By Karen Chambless

Prospective and current students at Lee University will soon be able to take courses for a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics degree with a pre-engineering emphasis, thanks to a recent vote of approval by the faculty.

The degree will be an option beginning this fall as part of Lee’s work towards an eventual dual-degree engineering major with partner institution Tennessee Technological University.

The pre-engineering emphasis will be a starting point for students interested in both an engineering degree and Lee’s unique methods of holistic education including the global perspectives requirement and the religion core.

According to Dr. Blayne Carroll, professor of mathematics, providing a full engineering major at Lee would require new laboratories, equipment, and robotics, so the dual degree partnership allows both institutions to continue to do what they do best.

“Until now students who wanted both an engineering degree and the unique Christian liberal arts education that Lee provides were forced to choose between the two,” said Carroll. “We now have an option for those students, and we are moving forward with plans to make it even better.”

The dual degree would allow students to complete a general education core in three years and then move on to the partner school for another two years in the engineering discipline. So far, five new pre-engineering classes have been proposed to be added to the science and math department curriculum.

For more information about this degree, call Lee’s Department of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at 423-614-8275.