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New master’s programs approved for College of Agriculture and Human Ecology

The board of trustees approved two new master’s programs in the College of Agriculture and Human Ecology during the March 21 meeting.

The two programs are a Master of Science in Sustainable Agriculture and a Master of Science in Community Health and Nutrition. 

Provost Lori Bruce presented letters of notification to the trustees during the meeting.

The demand for these programs is growing and is expected to continue to grow, Bruce said. Dietetics professionals are expected to need a master’s degree for state licensure by 2024, she said. 

The expected enrollment for the agriculture degree is 14 students the first year and the health and nutrition degree is expected to enroll eight students the first year, she said.  

The programs are proposed to start in the fall of 2020 but require approval from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.

The expected cost to start both programs is around $257,000, but by the third year, both programs should start producing profit, Bruce said. 

The agriculture degree is expected to be a mixture of online and on-campus learning, while the health and nutrition degree is expected to solely be online, she said.