Regents Approve Eight New Degree Programs at Four Regional Universities
A&M-San Antonio’s first Ph.D. among programs headed to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Future game wardens in South Texas, supply chain managers in North Texas, genetics researchers in San Antonio and athletic trainers in Texarkana could soon train closer to home, under eight new degree programs at four universities in The Texas A&M University System.
The A&M System Board of Regents on Thursday approved the programs, including three doctorates and the first Ph.D. at Texas A&M University-San Antonio, and authorized the universities to seek final approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. If the Coordinating Board signs off, six of the programs would enroll their first students in fall 2027.
Chancellor Glenn Hegar said the universities built each program around what employers in their own regions need.
“Our regional universities looked at the jobs in their own backyards and built programs to fill them,” Hegar said. “A lot of the students these programs serve already have jobs and families, so many of the programs are online or hybrid, and the doctorates are built for people who are already working. We aren’t asking anybody to move across the state to get a degree. We’re taking the degree to them.”
Board Chairman Robert Albritton said the board approved the programs because the jobs are there.
“Every one of these programs had to show this board that the jobs are real,” Albritton said. “A wildlife ranch in South Texas needs different graduates than a biotech lab in San Antonio, and that’s how it should be. When a region can train its own people for the jobs it has, those people stay and build that region up.”
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
A&M-San Antonio’s Ph.D. in integrative genetics and genomics pairs lab and field work with bioinformatics and computational biology. It offers two tracks: public health genetics and genomics, and ecology, evolution and environmental genetics. Students will research rare and complex diseases, environmental resilience and genomic technologies.
Faculty in the university’s departments of Natural Sciences and Health and Behavioral Sciences developed the program and will lead it. The program’s 12 faculty members brought in $9.9 million in research funding over the past five years, and the university has committed $1.5 million over the program’s first five years to support doctoral students through teaching and research assistantships. The first students would enroll in fall 2029.
Graduates will be prepared for careers in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, environmental and natural resource agencies, and research institutions, including San Antonio employers such as the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, BioBridge Global and Brooke Army Medical Center.
President Salvador Hector Ochoa said the program marks a milestone for the university.
“As an emerging research university, the launch of our first Ph.D. program marks an important milestone for Texas A&M University-San Antonio,” Ochoa said. “We are intentionally expanding our research enterprise, and this research-focused doctoral program represents a significant investment in our future. The program positions A&M-San Antonio to drive innovation across Bexar County and South Texas, strengthen our research capacity and develop the next generation of scientists who will address some of the most pressing health challenges facing our communities and the state of Texas.”
Texas A&M University-Texarkana
Texas A&M University-Texarkana will add two graduate programs, both starting in fall 2027.
A Master of Athletic Training will prepare students for the national Board of Certification exam through coursework and supervised clinical experience in schools, clinics and sports settings, with a focus on rural health. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 11% job growth for athletic trainers nationally from 2024 to 2034, and Texas projections call for about 20%. The university will seek accreditation from the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.
A Doctor of Business Administration will let working professionals earn a doctorate without leaving the region, with concentrations in banking and finance, retail management, human resource management and accounting. The nearest doctoral program in business administration is about four hours from Texarkana. A&M-Texarkana plans to admit a cohort of at least 10 students each year.
The DBA will be A&M-Texarkana’s third doctoral program, after the Doctor of Education in education leadership and the Doctor of Physical Therapy, which enrolled its first students in August.
President Ross Alexander said the programs answer the region’s workforce needs.
“Our region’s future depends on a highly educated workforce prepared to meet evolving business and healthcare needs,” Alexander said. “The Doctor of Business Administration will develop executive leaders and future faculty, while the Master of Athletic Training will prepare skilled healthcare professionals for schools, clinics, hospitals and athletic organizations. Together, these programs strengthen the workforce pipeline, expand opportunities for working professionals and students and reinforce Texas A&M University-Texarkana’s commitment to developing talent that serves and leads in our region.”
Texas A&M University-Kingsville
Texas A&M University-Kingsville will add two programs built around South Texas’ working lands.
A Bachelor of Science in conservation law enforcement combines rangeland and wildlife science with criminal justice to prepare future game wardens and federal wildlife officers. Each year, 30% to 40% of the freshmen entering TAMUK’s rangeland and wildlife sciences department list game warden as their career goal. The only similar program in Texas is a joint program of Texas Tech University and South Plains College. TAMUK will offer the degree with existing faculty and courses, at no new cost.
Graduates could compete for a spot in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s game warden academy, which typically accepts 50 to 55 cadets a year, or for law enforcement jobs with federal agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.
A Bachelor of Science in outdoor enterprise management will prepare students to run hunting operations, wildlife ranches and other natural resource businesses. Students will intern at working ranches through a full annual cycle. About 95% of Texas land is privately owned, and in South Texas, ranches are increasingly run for hunting and wildlife recreation rather than cattle.
Ranch owners and managers across South Texas helped develop the program, and several wrote letters supporting it.
Tarleton State University
Tarleton State University will add three programs.
A new Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in logistics and supply chain management will prepare students for careers in procurement, operations planning, transportation and global supply chain coordination, with attention to the farms, manufacturers and rural distribution networks of North and Central Texas. The applied arts and sciences track is built for community college transfers and working adults, with transfer agreements designed to keep students from losing credits. Students can take the program in Stephenville, online or in a hybrid format, starting in fall 2027. No other Texas public university offers a comparable bachelor’s degree within 100 miles of Stephenville.
Nationally, jobs in the fields the program serves are projected to grow 3% to 21% from 2024 to 2034, with median salaries ranging from about $80,880 to $148,080 a year.
A Professional Science Master’s in applied biosciences, offered fully online, is aimed at working professionals and recent graduates headed for careers in biotechnology, biomedical science, cancer biology, regulatory affairs and bioinformatics. Students complete an industry internship or applied project instead of a thesis and can finish in two years part time. Medical scientist jobs in Texas are projected to grow 23% from 2022 to 2032. The program would begin in fall 2027.
A Doctor of Business Administration will train executives to use applied research and data to solve problems facing businesses and communities, especially in rural and regional Texas. Graduates will be prepared to work as executives, consultants or faculty. Most coursework will be online, with weekend residencies at Tarleton State’s Fort Worth campus. The program would begin in fall 2028.
President James Hurley said the programs were built to connect students with jobs.
“These programs reflect Tarleton State’s commitment to meeting Texas’ evolving workforce needs with innovative, career-focused academic opportunities,” Hurley said. “From strengthening supply chains and advancing the biosciences to developing leaders who can support entrepreneurship and resilient communities, each program has been intentionally designed to connect education with opportunity and serve the needs of our state and beyond.”
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest and most impactful higher education systems in the country, with an annual budget of $9.1 billion. Its statewide network includes 12 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, Texas A&M-Fort Worth and the Texas A&M-RELLIS Campus. The A&M System also plays a direct role in U.S. national security as a member of the teams that manage and operate Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Pantex Plant for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. The A&M System serves approximately 184,000 students and reaches millions more through research, service and outreach programs each year. With nearly $1.6 billion in annual research expenditures, the A&M System fuels innovation, supports communities and drives Texas’ economy forward.
