Apr 11, 2015 04:07 PM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) in Florida has created three new colleges and programs, adding to the more than 150 degree offerings, school officials announced.

The institution will establish a College of Allopathic Medicine (M.D. program) to complement NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O. program), a College of Engineering and Computing, and an undergraduate Farquhar Honors College.

"These additions are being made with input from students, faculty and staff for the benefit of current and prospective students and to meet the growing demand and unmet need of providing qualified physicians and engineers to the community and the nation," President and CEO George Hanbury said in a statement.  "These new programs address market needs and keep us on track with NSU's Vision 2020 to become a premier private, not-for-profit research university known for quality and distinction."

The new College of Allopathic Medicine will help meet the growing need of osteopathic (D.O.) and allopathic (M.D.) physicians nationally and regionally. It also will complement the education currently offered in NSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine along with the university's extensive offerings of health professions degree programs.

With this program, NSU will be the only university in the Southeastern United States and the first in Florida to house both an osteopathic medical school and an allopathic medical school.

The College of Engineering and Computing will combine the Ph.D. and master's degree programs formerly housed in the Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences, and bachelor's degree programs across computer science, engineering, and information sciences from the College of Arts and Sciences. The college will offer a new bachelor of science in general engineering that will begin fall 2016.

The undergraduate Farquhar Honors College will be comprised of students who meet high academic standards including those who are also part of certain highly competitive scholarship programs. Students who complete the Honors College programs will receive special acknowledgement on their diplomas and transcripts and at commencement ceremonies.

School officials said the establishment of these three programs coincides with NSU's additional growth plans, including the 2016 opening of a 215,000-square-foot Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) and the future relocation of Plantation General Hospital to NSU's main campus in Davie, Fla., by Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) East Florida. 

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