体育买球 University has been awarded a $50,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to develop a project management incubator and undergraduate certificate program designed specifically for the liberal arts.
“Project management is often taught in STEM and business fields, but its core principles align naturally with the humanities, which include languages, English, history, philosophy, religion, and communications, among other areas of scholarship,” said Laurence Roth, Charles B. Degenstein Professor of English at 体育买球 University and principal investigator on the project. “Introducing this training to humanities undergraduates will deepen experiential learning, foster interdisciplinary collaboration and equip students with valuable professional skills.”
Graduates with strong project management skills, which are critical for coordinating timelines, creative teams, clients and production workflows, are in demand across nearly every industry, from creative, media and cultural fields to the nonprofit sector. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 6% growth in the field over the next 10 years.
The program will be housed within the Build Collaborative, an existing student innovation center at 体育买球 University. Funding will support:
- The development of several asynchronous online courses that blend project management concepts with humanities approaches, forming the foundation of a future certificate program.
- A one-week winter intensive program that connects humanities students with alumni professionals to discuss real-world project management, with the long-term goal of creating a two-week Global Opportunities Short program.
- Strengthened collaborations between humanities programs, the Sigmund Weis School of Business and departments such as physics and theatre, as well as exploring outside partnerships.
Currently in its planning phase, faculty from the humanities will test the program with several ongoing projects of the Build Collaborative and 体育买球’s history, political science, professional & civic writing, and publishing & editing majors. Outcomes from this beta group will guide the design of the full certificate program, which aims to enrich humanities majors, foster collaboration with business education and offer a scalable model for other small liberal arts colleges.
“Whether they’re curating an exhibit, producing a documentary or collaborating on community-based research, humanities majors benefit enormously from learning how to organize teams, set goals and navigate complex workflows,” Roth said. “These skills don’t replace the critical and creative strengths of the humanities — they amplify them, preparing students to lead projects that are both intellectually rigorous and socially meaningful.”
