Roanoke College faculty recently approved eight new undergraduate majors to meet student and workplace demand. The additions follow a campus-wide initiative that invited academic departments to share creative proposals that could keep Roanoke at the forefront of evolving workforce needs.
Faculty across disciplines undertook strategic reviews of career trends and opportunities for their departments to expand the paths available to students. That work was supported by the creation of an innovation grant program from the Office of Academic Affairs and the Resources and Planning Council.
"This work exemplifies the innovative capacity of our high-caliber faculty and highlights the fact that liberal arts colleges are all about integrative learning, workforce development and great student outcomes," said Kathy Wolfe, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College.
Prospective students interested in learning more about these new majors should contact admissions@roanoke.edu. Current students should contact the program coordinators listed below.
Human Services Studies: A partnership between the Sociology, Public Health and Psychology departments led to this new major to prepare students for jobs in the human services field and set them up for careers or graduate degrees in areas such as social work or school counseling. Classwork will be supplemented with community engagement through internships, service learning and research.
The human services major prepares graduates for careers in fields such as behavioral health, disability support, social services, assisted living, hospice, criminal and juvenile justice systems, child and family services, addiction and recovery, or crisis management. Students who seek to continue their education will be ready to enter graduate programs in human services and related fields such as social work and counseling.
Program coordinators: Professor Shannon Anderson or Professor Meeta Mehrotra
Disability Studies: This leading-edge discipline is now offered as a major and a minor after first being introduced as a concentration in 2022. The program aims to enrich understanding of people who live with disabilities and position students to be empathetic leaders and change agents in their future workplaces and communities.
Students who earn a Bachelor of Science in disability studies will be able to communicate effectively with clients with disabilities, advocates and communities; create action plans or solutions to improve the lived experience of people with disabilities; and apply a disability-centered focus to all aspects of community.
The Disability Studies Program blends classroom and firsthand experience to offer students a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the growing disabled population. Students in this major can participate in programs such as Toy Like Me at Roanoke College, which modifies toys for children with disabilities, and MAPLE’S Kids (Multiple Adaptive Play Experience in Sports), a program for kids and adults with disabilities to exercise, compete or play.
Program coordinator: Lecturer Frances McCutcheon
Screen Studies: This major immerses students in a diverse and rapidly growing field that connects to other disciplines, such as the arts, education, communication and marketing. Roanoke’s Screen Studies Program equips students with critical job skills that enable them to create multimedia content through writing, acting, directing, editing or producing, all in a collaborative setting.As they work through their courses, students learn to use elements of space, time, light, motion, language, color, music and sound to express creativity and storytelling techniques. The program also delves into the history of film and television, so students understand historical and cultural contexts and envision how to create their own works. Students gain experience in working in front of and behind the camera while developing technological proficiency in visual creation and learning the complexities of teamwork and organizational challenges typical in creative endeavors.
With their capstone course, students carry a project from conception to completion, graduating with a sample of work to share with employers or enter into festivals and competitions.
Program coordinator: Professor Wendy Larson-Harris
Public Policy: Solving today’s biggest problems requires an understanding of the nature, scope and instruments of public policy. Roanoke’s public policy major enhances a student’s ability to analyze contemporary issues through coursework and hands-on learning opportunities. The major is designed to provide students flexibility in selecting courses that are relevant to their future career interests. The curriculum creates a bridge for students in the natural sciences, humanities and social sciences to enable their participation in the policy process.
Program coordinator: Professor Andreea Mihalache-O'Keef
"This work exemplifies the innovative capacity of our high-caliber faculty and highlights the fact that liberal arts colleges are all about integrative learning, workforce development and great student outcomes."
Kathy Wolfe, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College
Finance: Finance is consistently listed in the top 10 areas of interest by incoming freshmen, and the finance concentration recently has been the most popular one in the Business & Economics Department. In the finance major, students will develop the skills to analyze financial statements, make informed financial decisions, understand financial markets and instruments, and study the ethical and legal dimensions of finance. In addition, students will gain financial planning and personal finance skills.
The new finance major offers a strong foundation in financial instruments, decision-making and ethics. Students then can choose between two tracks with different strategic focuses: corporate finance or personal financial planning.
The Personal Finance Planning Track is a CFP Board Registered Program, a distinction that means graduates will have met the education standards required to sit for the CFP® certification exam. Roanoke’s program is only the fifth CFP Board Registered Program in Virginia offered as part of a bachelor's degree in a classroom learning environment.
For more on Roanoke's overall business administration and economics programs, see this recent news story.
Program coordinators: Lecturer Michael Smith for the personal financial planning track or Professor Michelle Hagadorn for the corporate finance track
Economics-Finance: Few of Roanoke’s competitors offer a major that blends these two in-demand disciplines in one degree. Offering the economics-finance major allows students to complete their education on a more efficient track than they could when only an economics major and a finance concentration were available. Economics-finance graduates will be competitive for jobs as financial analysts and other applied financial professional careers with plenty of flexibility to explore other fields of interest during their time at Roanoke College.
Program coordinator: Alice Kassens, John S. Shannon Professor of Economics
Marketing: Housed within the Business & Economics Department, this interdisciplinary major satisfies considerable demand and allows students to customize the program based on their individual interests. The marketing major includes a core group of business and marketing courses with a new integrated marketing communications course that incorporates the use of generative AI. The marketing minor has been modified to make it more accessible to non-business students. Students will gain a strong understanding of the skills and experience necessary for the workplace.
Program coordinator: Michelle Hagadorn, chairperson of Business Administration and Economics.
Cannabis Studies: Students can choose to minor in this topic or select one of two major tracks: cannabis science or cannabis social justice and policy. Roanoke is the first college in Virginia to offer this program, which prepares students for the many jobs being created in an industry expected to hit $40 billion in the U.S. in 2024. For more on this unique program, see the announcement of the majors.
Program coordinator: Professor DB Poli