MSU just created the nation's FIRST Athlete Engineering Institute. Ole Miss is spinning off Criminal Justice into its own MS program. Thoughts?

[OleMisser]

Okay, I need input from upperclassmen and alums.

IHL just reviewed two wildly different new degree proposals from our flagship universities .

1. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Athlete Engineering Institute

This is not a joke. It's the first institute in the country focused on blending:

• Human factors / human performance
• Wearable technology creation & validation
• Sports and data science
• Entrepreneurship
• Four "athlete personas": sports, industrial, tactical, and at-risk .

Started as one lab. Now it's a whole institute. They're hiring researchers. They're partnering with athletic sponsors.

Question: Is this legit? Could an "Athlete Engineering" degree actually get you a job with Nike, WHOOP, or a pro sports team? Or is this just MSU using football to sell a major?

2. MISSISSIPPI STATE (also): Bachelor of Applied Science in Public Management and Business Office Technology.

These are basically pathways for community college transfers and working adults. BLS says city managers make $60k+ and the field is growing 4% . Seems practical.

3. OLE MISS: Master of Science in Criminal Justice (standalone).

Right now, CJ at Ole Miss is an "emphasis" under another degree. They want to spin it off into a research-heavy MS that trains data analysts, policymakers, and PhD-track students—not just cops and parole officers .

Also: Ole Miss wants to create a whole new Department of Public Health (currently buried in Exercise Science) .

So here's my question to the forum:

Are these "niche" degrees smart moves to stay relevant? Or are universities just inventing expensive programs to justify tuition hikes?

If you're in a specialized program (not generic "Business Admin" or "Psychology"), do you feel like it helped you get a job? Or do employers just see the university name and not care about the major?

Specifically—any current MSU students in the Athlete Engineering pipeline? What is it actually like?

 

[Jeremy]

You asked if "Athlete Engineering" could get you a job with Nike or a pro sports team. Let me give you some context from broader employment trends.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2026 salary survey shows that employers are clustering around degrees that signal "quantitative rigor, operational fluency, and systems-level thinking" . Mechanical engineering is tied for the most in-demand degree at 61.3% of firms hiring in that field .

Athlete Engineering sits at the intersection of mechanical engineering (wearable tech), data science (performance analytics), and human factors psychology. That's the kind of interdisciplinary combination that can actually give you an edge. Research on interdisciplinary studies shows that graduates with broad, integrative skill sets can have 15% higher earning potential over general studies peers .

The risk with any specialized program is whether it has real industry connections. The fact that MSU's institute started as a lab and grew through partnerships suggests it does. If they're placing graduates with companies like WHOOP or sports teams, that's validation. If not, it's just a fancy name. You'd need to ask current students about placement rates.