Program Description
Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU), in collaboration with the University of Texas Health Center at Tyler (UTHCT), has added a new graduate program in biotechnology, with both institutions contributing coursework and research experience to the curriculum. This program leads to a Master of Science degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.
By combining the educational and scientific expertise at SFASU with the research and health expertise and laboratory facilities of UTHCT, the two institutions are now able to provide students with unique opportunities in biotechnology.
The development of this program was the direct result of a recent review
higher education in East Texas, which pointed out the need for programs
which allow regional students to participate in new technologies and
training in the protection and management of our environment.
The University of Texas Health Center at Tyler is the only biomedical health
science center in the Northeast Texas area and it has developed an excellent
reputation for biomedical research, preventive medicine and occupational and
environmental health. By combining the faculty, educational expertise and
degree granting capabilities of SFASU
with the excellent personnel, research equipment and laboratory facilities
of UTHCT, the two
institutions have been able to produce an excellent program in
biotechnology. This degree program is designed to meet the needs of
traditional students in a graduate program and non-traditional students who
may be working in industry today, and both will provide students with
qualifications that will make them marketable to industries, agencies and
schools.
The new program has distance learning capabilities, using interactive televideo
systems to provide concurrent classes initially in Tyler and Nacogdoches,
but with other sites possibly being added later.
Dr. Thomas Atchison, Dean of the College of Sciences and Mathematics at
SFASU, and under whose college these
programs will be administered, said, "SFASU
is offering these programs (environmental science and biotechnology) in
response to a study conducted by the National Center for Higher Education
Management Systems. This study identified the education needs in both the
public and private sectors in the thirty-six counties that comprise the
universities' primary service area. This study pointed out the emergence in
our area of the biotechnology industry and the need for environmental
science and occupational health. The future need for properly trained
employees in these areas is our primary driving force."
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