By Olivia Perron, Currier Times Staff///

New majors and minors have been rolled out by Curry in recent years. Students are given the opportunity to delve into new topics that weren’t previously offered and graduate with degrees in the related field.

Recent additions to the major and minor list include: Cybercrime Minor (Sociology/CJ), Special Education Minor (Education), Public Relations Major/Minor (Business), Transformative Justice Major (CJ), Environmental Science Major (Science), and International Studies Minor (Gen ED).

With the addition of these new areas of study Curry’s goal is to give students more areas to work and focus on what they are passionate about.

Public Relations Major/Minor

As of the 2022 school year, Public Relations major and minor were added to the College’s School of Business after public relations was an area of concentration under the Communication Major. Dr. Brenda Wrigley pushed for the new major and minor to go through quickly. With her goals in mind the major is designed to help the community and individual students adventure deeper into the public relations field.

“This major and minor were created to provide aspiring Public Relations professionals with the nationally recognized gold standard curriculum,” Wrigley said. “It gives them training in strategic planning, effective written and oral communication, management and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Students are prepared for Day-One performance in a wide variety of Public
Relations settings.”

Criminal Justice Cybercrime Minor

Criminal Justice and Sociology have worked creating new majors and minors in adjustment to the developing world of technology and justice. CJ and Sociology rolled out a Cybercrimes minor recently. This minor was brought to the table with the increase in cybercrime worldwide over the years. The cybercrime minor captures the importance of cyber investigations, law, and crime.

Professor Jen Balboni spoke about its relevance today.

“The new cybercrime minor at Curry is really exciting because it directly addresses an important need in the field of criminal justice,” Balboni said. “Over the last 30 years. The incidents of cyber crime has exploded….The coursework here helps students prepare for this line of work through courses like Transnational Crime and Corruption, White Collar Crime, and
Digital Forensics. All of these will help prepare students for work in this area.”

Transformative Justice Major

CJ has also worked on creating the Transformative Justice Major. This major was developed in response to demand from students wanting to be involved in enhancing and pursuing justice, but wanting to do so through less traditional institutions.

Professor Balboni said there is a solid group of students whose motivations in criminal justice and the courts lie under this realm of the major.

“This major reflects the growing need for professionals in the field who can help communities repair the harm from crime and hold people accountable in more relational ways, thereby building stronger, safer communities without use of the traditional adversarial system,” Balboni said. “These alternatives try to avoid the stigma which comes from working within the adversarial system, while working to help people change their lives in productive ways and desist from crime.”

International Studies Minor

Dr. Julia Sloan Director of General Education helped roll out a new International Studies minor under the General Education department. This minor is created to give students an opportunity to increase their knowledge of international topics. Sloan said they are working on other minors with similar goals in mind.

“International competence is an increasingly important and valued professional skill set for people to have as the world becomes more interconnected,” Sloan said. “As a minor, International Studies pairs well with a lot of different majors, including many we have here at Curry. By locating the minor within Gen Ed, we give students (who declare early enough) the
chance to complete the minor without taking any additional courses. This is an opportunity for students in credit-heavy majors to get a minor.”

Environmental Science Major

According to the Curry website, the Environmental Science major allows students “to go on to pursue careers that help tackle the tough issues facing our planet including climate change, sustainability, natural resource management and conservation.”

Studies include research experiments, field experience and internships.

Upcoming Majors and Minors at Curry

With careers changing at a fast-pace, you can expect to see more majors and minors, along with new concentrations, as Curry meets the demands of the workplace.