U.T. Dallas to Offer Bachelor’s Degrees
In Both Molecular Biology and Biochemistry 

New Interdisciplinary Programs To Begin In Fall Semester

RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 22, 2001) - The University of Texas at Dallas, the first university in the United States to offer a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications engineering and one of only a few to offer a similar degree in software engineering, will expand its innovative curriculum further this fall by offering B.S. degrees in both molecular biology and in biochemistry.

Dr. Richard Caldwell, dean of UTD’s School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said faculty from chemistry as well as molecular and cell biology would participate in the new program, which recently won approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.

“Added to our present degrees in biology and chemistry, these new degree programs will allow the school to serve the large number of students interested in studying the molecular basis of life with the broadest possible array of degree offerings,” Caldwell said, adding that some faculty from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School would participate in the interdisciplinary programs.

Students working toward a B.S. degree in biochemistry will be required to complete a research project and will be able to do research with faculty from either chemistry or molecular and cell biology at UTD or possibly with faculty from several departments at U.T. Southwestern. Faculty from UT Southwestern also may participate by offering enrichment lectures in some of the upper division courses at UTD.

There also will be a laboratory component for students working toward the B.S. degree in molecular biology that can be met by doing research at either UTD or UT Southwestern.

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls about 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at http://www.utdallas.edu

UT Southwestern is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, specializing in medical research and treatment in many specialty areas. UT Southwestern's 1,100-member faculty includes four Nobel laureates and 12 members of the prestigious National Academy of Science. Located just north of downtown Dallas, UT Southwestern and it’s Center for Biomedical Inventions recently launched its first technology partnership, marking a milestone in the center’s efforts to help build a biomedical industry in North Texas.