2 new degrees moved forward to trustees

Two degrees were forwarded to the board of trustees for approval on Friday: a Ph.D. in inquiry methodology in the School of Education and an M.S. in security informatics from the School of Informatics.

The Ph.D. in inquiry methodology will produce education researchers.

“There is an increasing need out there for education researchers,” said Gerardo Gonzalez, dean of the School of Education, in a board of trustees committee meeting on Thursday. “There is now 2.4 positions open for every candidate with this type of degree.”

The degree in inquiry methodology will be a 90-hour traditional Ph.D. program. The School of Education already has faculty who are doing this work, Gonzalez said.

“This is one of the first, perhaps the first, inquiry methodology degree that combines quantitative and qualitative methods into one program.”

The School of Informatics already offers a minor in security informatics. The degree will include four parts: security, which includes cryptograph and protocol, computer science, informatics and nine hours of a student’s chosen area.

Jean Camp, an associate professor of the School of Informatics who presented the degree to the board, said jobs are in high demand in the field.

“The federal reserve bank is asking if we have interns, and it hasn’t even been approved yet,” Camp said. “The banking industry needs security people who understand different types of risks and their interaction with technical risks and other risks.”

If the board of trustees approves the degrees, the approval will move on to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, which is affiliated with the state legislature, said Barbara Bichelmeyer, associate dean of faculties. She said IU should know something by the end of the semester, and then, if approved, the schools can begin marketing these programs.