{"id":148392,"date":"2026-03-25T20:45:21","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/148392\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T20:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T20:45:21","slug":"berks-launches-new-major-in-interdisciplinary-business-with-engineering-studies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/148392\/","title":{"rendered":"Berks launches new major in interdisciplinary business with engineering studies"},"content":{"rendered":"

WYOMISSING, Pa. \u2014 Penn State Berks is launching a new major in interdisciplinary business with engineering studies (IBE),<\/a> a bachelor of science degree program for students who are interested in learning about both business and technology.<\/p>\n

This degree program is differentiated by coursework emphasizing the core principles of engineering, business and product development \u2013 preparing graduates for leadership careers within technology-driven organizations. Students will be able to further customize their degree by choosing from the accounting \/ finance or technical sales options.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs industries continue to evolve, there is a growing need for professionals who understand both the technical and business sides of innovation. The IBE program equips students with this unique skill set, preparing them to develop solutions, bring ideas to market and lead in a rapidly changing global economy,\u201d said Sadan Kulturel-Konak<\/a>, program chair for the IBE degree, professor of management information systems and director of the Flemming Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Students can complete the entire four-year degree program at Penn State Berks. The new major draws on existing courses in both business and engineering and faculty expertise in these areas. The program also introduces new courses: two supply chain management courses, a marketing course, a management information science course, and a two-semester capstone course where students apply what they have learned to real-world sustainability challenges.<\/p>\n

The program\u2019s interdisciplinary foundation, team-based projects and hands-on learning experiences open doors to diverse career pathways across the industrial, service and technology sectors. Students also develop strong teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills \u2014 key strengths that employers seek.<\/p>\n

Prescribed courses include:<\/p>\n

supply chain management
\ndigital electronics
\nengineering thermodynamics
\ninternational business operations
\nstrategic product development<\/p>\n

The program will culminate in an industry-sponsored capstone research project. In students\u2019 final two semesters, they will use all the skills they have developed \u2014 and gain practical experience \u2014 as they create business and technical plans to bring a new product or process to market. Ultimately, this capstone experience becomes a vital part of student portfolios when exploring employment opportunities.<\/p>\n

IBE majors will be well-prepared to work on the business side of a technical company or continue their education in graduate studies. The major is intended for students who want to apply their knowledge in a range of settings, including government, nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Graduates may pursue roles connected to project management, transportation data analysis, purchasing, technical sales or quality control.<\/p>\n

The new interdisciplinary business with engineering studies major is now available in the Penn State University Undergraduate Bulletin<\/a>. Students interested in the program can contact the program chair at bkIBE@psu.edu<\/a> to learn more about requirements and course planning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WYOMISSING, Pa. \u2014 Penn State Berks is launching a new major in interdisciplinary business with engineering studies (IBE),…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148393,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-148392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148392"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148392\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}