YSU STEM College hosts graduate education fair
Correspondent photo / Sean Barron Trending
YOUNGSTOWN – It’s probably safe to say that Dominic DeDonato found it a bit easier to explore his options, given that he was in a large room filled with lots of options to explore.
“YSU is a smaller school and is very beneficial for my major,” DeDonato, of Boardman, a Youngstown State University senior who’s majoring in electrical engineering, said.
DeDonato was among the students who decided to further explore their options via attending a College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics graduate education fair Tuesday afternoon at YSU’s Stambaugh Stadium.
After earning an undergraduate degree, the 2023 Canfield High School graduate hopes to return to YSU as a graduate student. He also is in the university’s computer science 4+1 graduate track program, which is an accelerated bachelor’s and master’s degree pathway that provides students with an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science and a Master of Computing and Information Systems degree in five years.
Represented at the three-hour fair were YSU’s Departments of Chemical and Biological Sciences; Mathematics and Statistics; and Physics, Astronomy, Geology, Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Science, along with the university’s Rayen School of Engineering and School of Computer Science, Information and Engineering Technology.
The other schools that participated in the gathering were Kent State University’s College of Public Health and Health Sciences, Slippery Rock University’s graduate admissions office, Case Western Reserve University’s graduate and professional programs office, Bowling Green State University’s Graduate College, the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate and Professional School Student Recruitment office and its Master of Science in Quantitative Economics program, Penn State University’s Smeal College of Business and the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.
One avenue by which DeDonato explored some of his education options was by speaking to Nevica Molinaro, the Smeal College of Business’s assistant director of admissions, who said that the information she offered Tuesday may be a logical next step for undergrads.
Even though the fair was geared toward STEM majors, that field and the business sector have significant intersectionality, she said.
“I hope to bring awareness that business is in everything,” Molinaro added.
She also had available information pertaining to graduate offerings as well as a one-year master’s in business administration program.
Despite having evolved to fit the modern age, PSU, which is in University Park, Pa., maintains roots to its 19th century past.
“We’re still very ag-centric,” Molinaro said, referring to the fact that several years after it was established on Feb. 22, 1855, Penn State was renamed the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania and geared primarily toward educating farmers.
“We are a bridge for students to utilize before they get to medical school,” Ryan Boothe, a senior admissions counselor with the Lewisburg-based West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine, said.
The standalone medical school in southern West Virginia specializes in programs for those interested in becoming doctors and physicians. To that end, it offers a master’s degree program in biological sciences, Boothe noted. He added that the school’s primary mission is to seek students who may have a passion for practicing medicine in a rural setting and assisting those who are underserved.
This semester, YSU’s School of Computer Science, Information and Engineering Technology began a program in which students can earn a graduate certificate in artificial intelligence, Bipana Bista, an assistant research graduate, said.
To earn such a certificate, students are required to complete 12 credit hours. Specifically, they need to take two core courses – principles of computer programming or concepts of computer programming, along with data science and machine learning – in addition to two elective classes, Bista said.
The electives include AI, biometrics, deep learning, natural language processing and cloud computing/big data.
The coursework can be completed in person or online, George Yu, a YSU professor of computer science and information systems, added.
“I hope students will use this to enhance their careers and job hunting,” Yu said.
Additional plans are to begin a separate program focused on cybersecurity that had been proposed, he added.