Knoxville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission has approved six new academic programs at public colleges and universities across the state, including two at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
UT will add a Bachelor of Science in bioinformatics and a Master of Science in retail, hospitality and tourism management.
Other new programs include hospitality and tourism management and disaster science at East Tennessee State University, mechatronic systems engineering at Middle Tennessee State, and a doctoral program in integrative biology at Tennessee Tech.
State officials say the new degrees are designed to meet growing workforce demands in high-need and emerging industries.
During the same meeting, the commission approved a tuition and mandatory fee increase range of up to 4-point-5 percent for the 2026–2027 academic year. Individual schools will set final rates within that range.
