Sarasota and Gainesville, Florida – New College of Florida and the University of Florida are working together to design an innovative dual degree program that would allow for the earning of a Bachelor of Arts degree in a liberal arts and science major from New College and a Bachelor of Science degree in an engineering major from UF. Students in this five-year program would complete their first two years at New College and the final three years at UF.
“This collaboration aims to provide a unique educational opportunity for New College students to pursue their intellectual curiosity while preparing for their future career. Through this dual degree program with UF, students will benefit from a well-rounded education in the arts and sciences and the rigorous training of a top-notch engineering college,” said New College President Donal O’Shea.
“Our society is becoming increasingly complex, and people and groups are becoming more and more interdependent. We can no longer rely on the same way of doing things. Intricate and intertwined societal problems call for reimagined approaches and multidisciplinary skillsets. At the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, we are committed to graduating New Engineers – those who are prepared to lead the charge in creative problem-solving. The goal of developing this dual-degree program with New College is to offer students more assets for their intellectual ‘toolkit’ to support their innovation and creativity. Employers everywhere will want to hire these graduates,” said Cammy R. Abernathy, Ph.D., Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering.
“Our goal is to leverage the best assets of a small, residential liberal arts college with the resources of a large research university to develop the talented workforce that our state needs,” O’Shea said. “We will continue to respond to the evolving needs of Florida’s students, and the organizations that will employ them.”
The program has been vetted by the faculty of both universities and has been submitted for review by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). We are hopeful for a spring 2021 implementation.
About New College of Florida
Founded in Sarasota in 1960, New College of Florida educates intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement. As the state’s only legislatively designated Honors College of Florida, New College offers 45 undergraduate majors in natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, arts, and humanities, a master’s degree program in Data Science, and certificates in three pre-professional areas. The 110-acre residential campus on Sarasota Bay sits on the former estate of circus magnate Charles Ringling.