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Biotechnology at James Madison University (VA): A tale of two programs ‐ pitfalls and opportunities.
Author(s) -
Monroe Jonathan DeVoss,
McKown Robert L.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.191.2
Subject(s) - curriculum , presentation (obstetrics) , variety (cybernetics) , workforce , engineering ethics , graduate students , biological sciences , library science , political science , engineering , chemistry , sociology , microbiology and biotechnology , pedagogy , medicine , computer science , biology , artificial intelligence , law , radiology
James Madison University (JMU) is a predominately undergraduate University in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Founded in the 1990s, the Integrated Science and Technology (ISAT) Program at JMU identified seven strategic sectors for new curriculum development, one of which was Biotechnology. The ISAT program is a broad‐based science and technology major with an emphasis on scientific breadth, business applications and problem solving. The Biotechnology (now called Biosystems) concentration in the ISAT Program prepared students to enter the workforce in a variety of non‐research oriented roles. Later, faculty in ISAT, Biology and Chemistry developed a more traditional Biotechnology major to offer students a rigorous background in biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics, and applied sciences that prepared students to attend graduate or professional schools. Both majors offer students opportunities to gain skills and experiences through independent study. This presentation will include 1) a description of these two programs including examples of curriculum and student outcomes and 2) our recommendations on the development and administration of such programs.