The next great academic program may already be sitting in the course catalog, quietly minding its own business.
Colleges are starting to connect disciplines that used to live in completely different corners of campus: computer science and criminology, biology and business, philosophy and science, geospatial intelligence and sustainability.
In other words, instead of building every new program from the ground up, some institutions are looking at what they already have and asking, “What if we put these two or even three things together?”
Sometimes the answer is a very good program that uses the strengths the college or university already has.
It may also be the beginning of a broader shift in how colleges approach new program development. Presidents, provosts, and deans need a way to see what could exist by combining the courses, strengths, and resources they already have.
The idea is this: before spending months designing a program from scratch, see what happens when you shake up the course catalog a little. Because “we already teach most of this” is a pretty good place to start.
(By the way, if you don’t want to figure it out on your own, we built a tool called Remix to help you uncover interdisciplinary program ideas from existing courses, then evaluate whether those ideas actually have a market.)
Like the Pizza Bagel, the New Major Is a Delicious Low-Cost Option
When you see college students head over to the cafeteria toaster with a tray loaded with bagels, bowls of pasta sauce, and cheese from the salad bar, you know some pizza bagels are about to be born. (The sophisticated ones might add some oregano.)
Well, I think higher education is on the verge of its pizza bagel moment.
The University of South Florida launched a B.S. in Computer Science and Criminology, integrating computing, cybersecurity, behavioral science, and criminal justice into a single curriculum. USF is also launching a Computer Science and Business degree. The university specifically describes these programs as interdisciplinary rather than two subjects taught on parallel tracks.
Bethel University introduced a Bachelor of Business in Biology degree that combines a traditional biology core with management, marketing, finance, and business law. The program is aimed at careers where life sciences and commerce meet, including biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical sales, and laboratory management.
Michigan State University has added Philosophy and Law and Philosophy and the Sciences, connecting traditional humanities disciplines to legal, scientific, and professional applications.
And Lindenwood University launched Geospatial Intelligence and Sustainability, along with a GeoAI certificate that combines geospatial analysis and artificial intelligence.
AI Is Becoming the Pineapple on the Academic Pizza
Colleges are certainly launching AI degrees, but AI is also emerging as a layer that can be added to other fields.
Willamette University, for example, introduced separate Engineering AI and Understanding AI minors designed to complement majors ranging from business and chemistry to politics and the natural sciences.
Cal Poly Humboldt’s new Applied Humanities degree takes another approach, connecting traditional humanities strengths such as critical thinking, communication, and ethical reasoning to technology and contemporary workforce needs. One of its pathways specifically connects the humanities to technology, digital accessibility, and AI.
That may be a more important development than the growth of standalone AI programs. AI doesn’t belong to one department because AI won’t belong to one profession, and will be involved in many of the problems graduates will be asked to solve.
The Job Market Doesn’t Care About Your Org Chart
There is another reason these program mashups make sense: jobs are mashups, too.
Employers aren’t necessarily looking for someone who fits neatly into one academic discipline. Cybersecurity can require an understanding of human behavior. Biotech can require business skills. Sustainability increasingly intersects with data, technology, and geospatial analysis.
The academic org chart may have nice, clean boxes. Careers generally do not.
That gives colleges an opportunity to create programs that look a little more like the work students will actually be doing after graduation. And they may be able to do it without adding an entirely new department, a long list of new courses, or a giant new price tag.
But Clever Doesn’t Automatically Mean Viable
Combining existing programs can reduce some of the barriers involved in creating something new, but it doesn’t eliminate the need for market validation.
Before launching an interdisciplinary program, institutions still need to understand three things:
Student Demand: Are students actually interested in the program, or does the idea simply sound innovative?
Labor Market Demand: Are employers hiring for the skills and occupations the program is designed to support?
Institutional Economics: Can the institution deliver the program sustainably using its current courses, sections, and resources?
As we have been seeing lately, those signals can point in very different directions.
A program can align beautifully with workforce trends and still struggle to attract students. Another may generate strong student interest but lead to an already crowded competitive market.
That’s why the question isn’t simply, “Can we combine these programs? It is, “Should we?” Broccoli adds great nutritional value, but I bet there aren’t many students adding it as a pizza topping.
The Next New Program May Already Exist
So maybe new program development doesn’t always need to start with a blank sheet of paper.
Sometimes it starts with taking a fresh look at what you already teach, where student interest is growing, and where the job market is headed.
The interesting part is finding the combinations that make sense. The important part is making sure students actually want them, employers need them, and the economics work.
That is really the opportunity behind the rise of the hybrid major: colleges may be able to respond to emerging markets faster, with less risk, by building from strengths they already have.
And yes, that is a big part of why we built Remix.
Sometimes innovation isn’t about inventing a whole new menu. It’s realizing you already have most of the ingredients.
Want to uncover new program opportunities using courses you already offer? Request a demo to see how Gray DI’s Program Remix can help.
