Morgan State to offer 3 degree programs in Ghana

Listen to this article

Morgan State University is slated to establish an international presence on the African continent by way of a new pilot program.

During the recent public session of the MSU Board of Regents winter quarterly meeting, the board unanimously approved a proposal for the university to begin offering three degree programs — a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Science in Global Multimedia Journalism and Communications, and a Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship — in partnership with the African University College of Communications (AUCC) in Adabraka, Accra, Ghana.

The pilot program is scheduled to begin in fall 2020, creating opportunities for western African students to pursue degrees from Morgan. The collaboration marks a first of its kind for an HBCU in Ghana, with Morgan poised to join only a select few American universities offering degree programs in Africa.

Coinciding with the expansion abroad, domestically the board also authorized the university to pursue the addition of a new Master of Science in Advanced Computing degree program. Pending Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) approval, the degree would be the only degree of its kind offered at a Maryland university and Morgan would be the sole HBCU in the nation to offer it. The availability of the program at Morgan would offer students a solid foundation in emerging areas of computer sciences such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, machine learning and cloud computing.

In addition, during its fall meeting this past November, MSU’s Board of Regents supported the addition of a new degree program in cloud computing. MHEC recently approved Morgan’s request to offer a new Bachelor of Science in cloud computing beginning in fall 2020.

In January, an administrative team, led by Morgan’s provost, traveled to Ghana for a site visit at AUCC, a University of Ghana affiliate institution, and to finalize the remaining details of the proposed collaboration. The arrangement calls for Morgan professors from the Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management and the School of Global Journalism and Communication to travel to Ghana to teach courses throughout the year to incoming cohorts. Each of the three degree programs would be offered in a hybrid delivery consisting of face-to-face and online instruction. Morgan is seeking at least 20 students to begin the pilot. An evaluation of the programs is slated for the end of the inaugural year.

With the terms of a strategic collaboration agreed to in principle, the final affiliation agreement will require approval from the MSU Board of Regents. The Board’s next quarterly meeting is scheduled for May 5.