Demand Trends Blog

Thank you for joining me on this 5-day exploratory of Emerging Programs. We started pretty far out there and shared programs on the cusp; now we’re wrapping up this series with Esports, a program that’s already here and now for many higher-education institutions.

Esports is driving the Video Game Industry to new heights and rapid growth. In 2019, the Video game industry was bigger than the Movies, Music, NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL industries combined. Keep reading to find out how Esports is changing the world in terms of employment, research, facilities, and programs.

I started this series on Emerging Programs with the caution that one of the programs I’m sharing may not be legal in your state. Today, at long last, you’ll find out which one: Cannabis. The legalization of Cannabis in many states has created new opportunities, and higher education is responding.

Does Cannabis fit your mission?

When you're thinking about starting programs, Cannabis is definitely one that you have to think about in terms of mission fit. For many, the moral issues will dictate their choice about the program. Legal issues may deter many others. As shown below, many states have legalized Cannabis, but it remains illegal under federal law. On the other hand, the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment prohibits federal prosecution of individuals complying with state medical cannabis laws.

Here we are in the middle of our series on Emerging Programs. Today I’ll share a program that’s truly on the cusp: unmanned autonomous vehicles (UAVs). We've heard about the possibility of unmanned, self-driving, and flying cars for years; now it’s becoming a reality. Why do higher-education institutions need to be watching this field? UAVs will both displace workers and create jobs that require new skills in designing, developing, manufacturing, maintaining, and managing fleets of UAVs.

Uber recently announced its partnership with Hyundai to launch an unmanned aerial taxi service, using electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts. The plan is to have UAV service rolled out in Los Angeles and Dallas by 2023. The self-driving cars that are already out there have a giant rack of sensors on the roof, so they haven't necessarily nailed down the aesthetics just yet. The technology is evolving every day. In the maritime industry, drones that are essentially mini-submarines are already in action conducting jobs that previously were done by divers. In the delivery space, 2020 is the year that drones are slated to become a major player.

Welcome to day two of our Posts on Emerging Programs. Today’s program is not quite as far out there on the spectrum of emerging programs as Quantum Computing. Instead, the Human Microbiome is widely present in academic research and course catalogs. It’s not yet a stand-alone program, but it already has far-reaching implications for health, science, biology, and medicine. For example, while we will focus on the human microbiome, biologists are engineering the gut biome of waxworms so they can eat plastic.

What is the human microbiome?

Back in high school, I learned that bacteria were “bad,” parasitic creatures that caused infections and disease. We were taught to wash, scrub, and sanitize to remove these nasty critters from our environment.

This week on the Gray Blog, I’ll be offering a five-day series on emerging programs. Join me here everyday and I’ll guide you through five emerging programs that we think are promising. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that some of these may not even be legal in your state and others are in their infancy (or perhaps before).

Some of the best program ideas aren't yet in the traditional data sources like IPEDs or the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We call these emerging programs because the taxonomy doesn’t include codes for these fields.

The Emerging Program Pool: What You Need to Know Before Jumping In

If you saw our recent webinar, 5 Emerging Programs for 2020, you know we have been thinking a lot about emerging programs. As a strategy consulting firm that focuses entirely on higher education, it is our duty to help our clients see what is coming. And we promise to share this crucial information here. We want you to have the latest information on the markets and margins for academic programs, so you can make the best program decisions for your school and mission.

Student demand is booming for Mental Health programs; it is growing faster than 95% of academic programs.  But, how intense is competition?  Will there be jobs and decent wages for graduates?  Could this program make sense for you?  For answers, please watch our analysis below.

Philosophy programs are under attack from all sides, but is it justified?  In this month’s webcast, Gray took a deeper dive to determine if the negative perception was justified.  What we found was somewhat surprising, students are showing interest in the program and the cost is not prohibitive.  But will students be able to find jobs when they graduate?  Watch our analysis below.

There is a lot of buzz around Biomedical Science programs and many schools have recently entered the field. In this month’s webcast, Gray decided to take a deeper dive to see if all the hype is justified. What we found was somewhat surprising...students are showing interest in the program...but will they be able to find jobs when they graduate?