AS at September 2011, the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) will be offering a Master of Arts degree and a postgraduate diploma in education.

The new additions form a part of plans to widen the scope of academic programmes and certification currently offered by the institution.

“The college is now focused on offering the associates, bachelor’s, master’s and other postgraduate degree programmes,” said interim president Dr Victor Watt in a release to the media.

He added that the undergraduate diplomas and other short courses will now be offered through CASE’s off-site campuses and through its consultancy and extramural department.

“The postgraduate diploma in education will cater to those persons who have a bachelor’s degree and would like to develop the pedagogical skills in teaching,” noted Norma Williams, acting head of the department of humanities and aesthetics.

She added that credits from the postgraduate diploma in education can go towards attaining the Master of Arts degree in education, which will allow students to specialise in educational leadership or early childhood or adult education.

Additionally, students currently enrolled in the three-year-long diploma in education programme now have the option of extending their studies by one year in order to obtain a Bachelor of Education degree (primary education option).

There are also added conveniences for students pursuing Bachelor of Science degrees in business studies and hospitality and tourism management. The Bachelor of Science degree in business studies, usually offered in the evenings, will now be offered as a day programme.

The day students who would normally do associate degrees in this course of study will now have the option of extending their study by two years to complete the baccalaureate.

Students enrolled in the hospitality and tourism management programme, who would normally be awarded an associate degree after two years of study, will now be award a Bachelor of Science degree after the successful completion of four years of study.

New programmes added to the faculties of agriculture and science for the September 2011 semester include the Associate of Science degree in veterinary science, the MPhil in agriculture, the Associate of Science degree in engineering and the Bachelor of Applied Science in renewable energy management.