By: Sarah Ellinwood, PhD
In this exciting age of science, technology, and innovation, more and more high schoolers, college students, and graduate students are becoming interested in pursuing a career in biotech. But, is the standard science degree (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) keeping up with this demand and adequately preparing students for careers in this field? While there is no doubt that having formal scientific training is important, many employers feel that students don’t often graduate with the skills that are sought out by the biotech industry.
This is where the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Montgomery College have stepped up to the plate! Together, these two institutions have jointly developed a new biotech industry-driven degree program that will be offered at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) this fall. This new degree, the Bachelor of Science in Translational Life Science Technology (TLST), is designed to prepare students for the exhilarating biotech opportunities of today and tomorrow by combining general learning with real-world applications used by scientists in academic and industry research. BioBuzz recently caught up with Dr. Bill LaCourse, Professor and Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC, to learn more about how the TLST came to be and how it will strengthen biotech as a whole in the BioHealth Capital Region. [READ MORE]
