COTTEY ADDS TWO NEW MAJORS

Cottey College announced that it will add two new baccalaureate majors to its current list of Bachelor of Arts offerings. Students will be able to enroll as history and theatre majors beginning with the fall 2022 semester.

“We are so pleased to expand our baccalaureate offerings for our students,” said Cottey President Dr. Jann Weitzel. “Both history and theatre have been available as minors in our four-year studies, but the interest in those programs by our current and prospective students encouraged us to elevate those to full baccalaureate status.”

The theatre degree program will offer two tracks, theatre generalist and theatre as an agent of social change.

“The Bachelor of Arts in Theatre seeks to provide students with the foundation needed to pursue careers in acting, design, stage management, directing, the entertainment industry and graduate study,” said Laura Chaney, associate professor of theatre. “A bachelor’s level program in Theatre as an Agent of Social Change will prepare students to take leadership roles in community theatre, community awareness programs, not-for-profit agencies, information/awareness/and outreach programs, children’s theatre, and small theatre ventures.”

“The Bachelor of Arts in History opens up a variety of careers to majors,” explained Dr. Sandra Chaney, professor of history. “It will lead some graduates down history-specific professional paths as museum curators, archivists, librarians, and educators at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Other students will find jobs that require instead the application of highly marketable skills that they will have refined while completing history courses: taking detailed notes; conducting research; analyzing data; managing information; vetting sources; developing evidence-based conclusions; and communicating research findings publicly, among others. Wherever they land, history majors will appreciate the value of connecting the present to the past, applying historical knowledge and thinking to current events to better understand how we got here from there.”

“Cottey regularly evaluates its majors to make sure we’re meeting the needs of our students and the demands of the marketplace,” said Dr. Joann Bangs, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty. “Just last year we began offering a major in elementary education. These two additional majors in history and theatre bring us to a total of 15 baccalaureate programs from which students can choose.”

As part of the evaluation process, the College will be eliminating the B.A. in Liberal Arts after this semester. “Students enrolled in that program will be assisted in completing their program,” added Dr. Bangs.

Lists of requirements for both majors and courses offered are available to currently enrolled students. Prospective students who may be interested in either major should contact the program coordinator for each major.