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A Two-Year College In L.A. Will Soon Offer Bachelor's Degrees

Community colleges have long been an educational gangplank that allows high school graduates to earn certificates and associate degrees. Students then transfer to a four-year institution to receive a bachelor's degree. It's a well-established process that's now sitting on the fringe of evolution in Los Angeles.

By 2016, Santa Monica College (SMC) says it will launch its first baccalaureate program in interaction design, a discipline that conjugates time-honored methods of creativity with behavioral science and computer technology. It's a field of study that focuses on gratifying the needs and desires of the majority of the consumer market that would use a new product. The California Community Colleges Board of Governors gave the school the go-ahead on January 20, with final approval expected in March.

In L.A. the average annual salary for an interaction designer is already grasping six figures, with top specialists earning $126,000 per year, according to current data. It is a coveted vocation that has shown unfaltering growth in recent years.

In response to an eye-opening demand for adept workers in the essential spheres of health, science and technology, Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2014 a bill that allows a total of 15 community colleges statewide to start offering bachelor's degrees, as long as the sheepskin is unique – meaning no public school within the state's system of higher learning can issue the same degree.

SMC sits in prime position to initiate such an industrious undertaking. It's located in Silicon Beach, home to more than 500 technology-based companies, including Google, YouTube and AOL.

"This is an extension of our efforts to create pathways for our students to exciting careers that will pay them well," stated Dr. Jennifer Merlic, SMC's dean of instruction."

Art Center College of Design and California College of the Arts are the only schools in the state that offer a bachelor's degree in interaction design; both private programs run a tab of about $40,000 annually. As early as next year, students will be able to start earning bachelor's degrees in this high-tech field at a cost of around $10,000 for the entire curriculum.

Sharon Raiford Bush is an award-winning journalist who covers topics of social interest in greater Los Angeles. Some news articles she has authored have been archived by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Sharon also contributes to Examiner.com.

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