Wednesday, May 22, 2002

WRITER: Sharron Hannon, (706) 583-0728, shannon@uga.edu
CONTACT: Bob Boehmer, (706) 542-2558 or (678) 407-5190

UGA LAUNCHES UNDERGRAD DEGREE PROGRAMS IN GWINNETT

ATHENS, Ga. — Starting this fall, the University of Georgia is offering three undergraduate degree programs at the Gwinnett University Center in Lawrenceville.

The programs are open to new transfer students (not currently enrolled at UGA), as well as students who already hold a bachelor’s degree and are seeking a second degree, according to Bob Boehmer, who serves as UGA’s senior administrator for the Gwinnett programs.

The degree offerings include:
* BS in Interdisciplinary Studies with an emphasis on General Science, offered by UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences;
* BSED in Instructional Psychology, Training and Technology, offered by UGA’s College of Education;
* BBA in General Business, offered by UGA’s Terry College of Business.

UGA has been providing graduate degree programs and continuing education in Gwinnett since 1984, when the University System Board of Regents first established the Gwinnett University Center as a locus for such activity. The College of Education has offered graduate programs in a variety of fields, ranging from early childhood education to occupational studies. Other graduate degree programs are offered in social work, food science and technology, public administration and non-profit organizations. Among the most recent graduate offerings is an evening MBA program for working professionals established in 2000.

Classes have previously been held in temporary space leased by the Gwinnett University Center. But in January of this year, the GUC moved to a new 177-acre campus at Collins Hill Road and Highway 316. One classroom building is now open, with a second to follow in the fall. "With these new facilities, we’re able to add a new dimension to UGA’s involvement in Gwinnett," says Boehmer.

As is already true of the graduate program offerings, the standards for admission to UGA’s undergraduate degree programs at the GUC will be on par with the standards at the main campus in Athens. Transfer students must have completed 60 hours of transferable course work and earned at least a 2.5 GPA. Prospective students also must meet the criteria for admission into the specific degree program they wish to pursue. "The degree earned will be a UGA degree, though the course work is delivered in a setting other than Athens," Boehmer notes.

For more information on UGA at Gwinnett, visit www.uga.edu/gwinnett.

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