Students looking for some new ways to earn credits may be able to do so by studying abroad or creating a gourmet meal.

Four new majors and four minors are awaiting approval by the Faculty Senate at its meeting on Tuesday.

The new items include a bachelor’s degree programs in culinary science, global resource systems and bioengineering systems and a major in world languages and cultures.

Suzanne Hendrich, Faculty Senate chairperson for the academic affairs council and professor in food science and human nutrition, said the changes to the university’s curriculum were proposed with students in mind.

“All the proposed additions provide unique opportunities for students and keep the curriculum current to meet the needs of academic initiatives,” she said. “They are a theme for attracting students to ISU.”

The proposals must travel a long way before reaching the Faculty Senate to be voted on, Hendrich said.

“These initiatives start at the department level and go through the college to the curriculum committees, then to Faculty Senate committees, then Academic Affairs Council before being voted on by the Senate,” Hendrich said. “They receive lots of input and represent changes that reflect the consensus of faculty and administrators.”

Sedahlia Crase, Faculty Senate president and professor of human development and family studies, said these types of proposals commonly arise toward the end of the academic term.

“It takes them quite a while to work up through the departments and committees before reaching the Senate,” she said. “It is important for the university to have interesting, new programs to offer students.”

The B.S. in global resource systems would require students to choose a region of the world to study and learn its language, then choose a technical resource to apply to that area and spend their senior year working on a research project. The goal is to combine technical, leadership and cultural competencies and apply them to a chosen world region.

“If I could, I would go back to being a student and choose this as my major,” Crase said. “It sounds like an excellent opportunity for students to learn about different parts of the world and explore new languages and cultures.”

The proposed major in culinary science would take an entrepreneurial focus and receive grant funding from the College of Human Sciences. It would enable students to master skills necessary to improve the quality, nutritional value and manufacturing processes of foods.

It would be the only culinary science program offered in Iowa, which also has goals of expanding to Des Moines Area Community College campuses, where students could start before transferring to Iowa State for their final two years of study.

The proposed B.S. in bioengineering systems would offer the opportunity to study biorenewable resources and bioenvironmental engineering.

The four proposed minors are music technology, meat science, bioengineering and sport and culture.

“The new proposals are interesting and unique,” said Clark Ford, Faculty Senate member and associate professor of food science and human nutrition. “The vote will be an important part of the meeting.”

The Faculty Senate will discuss details for the upcoming Spring Faculty Conference, which is headed by Dean Anderson, Faculty Senate member and professor of kinesiology. The conference will take place Thursday and Friday at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, 2100 Green Hill Drive.