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CORVALLIS, Ore. - The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved three new graduate academic programs for 2016.

The new programs will establish a master of arts degree in environmental arts and humanities, a Ph.D. and master of science degree in psychology, and a professional master's degree in athletic training at Oregon State.

The programs must be reviewed by the provosts' council, made up of representatives from Oregon's public universities, and approved by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities before becoming official.

The program in environmental arts and humanities is designed to provide students with the cultural, moral, historical, spiritual, creative and communication dimensions of environmental issues. Supported primarily by the colleges of Liberal Arts, Science, Forestry and Agricultural Sciences, as well as the Graduate School, the program will prepare students to work with environmental organizations, government agencies, corporations and "green businesses" and other environmental positions.

The Ph.D. and master's program in psychology, offered by the School of Psychological Science at OSU, will focus on training doctoral students, who may obtain the master's degree as part of the process. As psychology is considered a "hub science," the program will focus on the psychological methods and research necessary to solve practical problems in the public and private sectors, as well as other disciplines.

The professional athletic training master's degree, offered through the College of Public Health and Human Sciences, will replace the widely recognized undergraduate program and degree offered since 1973-74. The new professional master's degree will better prepare students for the increasingly complex profession, and help them provide sports medicine patient care to teams from the high school through professional levels, as well as in hospitals, clinics, physical therapy practices and elsewhere.