The new dual-degree program will be launched in the fall of 2005 at NJCU, Jersey City, with a full-time, three-year course of study that satisfies the majority of requirements for the bachelor’s degree in applied physics.

The collaboration will allow undergraduates who complete the five-year program to earn two bachelor of science degrees: a bachelor of science degree in applied physics from NJCU and a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from NJIT.

During the fourth and fifth years of the program, students will enroll full-time at NJIT to complete required engineering courses.  During both phases of the program, students will enroll in required courses at the partner institution. NJCU will award the bachelor of science degree when students complete the fourth year of study.

The dual-degree program agreement was signed by Carlos Hernandez, PhD, NJCU president, and Robert A. Altenkirch, PhD, NJIT president, during a ceremony at the NJIT campus on Dec. 17, 2004.  Academic officials from both institutions attended the ceremony.

“Cooperation between NJCU and NJIT will have a positive impact on students interested in both physics and electrical engineering, who in five years can have degrees in both fields,” said Altenkirch. “The joint degree will be a great advantage to these students both intellectually as well as when they enter the job market.”

Hernandez added that “this dual-degree program is an exciting new venture that provides students, in a five-year period, an outstanding opportunity to study applied physics while getting a strong foundation in the liberal arts at NJCU, and then enables them to study engineering and ultimately earn a second bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at NJIT.  It’s a fine collaborative program that benefits both institutions enormously.”