NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) approved the University of Memphis’ Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) program during its Feb. 20 meeting. The program will expect its first class of students in the Fall 2026 semester. UofM Provost Dr. David Russomanno spoke before the commission and said the new program combines multiple facets of the engineering world to meet a talent demand in the state of Tennessee.
“In many institutions, you see a separate college of engineering and a separate college of technology. The real world demands a continuum of talent where we don’t just have the engineers in one particular area and the applied technologists in another area,” said Russomanno.
The new BAS will be housed within the Polytechnic@UofM, which was created in July 2025 to respond to workforce needs in the field of applied technology. Polytechnic acts as a semi-autonomous unit within the Herff College of Engineering. Dr. Russ Deaton, Polytechnic executive director, said he anticipates 100 students to enroll in the BAS and hopes among them will be those with work experience and certification from the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT).
“We put some emphasis on non-degree credentials and industry-recognized certifications,” Deaton said. “We want to provide mechanisms to give them academic credit.”
“This is really exciting,” said THEC Vice Chair Mike Ragsdale. “We’ve gotten pretty good at transferring (our students) from community colleges to our four-year universities. I’m not sure we’ve had the same type of success from our TCATs to our other institutions. I think there’s a huge need for folks with skilled manufacturing backgrounds and construction backgrounds. I think formal academic training would go a long way.”
The launch of the BAS represents a major milestone for the Polytechnic and its mission to deliver applied, workforce-driven academic programs. The University will now move into implementation and student recruitment ahead of the program’s first class in fall 2026.
Media Contact:
Parker King, Assistant Director
University Media and Public Relations
University of Memphis
tpking1@memphis.edu
