OLLU announces new, revitalized and phase out majors

Majors planned for phase out will remain as minors/part of General Education

Working to provide students with the best focused options for high wage, high demand jobs and strengthening its General Education program, Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) will be adding four new academic majors, revitalizing six current majors and phasing out 12 majors over the next four years.

New undergraduate majors include Biomathematics, Chemical Biology and Sacred Music. The Online Nonprofit Management master’s degree has been reformatted and enhanced.

Of the 12 majors that are being phased out, all will remain as programs at the University as minors or as part of the General Education curriculum. In addition, the majors will be phased out after the current students in them graduate.

While the University is phasing out some majors, the disciplines will remain at OLLU. They will be enhanced so that they become more robust minors and elements of the General Education curriculum.

During the last year, OLLU has engaged in a strategic planning process and program major revitalization. The strategic plan was approved by the University’s Board of Trustees on Oct. 25. The plan is focused on growing enrollment, retaining and graduating more students, and producing leaders as the University strives to become a top Catholic university in the nation.

OLLU reached its highest enrollment in five years this fall. The University wants to build on this growth by adding programs that meet the needs of incoming students and the community, including Healthcare, Business, Education, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

“A key component of our plan is ensuring that we offer experiences and majors that prepare students and lead them to the high demand and high wage jobs that San Antonio and South Texas need,” said OLLU President Tessa Martinez Pollack.

“Some majors eventually will no longer be offered, but the academic areas are important to the General Education we offer all of our students,” said Dr. Pollack.

Majors that will be revitalized are Education (graduate program), English (graduate and undergraduate programs), History, Political Science and Sociology.

Majors that will be phased out (but will remain as minors and/or part of the General Education curriculum) include Art, Drama, Human Sciences (graduate and undergraduate), Marketing, Mexican American Studies, Natural Science, Organizational Leadership (undergraduate), Philosophy, Religious Studies, Social Studies and Spanish.