Classes are now underway at the College of Charleston for the 2014-2015 academic year. Here is a look at some of the changes you’ll see in fall 2014:

New majors include:

  • The new African American Studies major draws from courses in nine different academic disciplines (African American studies, as well as anthropology, sociology, English, political science, education, theater, history, religious studies, and psychology). Students and faculty are asked to think seriously about African American history and culture, and about the challenges and opportunities of living and working in a multi-ethnic world.
  • A new Music Industry Concentration is now being offered for arts management majors. This optional concentration prepares students for careers in the music industry through relevant coursework in areas such as record company operations, artist and venue management, legal issues, public relations, marketing and merchandising.

New minors include:

  • Entrepreneurship, which prepares students to be able to find or create new opportunities, research and develop those opportunities and communicate them effectively to stakeholders.
  • Urban studies provides an overview of how to study cities and regions—particularly in the Lowcountry—as well as the opportunity to study one or two urban themes or topical areas in depth.

New graduate programs include:

  • M.S. in Child Life trains students to understand the sensitive and vital issues involved when working with children and their families in a hospital or health care setting.
  • The Graduate Certificate in Cybersecurity prepares students to characterize the security profile of different types of networks, analyze key cryptography algorithms, secure a system from different attacks and more.

New facilities include:

  • Harbor Walk East and Harbor Walk West are located in the Aquarium Wharf area, along the Cooper River, adjacent to the S.C. Aquarium. Harbor Walk West, formerly an IMAX theater, will house classrooms, labs, and faculty offices for the Department of Biology and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Harbor Walk East, the building closest to the Cooper River, will house the Department of Computer Science, a few biology faculty offices, as well as a biology lab.
  • The College of Charleston North Campus moved during summer 2014, to a 50,000-square-foot building, located just off I-526 at 3800 Paramount Drive. Its technologically sophisticated classrooms will improve the College’s ability to bring many of its programs to working adults and traditional students throughout the tri-county region.
  • Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library underwent an extensive renovation during summer 2014. Starting in the fall, more individual and group study spaces are available, there’s a new Starbucks Coffee Shop, and an additional 200 seats.

Other new initiatives:

  • The Center for Student Learning will offer services daily at the College’s North Campus. View the schedule. Services include writing help for Bachelor of Professional Studies students, writing help for Lowcountry Graduate Center students, and study skills help.
  • For the first time, there will be two dance concerts to accommodate the quickly growing dance major. The fall concert will be held on October 23-26, 2014 at Emmett Robinson Theatre.