The new Sustainability Living Learning Community joins three others: World Languages & Culture, Honors, and BizDogs (business and economics). Students who share similar interests, academic goals, and personal direction around sustainability initiatives will have the opportunity to learn from faculty leaders Karen Gran (rivers, geology) and Anne Kruchten (biology, climate change). This community will help students pull together the things they are learning in and outside of class. This group will begin by taking classes together such as Environment and Sustainability, Geology & Earth Systems, and participating in activities including monthly outings to Duluth area activities and on campus events. 

The Bachelor of Business Administration in Risk Management and Insurance (RMI) will combine core finance and risk management principles with specialized knowledge of the insurance industry. This new program in the Labovitz School of Business and Economics will allow students to meet the growing demand for insurance management positions and hit the ground running. The major will cover key elements of risk management as well as focus on the advanced skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the field of insurance.

There is a new Project Management Undergraduate Certificate in the Civil Engineering Program in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering. Associate Professor Xingzhou Guo, who teaches Project Management on the UMD campus, will also be working collaboratively with the Iron Range Graduate Engineering program in developing that Project Management Certificate program.