Biotechnology Industry Gets a Boost from Community College Degrees
A university isn’t the only place to start a career in biotechnology—community colleges are stepping up to respond workforce needs through new bachelor’s degrees programs. Research supported by Joyce Foundation and Ascendium Education Group at the think-tank New America found that 25 U.S. states allow community colleges to offer bachelor’s degrees, a departure from their historical roots offering associate degrees that lead to transfer to a four-year university where students would complete a bachelor’s degree. This development is helping community colleges meet the biotechnology industry’s manufacturing needs in a subfield called biomanufacturing.
Most community college baccalaureates are offered in traditional fields such as business, education, and healthcare, but MiraCosta College in San Diego has launched the nation’s very first community college biomanufacturing bachelor’s degree to meet the workforce needs of Fortune 500 biotechnology giants like Pfizer, Abbott Laboratories, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.
