The University of Wyoming is renaming two colleges, and the new names are ones that just make sense.
The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences is now named the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources has been renamed the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources.
This change mainly comes from the changes that will come with UW’s reorganization of colleges and departments. With the future of the College of Arts and Sciences being planned, the science section will be moved to different colleges, mainly those getting name changes.
While the reorganization does influence some of the transition, some of the majors and departments in colleges don’t necessarily add up to their college.
Within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, why are microbiology and molecular biology fall under these compared to being with other sciences?
The degree of biology can be found currently in the College of Arts and Sciences, but micro and molecular biology are not.
Adding the term “Life Sciences” to the college’s name makes the majors fit in much better with the title.
The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ adjustment to change the word “Applied” to “Physical” doesn’t seem coherent with the associated degrees. The only non-engineering degree in the college is computer science.
However, with the reorganization, degrees and departments such as astronomy, chemistry, geology and geophysics, and mathematics and statistics will join computer science in the college.
The adjustments that have been made to these names of the colleges are adequate changes and help demonstrate what degrees are in the colleges.
UW is currently working on rebranding with the new names for the colleges. This rollout includes printed and online documents, signage, and online registration for classes, but that won’t be until 2023 registration.
The reorganization is beginning to be implemented this 2022-23 academic year, but it will take full effect in 2023 after being delayed.
Once this takes effect and departments and degrees are moved around, there will need to be more changes made. Specifically, there will need to be a change to the name of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Some ideas and rumors that have floated around include terms such as “humanities,” “social sciences,” and “liberal arts.”
Overall, the name change for the College of Arts and Sciences should accurately reflect the degrees and departments in the college. This should be similar to the newly branded College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and the College of Agriculture, Life Sciences, and Natural Resources.
