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Corporations and Foundations > Recruiting > Innovative Programs

Recruiting at Lehigh starts with excellence in learning, as students engage not only in research and classroom study, but also in experiential learning opportunities and inquiry-based initiatives. The distinctive and interdisciplinary programs that follow provide our graduates with exceptional skills in leadership, communication, technology, integrative problem-solving, and management.

ARTS AND ENGINEERING

Lehigh’s Design Arts program engages students in creative work that focuses on visual communication design with an emphasis on digital media and product design. Students develop skills and knowledge in the design of furniture, toys, household items, and electronic products—in addition to digital imagery such as animation, special effects, games, and interactive media.

The Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts, and Sciences (IDEAS) undergraduate program is a four-year honors program jointly administered by the College of Arts and Sciences and the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science. In IDEAS, students choose two focus areas, one in engineering and one in the liberal arts, in close consultation with an advisor. Because Lehigh is one of a small number of universities with resources for both traditional and interdisciplinary curricula in engineering, students benefit from the integrated, strategic leveraging of strengths across college boundaries.

ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

ArtsLehigh is a university-wide program designed to integrate arts and creativity throughout the curriculum, campus culture and community. ArtsLehigh works with existing performing, visual, and literary resources to expose students to new opportunities and to build a more creative campus where art plays a significant role in the comprehensive liberal arts experience.  

The Humanities Center at Lehigh serves as a focal point for activities and educational programs in the humanities at Lehigh. Faculty, staff, and students collaborate at the juncture of disciplines through speakers, conferences, reading groups, discussion forums, and curricular programs such as the Summer Ethics Institute.

South Mountain College is a new program at Lehigh that features a community of students and faculty members dedicated to the exploration of ideas and issues in an interactive environment. They are joined together by a dedicated residence, a challenging liberal arts curriculum, and a guiding philosophy that embraces humanities scholarship and explores ethics, philosophy, and diversity.

BUSINESS AND ENGINEERING

Lehigh’s M.S. in Analytical Finance, a joint effort of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, the Perella Department of Finance, and the Department of Mathematics, provides key concepts in financial theory, mathematical finance, and engineering, and utilizes Lehigh’s Financial Services Laboratory.

The Computer Science and Business program—the first degree in the U.S. to be simultaneously accredited in computer science and business—provides the skills needed to understand business functions and business-related problems, analyze business-user information needs, design computer-based information systems, and implement systems solutions in business organizations.

The Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) Honors Program features a challenging curriculum that melds engineering and business through technology, product and process development, marketing, finance and design. IBE graduates are prepared to assume leadership roles in industrial research and development, financial engineering, entrepreneurial initiatives, management consulting, and innovative technological ventures.

The M.B.A. and Engineering degree offers students a business concentration such as finance, marketing, supply chain, or information systems management, and an engineering concentration such as chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, mechanical, or materials science.

The undergraduate Supply Chain Management curriculum emphasizes advanced cost analysis, negotiation, integrated product development, demand and supply chain planning, logistics and supply management, and e-business, and provides experiential learning opportunities in industry.

BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS

Lehigh’s undergraduate Accounting Program is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), and ranks sixth in undergraduate accounting programs in BusinessWeek 2007 rankings. A strong curriculum and talented students have earned Lehigh a key school designation by accounting recruiters, who often sponsor on-site leadership programs, externships, and paid summer internships.

Lehigh’s innovative M.S. in Accounting and Information Analysis program links a broad business education to course-work specifically designed to provide the knowledge and skills needed in a professional career. Dedicated core courses focus on the program’s unifying theme of “using accounting information and technology to forge business solutions,” and graduate electives enhance students’ capabilities in financial services, consulting, or information systems.

Lehigh’s Business Minor program enables students with majors outside of the College of Business and Economics to pursue a course of business studies that supplements their major studies and provides the knowledge and skills with which they can make more informed business decisions.

The M.B.A. and Educational Leadership degree program trains principals and superintendents in business administrative skills while supporting expertise in instructional supervision and training.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Lehigh is infusing entrepreneurship throughout the curriculum, across the disciplines and at all levels. Lehigh offers an entrepreneurship executive education certificate program, an MBA concentration program, an undergraduate minor that can accommodate any major or field of study, and several programs related to technical entrepreneurship. Lehigh hosts the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for Global Entrepreneurship for the state’s top high school students, an on-campus start-up incubator, and an annual campus-wide business plan competition. The recently renovated Wilbur Powerhouse building is dedicated entirely to the Integrated Product Development program and supports student design and entrepreneurship.

Integrated Product Development (IPD) integrates real-world team-based initiatives into the academic curriculum, as cross-disciplinary teams of art, engineering, and marketing majors design or improve products for company sponsors. The program’s coursework encompasses graduate focus on advanced modeling and simulation tools and global teams that collaborate using video, Internet, and teleconferencing.

