Ten New & Unique-to-Baylor Majors and Programs

With more than 125 majors and programs, students can be sure they’ll get to study what they’re passionate about at Baylor University. And with an average class size of 27 students, Baylor students excel in their niches with the personalized help of their world-class professors. 

At Baylor, our majors open a world of possibilities to students and prepare them to change the world when they step beyond campus. Here are a few new and unique-to-Baylor majors and programs through which students can truly fling their green and gold afar!  

Cybersecurity 

The new Cybersecurity major combines hands-on exercises and projects, preparation for and participation in cybersecurity competitions, and classroom study. Students will select one of four concentrations to add to their studies: Business/Entrepreneurship; Policy, Law and Geopolitical Issues; Analytics; or an interdisciplinary concentration combining classes from the other concentrations. The Cybersecurity program develops graduates who can analyze complex cyber challenges, provide robust solutions and be able to communicate those challenges and solutions in an effective manner. 

Curb Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment (S3E) Program

The Center for Sales Strategy in Sports and Entertainment is the only college program in the U.S. focused on generating revenue for sports. In the S3E program, students may choose one of two parallel tracks – sales or analytics – that determine both their internship and path to finding a fulfilling career with a company, agency, third-party rights holder, professional team or NCAA member. The S3E courses are taken as part of the Marketing major in the Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

University Scholars

The University Scholars (UNSC) program is designed for intellectually gifted, highly motivated students to create an individualized curriculum in close consultation with faculty advisors and mentors. UNSC students develop concentrations in two or more academic disciplines; these concentrations act as substitutes for the Baylor University core curriculum and prepare the student for their post-baccalaureate goals. Part of Baylor’s Honors Program, UNSC students study a broad range of subject areas in the sciences and humanities. 

Church Music 

The Church Music major prepares graduates for the varied challenges that face today’s Christian musicians; students will attain the knowledge and skills they need to serve joyfully throughout their lives. This major is available as a Bachelor of Music (BM) degree or a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree. With a Church Music major in the BM program, students can concentrate on one of three different emphases: keyboard, instrumental or voice. The BA program is designed in the liberal arts tradition and is a good fit for students who want both a church music degree and to take additional courses outside of their major course of study.

Pre-Professional Programs 

Baylor’s Pre-Professional Programs help students from all majors explore the possibility of attending a professional school after they graduate with their undergraduate degree, such as law school, medical school, dental school, veterinary school or physical/occupational therapy school. Baylor’s Pre-Professional Programs see great success, with an 88.6% acceptance rate to law school and a 75% acceptance rate to medical school for graduating seniors, which is significantly higher than the national average.

Pre-Law at Baylor University consists of two academic designations – “Pre-Law” and “Pre-Law Interest.” There are no course prerequisites for attending law school. Rather, Pre-Law students maximize their education by taking the most rigorous and demanding classes possible. Just like Pre-Law, Pre-Health at Baylor is a program designed to prepare students for the medical profession. Because the broad-based liberal arts education has proved the best foundation on which to build highly specialized professional training, medical schools select students with majors in both nonscience and science disciplines. 

Professional Writing & Rhetoric (PWR)

Professional Writing & Rhetoric (PWR) majors take small classes that focus on enhancing their written communication and critical thinking skills while taking courses like Creative Nonfiction, Professional and Workplace Writing, Writing for Social Change, and Editing and Publishing. The PWR degree plan is flexible enough to be tailored to an individual’s interest or to prepare for a particular career, and students work closely with faculty to determine the path best for them. PWR aims to help students become lifelong learners who will use writing throughout their lives in public, personal and civic arenas, including government, publishing, medicine, education or the nonprofit sector.

Social Work 

Baylor’s Diana R. Garland School of Social Work prepares generalist social workers in a Christian context for worldwide service and leadership. The School of Social Work offers many interesting minors – Poverty Studies and Social Justice, Gerontology and Civic Interfaith Studies – and courses – Foundations of Social Justice, Human Diversity and Leadership and Aging and Mental Health. The Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) requires students to complete a two-semester-long internship in the field called a Practicum internship. Practice settings include non-sectarian and religiously affiliated agencies and organizations. Many students apply for advanced placement in the Master of Social Work (MSW) program, completing both the BSW and the MSW in just five years.

Education

Baylor’s School of Education holds partnerships with schools in the Waco area for the purpose of providing extensive teaching experiences for Baylor education majors. These schools integrate new teacher preparation, school improvement and research on teaching by focusing on the learning needs of the students in those schools. Baylor Education majors have opportunities for daily teaching experiences in a partner school. By their senior year, Baylor Education majors teach full-time during both the fall and spring semesters. Graduates from Baylor’s School of Education see an almost 100% pass rate for the Texas teaching certification test. On top of their certification in one subject area (i.e. English or Mathematics), Baylor Education majors can earn supplemental certifications in Deaf Education, English as a Second Language, Gifted & Talented, Music Education or Physical Education.

Aviation Sciences 

Baylor’s Aviation Sciences major is designed to give students the best flight training experience and make sure they’re ready to take on the challenges of being professional pilots. This program has the lowest flight instructor-to-student ratio in the country, so students are guaranteed four flight events per week and will complete each flight course in one semester. New students will be in the airplane by the first week of the semester and will have their Private Pilot’s licenses by January. 

Nursing 

Baylor’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing majors complete the first 60 hours of their degree plan in Waco. Once those 60 hours are complete, the student moves to Dallas to complete the remaining 65 hours of their degree plan. Clinicals occur in the Baylor Medical Healthcare System, where the clinical ratio of faculty to students is 8 to 1. Due to years of experience and partnership with the Baylor Medical Healthcare System, Baylor Nursing graduates are competitive in the job market. On average, Baylor’s nursing program has a 90% job placement after graduation.

Be sure to check out baylor.edu/majors to explore the full list of Baylor’s majors and minors, including Baylor’s 4+1 joint-degree programs, in which students can earn a graduate degree in just five years, rather than six or more. 

Not sure which major is the right fit? The MyMajors Assessment leads prospective students to their ideal majors.