Check out Pitt’s newest academic offerings

Need some movement in your day? The School of Education’s revived Minor in Dance prepares students for roles in dance education, dance performance and production.

The 15-credit minor can be combined with virtually any undergraduate major at the University. Learn about dance-related anatomy, kinesiology, history, production strategies and various dance techniques, including modern dance, ballet, jazz and ballroom. Plus, two teaching experiences will allow students to apply knowledge in a practical setting.

That’s just one of the many new opportunities being launched by schools across the university this semester. Read on to learn about the classes, certificates, majors, minors and degrees that are new to Pitt.

David C. Frederick Honors College

Curious about the impacts of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? A new course focuses on the public reactions of people in Central Europe to the invasion and the emergence of solidarity movements and protests. The Fulbright Seminar in Hungarian Studies (HUN 1915) is taught by Fulbright Visiting Professor Dániel Mikecz, a research fellow at the Centre for Social Sciences in Budapest, Hungary.

Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

The Graduate School of Public and International Affairs is expanding offerings in both the graduate and undergraduate space this year, giving students at every stage of their academic journey a chance to engage with critical policy issues and drive meaningful change. 

The major in public policy, a new degree that introduces students to various aspects of public policy with a focus on practical application, includes courses such as How Public Policy Works (PIA 0101) and Ideas to Action (PIA 0301), which examines the role of persuasive communication in advancing policy change. The new 15-credit global policy minor offers undergraduate students a comprehensive understanding of global policy issues alongside essential analytical tools for tackling complex global challenges. This new program joins a growing list of undergraduate offerings within the policy space, including the public policy minor and Nonprofit Management Certificate introduced last year. 

For graduate students, the 12-credit Certificate in Global Sustainable Development is designed to provide the knowledge and tools to engage with complex challenges of sustainable development from an interdisciplinary and international perspective. There is also a new nine-credit public policy micro-credential, aimed at engaging Pitt PhD students who are interested in supplementing their disciplinary training with some exposure to the theory and practice of the public policy process. And, the school is launching a new two-semester graduate course this fall that gives students with real-world experience by placing them on the governing board of a local nonprofit.

Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Students can now pursue a major or minor in Arabic to explore historical, cultural and social aspects of the Arab world and cover topics that deal with diversity, feminism, language and politics. The certificate program in Arabic is still accessible to students who are pursuing it, but it will be phased out in two to three years. Also newly available is a minor in geology.

Along with new programs, there are a slew of new courses available across the Dietrich School. Learn about approaches to the arts in Africa in a new course in the Department of History of Art and Architecture or take Exhibitions: from World’s Fairs to Global Biennials (HAA 1026), both taught by new faculty member Lauren Taylor.

In English, look to the great battles of cinema in Giant Monsters and Kaiju Films (FMST 1534) or learn about the history of automated writing through history to the advent of ChatGPT in Writing Machines (ENGCMP 1207).

Two new special topics in physics courses for graduates will focus on quantum transport (PHYS 3102) and federal research and development (PHYS 3101). And new anthropology courses include graduate and undergraduate lab sections in archaeobotany along with graduate courses on the Archaeology of Foodways (ANTH 1565) and Gender and the State (ANT 2771).

Students can explore performing multidisciplinary art with Chad Taylor, the new William S. Dietrich II Endowed Chair in Jazz Studies, in Creative Arts Practice and Ensemble (MUSIC 1743). And a new Africana studies course will focus on literary Pan-Africanism (AFRCNA 1083).

Pitt-Greensburg

Starting in fall 2024, current and incoming students can become members of the Frederick Honors College at Pitt-Greensburg for access to the same programming, funding and support as their peers in Oakland. A profound commitment to improving accessibility to an honors education by the Frederick Honors College and Greensburg honors faculty and support from leadership at both campuses led to this collaborative effort.

Students can also take new courses in strategic leadership (HCM 1140), topics in psychology (PSY 1050) and philosophy (PHIL 1750), famous people in Latin America (SPAN 1452) and Spanish for the life sciences (SPAN 0121).

Pitt-Johnstown

The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown will premiere a new major in environmental science, as well as changing the names of several existing majors: Environmental studies is now environmental sustainability, energy and earth resources is now geology, and justice administration and criminology is now criminal justice.

School of Computing and Information

The newest program at the School of Computing and Information is the Master of Data Science, offered in partnership with Coursera. The 20-month, part-time program is designed for students from diverse academic backgrounds and does not require prior experience in data science, computer science or programming. Students will work at their own pace to gain a deep understanding of concepts in computing, math, statistics and data management and curation, along with learning to program for data analysis. The program can also tie into the existing Graduate Certificate in Applied Data-Driven Methods.

School of Dental Medicine

A new dental assistant training program permits students/trainees to complete didactic course requirements either in person or via online training. An expansion of Pitt’s dental assistant apprenticeship program, the clinical portion of this new program takes place in the School of Dental Medicine as well as through clinics near the students’ homes across the commonwealth. This structure will allow trainees to receive instruction in communities across Pennsylvania where residents are not receiving essential dental care due to shortages in clinicians.

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences

Applications are open for the Pitt’s new Doctor of Chiropractic program, which will begin in fall 2025. The program will focus on evidence-based training for spine and musculoskeletal conditions and prepare students to work within interprofessional teams. Students in the eight-term program will work with real patients, beginning with observational rounds in the first year and culminating in the last semester with full-time chiropractic clinical training within an integrated health care system and private chiropractic clinics.

School of Nursing

Students in the Master of Science in Nursing program can now pursue a new area of concentration in neonatal care.

The neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) is prepared to manage the health care of patients from birth to two years of age. Course work and clinical experiences in this program focus on the care and management of critically ill and convalescent premature and full-term infants. The sequence of courses provides for a logical building of the clinical decision-making skills necessary to function as an NNP.

School of Pharmacy

A new online, competency-based graduate program in pharmacoanalytics and pharmaceutical outcomes research provides students with tools and skills necessary to analyze large, health care datasets and apply data analytic and pharmacoepidemiology concepts to enhance pharmaceutical use and outcomes.

A key feature of this program is competency-based learning, which requires students to demonstrate hands-on analysis of real-world data and evidence. Students will learn about study design along with the collection, management, organization, analysis, visualization and communication of data — preparing graduates for roles in the pharmaceutical industry, health insurance companies, governmental agencies and other health care and data organizations.

Plus, a newly launched PharmD/PhD program offers students the opportunity to receive their clinical PharmD degree and a research-based PhD degree in pharmaceutical sciences in a reduced time frame. Integrated training in pharmacy practice and pharmaceutical research puts students in the position to identify critical questions about drug therapy and to drive the cutting-edge research needed to answer these questions, develop new treatments and improve health and well-being globally.

Photography by Aimee Obidzinski