html
Contact: Executive Associate Mimi Morrison.
One of 18 such programs in the United States, the program is even more unique to the Midwest for its hands-on printing labs, technology integration, project-based learning, ability to connect students to internships and to industry leaders, and opportunities to earn regional, state, and national recognition through a number of competitions.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/twl/programs/graphic-communications/index.html
Contact: Chair Andrew Klenke.
Working out of the Biology Department since 1985, this program is unique – there isn’t another entity in the region that can do what Nature Reach does.
Nature Reach has a commitment to providing natural history and environmental education outreach programming to school and community groups using live animals that are cared for in captivity because they are unable to live in the wild, including raptors, reptiles, amphibians, and small mammals.
The program also provides valuable, real-world training to college students who want to go into careers ranging from veterinary medicine to wildlife management.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/biology/nature-reach/
Contact: Director Delia Lister.
The Manufacturing Engineering Technology program at Pitt State stands out with its state-of-the-art laboratories and a fully operational Metal Casting Center (foundry), managed by expert educators and equipped with modern casting tools. The program benefits from strong partnerships with industry alumni and boasts a legacy of success in the national Cast in Steel competition. Additionally, Pitt State is one of only 30 schools in North America supported by the Foundry Educational Foundation, dedicated to securing the future of the metal casting industry.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/automotive-and-engineering/programs/manufacturing-engineering-technology/index.html
Contact: Professor Russ Rosmait
The Polymer Chemistry program is only one of three undergraduate programs in the U.S.
It’s a collaboration of the Chemistry Department, Plastics Engineering Technology, and the National Institute for Materials Advancement, which is located on our campus.
The program pairs students with scientists in a research setting and helps them prepare to enter the workforce as working polymer chemists in as few as four years. Its faculty include three scientists ranked by Stanford as being among the Top 2% in the world.
Learn more: nima-psu.org/, pittstate.edu/science/programs/polymer-chemistry/index.html
Contact: Associate Vice President Ram Gupta
The Technology & Engineering Education program is unique in that it features its own self-contained lab in which to teach all technologies, whereas most schools must use other program labs. Hands-on, activity-based classes engage students in meaningful educational experiences in communications, power, energy, transportation, materials and processes, construction, manufacturing, design, robotics, 3D prototyping, and more. Students can also participate in local, regional, and national activities through the Technology & Engineering Education Collegiate Association.
Contact: Associate Professor Byron McKay
Also unique to Kansas is the Therapeutic Recreation emphasis within the Recreation Services, Sport, and Hospitality Management major. In this program, students work directly with special populations in the community: senior citizens, those with physical limitations, and those with behavioral and intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Not only is it nationally accredited, the program is the only university in Kansas to produce Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialists. These experts are needed at VA hospitals, medical centers, nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals, and in many other settings.
Contact: Professor Laura Covert Miller
This program, housed in our Automotive Department, has been the only one of its kind worldwide since its inception in 2001. The program provides students who have completed the two-year Caterpillar ThinkBIG program to earn their baccalaureate degree in two years.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/automotive-and-engineering/programs/technology/caterpillar-thinkbigger/index.html
Contact: Professor Tim Dell
This is the only university in the country that offers a baccalaureate degree in Wood Product Manufacturing. It is literally one of a kind.
Whether their interest is design, management, or fabrication, the Wood Product Manufacturing program gives students the chance to learn on state-of-the-art equipment, connects them with industry leaders, and prepares them for the workforce.
Learn more: pittstate.edu/twl/programs/wood-product-manufacturing/index.html
Contact: Associate Professor Charlie Phillips
