Enjoying the outdoors is big business. The outdoor recreation industry provides 6 million jobs in the U.S. Outdoor recreation is the third largest area of consumer spending. Utah State University’s School of Applied Science, Technology and Education wants to train students to enter that industry with a proposed Bachelor of Science in Outdoor Product Design and Development.
Lindsey Shirley, a professor at Utah State, said that the program was created in response to the need to connect outdoor companies with qualified graduates.
“I had the pleasure of meeting with some industry representatives. They communicated that it takes a long time to find somebody who has the skill set that they need,” Shirley said. “There are plenty of fashion design programs across the nation or industrial design but not a program that strategically integrates all of those areas.”
The program would allow students to design outdoor recreation apparel. Shirley said that the program blends science, manufacturing, and design into one area of study.
“[In] the first two years, they’ll have clothing production principles, different clothing studies-related courses, and also chemistry, textile science, the materials and manufacturing processing systems,” she said. “Then, the junior and senior year, we’ll move into more of the studio experience where it’s integrating all of those disciplines and to the process of creating a line of apparel products.”
The Utah Board of Regents will review the proposed degree later this year.