Purdue Trustees Approve Degree Program

The tuition and fee recommendations will now go to the Executive Committee for a May 31 public hearing

The Purdue University Board of Trustees has approved a new bachelor’s degree from the Purdue Polytechnic Institute. The degree program will be offered at the university’s campuses outside of West Lafayette and will allow for the involvement of industry partners.

The university says the partners would be able to aid in customizing degree options to better suit the educational needs of their employees. Students could earn a bachelor of science degree in multidisciplinary technology.

The program must still be approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Purdue Polytechnic Institute Dean Gary Bertoline says the program was developed following conversations with leaders from several Indiana companies, including Chrysler, Cummins, Red Gold and Subaru of Indiana Automotive Inc.

"This program is revolutionary in that it features a flexible plan of study through which industry partners can suggest and influence, with faculty oversight and final approval, their own customized degree plans to meet unique and evolving workforce education requirements," said Bertoline. "It epitomizes the close partnership between our statewide locations and their industry base as well as Purdue’s land-grant mission and our desire to meet the need for enhanced workforce education programs."

Students who enroll in the program must still complete Purdue’s required university core curriculum and polytechnic requirements. It will be available through blended and online methods at the university’s nine current locations.