A $13-million gift of William Gates III to the University of Washington has enabled establishment of the country's first department in molecular biotechnology, a combination of medicine and molecular biology to be practiced by researchers versed in a variety of fields, including computer science, computation, applied physics, and engineering. (MSE)

Increasingly, college undergraduates are custom designing their courses of study and creating majors that allow them to combine often eclectic interests with career goals. In many cases, students' creations have had a lasting impact through development of new academic programs. Institutional arrangements for planning, advising, and monitoring…

Although most business school deans accept criticisms emerging in a new report, they predicted it would take a decade or more to develop programs that have the recommended qualities of being truly interdisciplinary, emphasizing the global economy, and providing students with effective interpersonal skills. (MSE)