Integrated Real Estate at Lehigh (ire@l) is designed to complement a wide range of undergraduate majors such as architecture, journalism, political science, urban studies, environmental science, engineering, and economics. Team building, mentoring, and hands-on learning, coupled with internships and research opportunities, allow students to investigate real estate development projects over the long term.

ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The Energy Research Center offers educational opportunities for Lehigh students through its research programs. M.S. and Ph.D. students participate in energy research projects for their theses and dissertations. Undergraduate students participate in energy research projects as interns or by enrolling in energy-related project courses.

The Environmental Initiative investigates a wide range of local and global environmental perspectives, directing programs in environmental studies, environmental policy, and environmental education. The program offers lectures and colloquia, and collaborates with academic programs throughout Lehigh, including earth and environmental science, ecology, geology, and civil and environmental engineering.

Lehigh’s new master of arts in Environmental Policy Design, slated to begin in fall 2008, will prepare graduates to design effective environmental policies that are politically feasible and sensitive to the range of economic, cultural, moral, and aesthetic values that motivate public decision-making. Courses taken through the currently offered graduate certificate in Environmental Law & Policy can be applied toward the new master’s program. Through these programs, students will learn how to analyze present law and to create new policy designed to address environmental pollution regulations, steer land use policy and planning, and increase public awareness and engagement in the environmental policy process.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

The Business Information Systems program provides students with a strong foundation in cross-functional business processes and the application of information systems to support them. The use of technology to improve business performance and effectively support strategic business plans is a major focus of the program.

The Learning Sciences and Technology Ph.D. program studies the psychological, social, and technological processes that support learning. Using a multidisciplinary, integrative research model, the program actively pursues ways to enhance what we know about how learning occurs in diverse settings in order to address the challenges and opportunities that the future holds for education.

The M.S. in Photonics provides students with the foundation knowledge of applied optics that is necessary to understand the operation of the optical components and subsystems that make up the physical layer of optical communication and optical sensing systems. Offered in the context of Lehigh’s Center for Optical Technologies, this graduate program offers courses on linear and nonlinear effects in fibers and waveguides, optical spectroscopy, optical materials (glasses and ferroelectrics), photo-induced phenomena, fiber-based ultrasonics, optical sensing, and optical communications.

INTERNATIONAL

The Global Citizenship program, open to all majors, prepares students to communicate across cultural and language barriers, negotiate differences, and achieve a distinct self-awareness as citizens of the world. Lehigh is one of only a few universities to hold NGO status, which brings extraordinary opportunity for faculty and students to interact with the United Nations.

Lehigh’s new program in Global Studies recognizes that graduates need an acute understanding of essential issues of global politics, broad linguistic and cultural skills, significant overseas experience, and both intellectual and cultural sophistication. An interdisciplinary effort founded by the university’s Globalization & Social Change Initiative, the Global Studies major draws from multiple colleges, departments and programs to provide students with the knowledge, context and ability to engage in research and problem-solving across boundaries and cultures. Language proficiency, study abroad, and participation in a workshop at the United Nations are key elements of the program.

The College of Education’s Learning Beyond Limits program provides graduate degree programs and professional development opportunities for educators throughout the world. A doctoral degree in International Educational Leadership and master’s degrees in Educational Leadership, Global Leadership, and International Counseling are offered through online and face-to-face classes. In addition, special education, counseling, and TESOL post-baccalaureate certificates are available.

The Martindale Student Associates Program provides students with a platform for the exploration of global business and economic issues through workshops, conferences, a study trip abroad, and close communication with internationally recognized scholars and practitioners.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Lehigh’s minor in Aerospace Engineering is intended primarily for mechanical engineering majors who intend to pursue careers in the aerospace industry. This minor will provide the technical background needed for graduate programs in aeronautical engineering, aerospace sciences, and related aerospace fields.

Lehigh’s undergraduate Bioengineering program integrates the study of biological systems with the development of advanced skills in experimentation, modeling, and simulation. It features tracks in biopharmaceutical engineering, bioelectronics, biophotonics, and cell and tissue engineering in a research-centered experiential learning program.

The Engineering Minor, open to students outside the engineering college, offers minors in electrical, mechanical, civil, or chemical engineering. Students will learn to look at a project from several perspectives—from the interaction of design and construction to funding, political, and social issues.

Lehigh University has joined with the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Healthcare Network to offer the Lehigh-Pool Scholars Premedical Education Program.This collaborative program features biomedical research and internships, joint faculty and physician advising, and participation in conferences, lectures, and special courses in medical business practices and ethics.