U. of Texas Launches Undergraduate Philanthropy Program

Pointing to the national shortage of trained fundraisers, the University of Texas plans in the next year to open the country’s second undergraduate degree program in philanthropy.

The system’s board of regents earlier this month approved the development of a curriculum and other first steps, with plans to open this fall or in the spring semester of 2017. In the next few months, university leaders hope to settle budget and enrollment issues and decide which of the system’s undergraduate campuses will house the program, according to Randa Safady, the system’s vice chancellor for external relations. State officials also must approve the addition to the university’s degree-granting programs.

Ms. Safady said the university aims to build a comprehensive program that will include courses on planned giving, major-gift fundraising, annual giving, marketing, and predictive analytics, among other development operations. The curriculum will also include internships with small and large nonprofits as well as studies of broader issues such as the history and culture of philanthropy and the role of religion in giving.

Ms. Safady pitched the program to what she described as an enthusiastic and committed board. She noted strong student interest in fundraising; more than 210 students have applied for recently launched internships in the system’s development offices.

“This generation is into volunteerism and service work,” she said. “They feel very strongly about causes. It’s a generation that’s really cultivated for the profession.”

The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University opened the first undergraduate degree program in philanthropic studies in 2010 and graduated its first students in 2012.

Though nonprofit-management programs are common, Indiana’s program was notable for its focus on fundraising and a broad study of philanthropy’s history and culture. It has grown from an initial enrollment of five students to about 65. Its graduates have all found jobs in the nonprofit world within 90 days of graduation, many working on the program or fundraising side, said Amir Pasic, the school’s dean.

“If they’re going into fundraising, some of them have jobs six months before they graduate,” he added.

Lois Lindauer, a development-executive recruiter, applauded the University of Texas’s move. Ms. Lindauer leads Philanthropy 2030, a group of national nonprofit leaders working to raise the visibility of fundraising as a career choice.

“It’s wonderful that they’re doing this,” she said. “And it’s bound to be a great source of revenue for the university.”