More University Study Programs Become STEM-designated
2022-10-02
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1International students who come to the United States often study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM.
2Not as many come for programs in humanities or the arts, the 2021 Open Doors Report says.
3Under U.S. laws, after finishing school, international students are permitted to work in the country for one year under the Optional Practical Training, or OPT program.
4For STEM students, the program extends their work permit for an additional two years in their field of study.
5The U.S. immigration office publishes the STEM Designated Degree Program List for study programs that it considers for the OPT extension.
6The programs include "new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science, or natural sciences (including physical, biological, and agricultural sciences)."
7But international students who are interested in business, psychology, news reporting and even theater should know that more study programs in the U.S. are coming to the list.
8Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently looking for students for a STEM-designated journalism program that will start in one year.
9The program will offer a Master of Science degree in Media Innovation and Data Communication.
10Students will take classes such as "Telling Your Story with Data" and "Digital Journalism."
11John Wihbey teaches journalism and media innovation at Northeastern.
12He said today's journalists need to be able to work on data visualization projects, read business printouts and work on digital media such as video and audio.
13Many journalism students are already doing this work, so it makes sense for schools to create new study programs.
14"And so those students who were inclined in that direction ended up taking a lot of interactive graphics, design, data viz and coding courses.
15And so we started to see graduates who we, you know, had no question belonged in the world of STEM."
16Northeastern's new program joins other journalism programs at schools like New York University, the University of Southern California and the University of South Florida that have a STEM designation.
17At New York University, the school also lists drama therapy and psychology among STEM-designated programs.
18At one point, the U.S. government was worried that OPT was taking jobs away from American workers.
19However, once President Joe Biden's administration came into office, the chance for international students to do two extra years of OPT actually increased.
20In the STEM Designated Degree Program List released in January 2022, several new study areas were included.
21The new study programs include forestry, data visualization, psychology, business analytics, animal behaviors, and research methods in social sciences.
22Eunkyu Lee is a business and marketing professor at Syracuse University in New York state.
23He said international students who want to work in the U.S. should look for STEM-designated programs when they are searching for colleges.
24People may think that business study programs such as marketing do not require STEM skills.
25But Lee said that is not true.
26"There is a growing emphasis on the importance of data analytics. You can imagine that each time you make a call or visit a web page, or use your mobile devices, a huge amount of data are being accumulated."
27Data, Lee said, "is of great concern" to businesses.
28So students with STEM degrees have an advantage when it comes to finding jobs.
29And then, because of the extended OPT, a student might be able to find an employer who will help them get a work visa.
30I'm Dan Friedell.
1International students who come to the United States often study science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. Not as many come for programs in humanities or the arts, the 2021 Open Doors Report says. 2Under U.S. laws, after finishing school, international students are permitted to work in the country for one year under the Optional Practical Training, or OPT program. For STEM students, the program extends their work permit for an additional two years in their field of study. 3The U.S. immigration office publishes the STEM Designated Degree Program List for study programs that it considers for the OPT extension. The programs include "new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science, or natural sciences (including physical, biological, and agricultural sciences)." 4But international students who are interested in business, psychology, news reporting and even theater should know that more study programs in the U.S. are coming to the list. 5New STEM-designated programs 6Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts, is currently looking for students for a STEM-designated journalism program that will start in one year. 7The program will offer a Master of Science degree in Media Innovation and Data Communication. Students will take classes such as "Telling Your Story with Data" and "Digital Journalism." 8John Wihbey teaches journalism and media innovation at Northeastern. He said today's journalists need to be able to work on data visualization projects, read business printouts and work on digital media such as video and audio. Many journalism students are already doing this work, so it makes sense for schools to create new study programs. 9"And so those students who were inclined in that direction ended up taking a lot of interactive graphics, design, data viz and coding courses. And so we started to see graduates who we, you know, had no question belonged in the world of STEM." 10Northeastern's new program joins other journalism programs at schools like New York University, the University of Southern California and the University of South Florida that have a STEM designation. At New York University, the school also lists drama therapy and psychology among STEM-designated programs. 11At one point, the U.S. government was worried that OPT was taking jobs away from American workers. However, once President Joe Biden's administration came into office, the chance for international students to do two extra years of OPT actually increased. 12In the STEM Designated Degree Program List released in January 2022, several new study areas were included. The new study programs include forestry, data visualization, psychology, business analytics, animal behaviors, and research methods in social sciences. 13Eunkyu Lee is a business and marketing professor at Syracuse University in New York state. He said international students who want to work in the U.S. should look for STEM-designated programs when they are searching for colleges. People may think that business study programs such as marketing do not require STEM skills. But Lee said that is not true. 14"There is a growing emphasis on the importance of data analytics. You can imagine that each time you make a call or visit a web page, or use your mobile devices, a huge amount of data are being accumulated." 15Data, Lee said, "is of great concern" to businesses. So students with STEM degrees have an advantage when it comes to finding jobs. 16And then, because of the extended OPT, a student might be able to find an employer who will help them get a work visa. 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Dan Friedell wrote this story for Learning English. 19________________________________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21journalism -n. the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio 22humanities -n. areas of study (such as history, language, and literature) that relate to human life and ideas 23designate -v. to mark, show, or represent (something) 24innovation -n. the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods 25field -n. an area of work or study 26graduate -n. a person who has completed a study program 27analytics -n. the careful study of something in order to take away meaning 28accumulate -v. to gain or collect something 29visualization -n. the act of showing something with pictures or colors 30incline -v. to cause (someone) to want to do something or to be likely to do something 31therapy -n. the treatment of a physical or mental illness 32emphasis -n. special importance given to something 33_______________________________________________________________________ 34We want to hear from you. Do you think you will look for a STEM-designated study program? 35We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 36Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.