The University is creating four new interdisciplinary programs organizers say will raise the University’s profile as a leading research school.The programs — doctoral programs in materials science and engineering, environmental sciences and coastal engineering sciences and a master’s program in coastal and ecological engineering — were approved by the Board of Supervisors on Oct. 9 and now await final approval from the Board of Regents.If they are approved, they will be “priority programs,” meaning they will receive full funding even in the case of continued University budget uncertainty, said Carolyn Hargrave, Academic Affairs vice president.”The University has made a commitment that these programs are important, and they will not be cutting out the key components of the commitments,” Hargrave said.One reason these programs are able to be created is their interdisciplinary nature, which allows existing resources to be pulled together, said Astrid Merget, executive vice chancellor and provost.”[The programs] capitalize on our talent, expertise and location,” Merget said.The programs in coastal engineering sciences and coastal and ecological engineering are combined efforts between the departments of civil and environmental engineering and oceanography and coastal sciences, said John Pardue, engineering professor who wrote the proposal for those programs.Pardue said a Louisiana location brings a unique aspect to the programs.”Most other coastal engineering programs are focused on problems like beach restoration,” he said. “That is much different than being in a delta and rebuilding vast wetlands.”The doctoral program in materials science and engineering also has an advantage because of location, said Richard Kurtz, associate dean of the College of Basic Sciences. The University’s Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices is one of eight locations in the nation with a synchrotron, a type of particle accelerator. “CAMD is a crown jewel … and has stimulated my interest in developing this Ph.D. program,” Kurtz said. “It puts us in a league with universities like Stanford, Berkeley and Cornell.”The materials science and engineering program will encompass physics, chemistry and mechanical engineering and will be a collaboration with the University of New Orleans and Southern University.Courses will include lectures by faculty from all three schools, which will be achieved by broadcasting presentations. Speakers will give lectures from their home institution and broadcast to the other two, Kurtz said.The environmental sciences program was largely based on the University’s strong master’s program in that area, which provides an existing curriculum and infrastructure, said Nina Lam, chair of the department of environmental science.The program will include input from chemists, microbiologists and toxicologists and will cover topics like water and air pollution and environmental law, Lam said.The proposed programs were modeled on programs at other universities. The materials science and engineering program, for example, will be based on a similar program at Princeton University.The Board of Regents will organize external review teams to evaluate plans and the quality of the proposed programs before making a decision on program approval. The evaluation process could take a while, meaning these programs won’t be implemented for at least a year, Hargrave said.Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]