RICHMOND — The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) approved William & Mary’s new School of Computing, Data Sciences, and Physics on Tuesday, the university announced.

The school brings together its applied science, computer science, data science and physics programs, it said. The school will be the sixth at W&M since its inception and the first in over 50 years. All will move into the new school in the fall of 2025.

According to William & Mary, the school aligns with its academic mission and expands the university’s ability to prepare students to thrive in a data-rich world. The university submitted the formal application to SCHEV, the state agency that governs new schools and new programs, earlier this spring.

“I appreciate SCHEV’s shared commitment to preparing broadly educated, forward-thinking citizens and professionals,” said President Katherine A. Rowe. “The jobs of tomorrow belong to those prepared to solve tomorrow’s problems. Machine learning, AI, computational modeling — these are essential modes of critical thinking and core to a liberal arts education in the 21st century.”

While the school and its new administrative structure were officially approved Tuesday, its foundations are already in place, the university said. The school, brought to life by an extensive feedback and consultation process, will coalesce four programs currently operating within the Faculty of Arts & Sciences. 

William & Mary’s Board of Visitors unanimously approved the new administrative structure in November of last year.

To be housed in the heart of campus with the completion of phase four of the Integrated Sciences Center in fall 2025, William & Mary said “the school will be a space where graduate and undergraduate students excel in a combination of disciplines and where research opportunities will be expanded, continuing to attract world-class faculty and external investments.”

“Innovation has been part of William & Mary since its inception, and this school will serve as the catalyst for countless new discoveries, partnerships and synergies,” said Provost Peggy Agouris. “The School of Computing, Data Sciences, and Physics is launching at a pivotal time within these dynamic fields, and I’m incredibly proud to continue our journey of interdisciplinary growth and excellence across our undergraduate and graduate program offerings. I am grateful to SCHEV Council members for their belief in our vision and to all involved who made this a reality.”

In establishing a standalone school, William & Mary will grant more visibility and autonomy to these high-performing academic areas; it will also provide a single point of contact for external collaboration, it said, adding the school will strengthen existing partnerships — for example, with the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News — while facilitating cooperation with external parties promoting scientific and technological advancement.

The four academic areas in the new school are already experiencing strong growth in external investment (over $9 million in 2023) and student numbers, it explained. Master’s students from the new school’s constituent areas represented one-third of all Arts & Sciences master’s students, with this proportion rising to almost two-thirds when considering doctoral programs.

In the new structure, high-impact research in data-intensive fields will further converge with academic and professional career preparedness, meeting increased student and employer demand while achieving goals from the university’s Vision 2026 strategic plan, according to the university. 

Undergraduate candidates will not apply to the school directly. W&M second-year students in good standing will be able to enter the school as long as they meet criteria established by the school and the major, and will continue to have the opportunity to double major or minor in areas offered by other W&M programs, it said. Interdisciplinary collaborations between the school and the rest of the university will be expanded, combining “cutting-edge innovation with William & Mary’s distinctive strengths in the liberal arts and sciences.”

“We do our best work when we do it together,” Agouris said. “Aligning our computer science, data science, applied science and physics programs under one school will deepen the university’s impact on fields that are rapidly changing and increasingly important. Our students come here wanting to understand and change the world. Now more than ever, they will leave better equipped to do just that.”

A national search for the dean of computing, data sciences, and physics is underway, the university said.