Two new majors to be offered within the School of Humanities and Sciences curriculum will create additional interdisciplinary study options for Ithaca students. Majors in Italian studies and environmental science reflect both increased demand by students and their interest in programs that address real-world concerns.

Though foreign language study has been on a downward trend until very recently, interest in Italian at Ithaca has more than doubled in the last three years, leading to the consideration of a new major. The Italian studies program has 40 students enrolled as potential majors with many more enrolling in courses that have a focus on Italian. The interdisciplinary nature of such a major allows study in the departments of art, history, English, and theater arts, as well as modern languages and literature.

In the planned environmental science program, core science courses, electives in humanities and sciences, and an opportunity to focus on anthropology, biology, or chemistry create flexibility with direction. Environmental science, distinct from other science majors, emphasizes applied science that seeks solutions to perceived problems resulting from human interactions with the natural world. The applied, problem-solving perspective is the distinct characteristic of environmental science. HS