The University of Connecticut is considering a new round of academic program changes that would add two degrees while eliminating four others with low enrollment, according to meeting materials.
The University of Connecticut is considering a new round of academic program changes that would add two degrees while eliminating four others with low enrollment, according to meeting materials.
The Academic Affairs Committee of the UConn Board of Trustees will meet on Tuesday to review proposals to add a bachelor of arts in linguistics through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and an interdisciplinary graduate certificate in artificial intelligence through the Graduate School. Both are expected to launch in fall 2026.
The linguistics degree would consolidate two existing joint majors — linguistics combined with either philosophy or psychology — into a single standalone program with three concentrations. Enrollment in those legacy programs has declined in recent years, falling from a combined 72 students in fall 2022 to 42 in fall 2025.
The program requires no new faculty or resources. Its enrollment is projected to grow to roughly 100 students as it matures. Administrators cited demand tied to careers in artificial intelligence, natural language processing and computational fields as an added draw.
The AI graduate certificate would be a 12-credit, fee-based credential designed to give non-specialists the foundational skills increasingly required across industries.
The program would launch through the School of Business, which has already developed coursework, with additional disciplinary concentrations expected within two years. Courses will be available online and in hybrid form at the Hartford campus.
UConn expects the program to enroll 30 students annually by its third year. Administrators described it as the only graduate AI certificate offered in Connecticut, with the closest comparable programs at Boston University, Harvard Extension School and Purdue University. Post-entry median wages for graduates in relevant occupations start at roughly $126,619, according to the meeting materials.
The four program closures are the result of declining enrollment and resource constraints, according to UConn.
The Master of Fine Arts in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management, established in 2011 within the School of Fine Arts, has been closed to new admissions since March 2023 after its director left.
UConn said the school lacked the resources to sustain it going forward. With no students remaining in the program, no teach-out plan is required.
The undergraduate fintech major, a Bachelor of Science in Financial Technology offered exclusively at UConn’s Stamford campus, is also on the chopping block after falling short of enrollment targets. Approved by the board in 2023 with a goal of 20 students by fall 2024, the program currently has only seven students enrolled.
Rather than abandon fintech instruction entirely, the School of Business plans to fold financial technology concentrations into its existing Business Data Analytics and Financial Management majors. The Stamford program will close to new students beginning Sept. 1, with a teach-out period extending through at least the 2031-32 academic year.
The closure comes
roughly four years after UConn launched a separate master’s-level fintech program at its Hartford campus, which was designed to teach skills including blockchain, predictive modeling and coding to graduate students.
Two graduate engineering certificates are also slated for elimination. The Graduate Certificate in Contaminated Site Remediation, approved in December 2017 as part of the College of Engineering’s Brownfields Initiative, and developed with support from environmental engineering firms, never gained traction. Only one student has ever completed the program.
Similarly, the Graduate Certificate in Oceanographic Science and Technology, approved by the board in March 2022 to serve workforce needs in marine technology and ocean engineering, enrolled only one student and produced no completions before the decision to shut it down.
The Academic Affairs Committee meeting is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.
