Fifteen UGA students made history earlier this month. They were the first undergraduate students to attend classes toward a UGA degree in Griffin.
“This was a pivotal, historic moment for the UGA Griffin campus and the metro Atlanta southern arch,” says Gerald Arkin, assistant dean for the Griffin campus of UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “UGA degree programs are now available and accessible to students, particularly place-bound students, who would otherwise not be able to get a UGA degree.”
The program has attracted a collection of traditional and non-traditional college students from across the south metro Atlanta area. On the Griffin campus, students will have two degree options: a biological science major that will lead to a bachelor of science degree in agriculture and an environmental resource science major that will lead to a bachelor of science degree in environmental sciences.
The new teaching program offers students the benefit of study close to home, with world-class facilities, laboratories and faculty members.
To enter the Griffin-based program, students must have 60 transferable hours of course work. To make that transition easier, UGA is partnering with nearby Gordon College in a two-plus-two program. Students do their freshman and sophomore work at Gordon and transfer to UGA at Griffin to complete the degree.
Besides the core students on the Athens campus, the CAES also offers degrees through their Tifton campus, in a similar arrangement with Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.
That program graduated its first class of students in May.
