Missouri Western has been approved for three new graduate degree programs. A Master of Applied Science, Industrial Life Science started in spring 2014 and a Masters in Information Management, Enterprise Resource Planning began this fall. The Master of Science in Nursing Healthcare Leadership added a new option and graduate certificate: Nurse Educator. Those were also offered for the first time this fall.

Master of Applied Science, Industrial Life Science

The new industrial life degree, like all Master of Applied Science degrees at Missouri Western, consists of both discipline-specific academic training as well as cross-training in business and communications. The program provides advanced training in biology and chemistry while developing workplace skills valued by employers, said Dr. Ben Caldwell, dean of the graduate school.

The degree is an option for current biologists and chemists seeking career advancement, as well as recent science graduates looking for a competitive edge as they enter the workforce. Most courses are scheduled after 4:30 p.m.

St. Joseph is a part of the Animal Health Corridor, the single largest concentration of animal health businesses in the world. Companies in the region stretching from Manhattan, Kan., to Columbia, Mo., are responsible for about one-third of the $19 billion global animal health market. According to a recent survey by the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, nearly 80 percent of the 240 life science companies in the Animal Health Corridor plan to expand in the next three years.

For more information, visit missouriwestern.edu/graduate or call Dr. Jason Baker at (816) 271-4380.

Masters in Information Management, Enterprise Resource Planning

The Masters in Information Management, Enterprise Resource Planning is the first graduate degree program for the Craig School of Business.

Enterprise resource planning, or ERP, systems are comprehensive data management tools used by a variety of businesses and organizations. The new program is intended to prepare graduates to work in an ERP environment with a sophisticated understanding of business processes and methods of implementing best practices in organizations.

Dr. Mike Lane, dean of the Craig School of Business, believes the program will fill a great need in the business community. Several companies in St. Joseph and the Kansas City area utilize SAP enterprise software as their ERP system, and graduates will be prepared to contribute to these companies upon graduation.

“Graduates should be able to cross over platforms fairly easily to other ERP systems if necessary,” Dr. Lane said. “The business process skills taught in this program are universal.”

Students will have an option to take an SAP certification test as part of the program.

For more information, call (816) 271-4338 or visit missouriwestern.edu/graduate.

Master of Science in Nursing Health Care Leadership/Nurse Educator

Offering aNurse Educator option in the graduate program is an effort to address the projected nursing shortage, not just regionally, but nationally, according to Dr. Carolyn Brose, MSN program director.

“We have to be sure we are building a pipeline of nurses to meet the health care needs of the nation,” she said. “It is important that we work to sustain and build a workforce for nursing.”

The Department of Nursing and Allied Health began offering a master’s program with a leadership option and graduated the first class in spring 2013. The nurse educator is the second option in the program.

The option offers courses specific to education, such as curriculum development, teaching strategies and evaluation strategies, Dr. Brose said, and is aimed at those with a bachelor’s or master’s degree in nursing who want to teach.

The master’s option is 32 credit hours. It includes core courses, such as foundation of leadership, statistics, informatics and research, along with 15 hours of education-centered courses. The graduate certificate is the 15 credit hours of education-centered courses only. Students would have the opportunity to earn the certificate and seamlessly continue with the master’s degree.

For more information, see missouriwestern.edu/graduate or call (816) 271-4415.