08:44 AM CST on Saturday, February 4, 2006

Any college town is blessed in all the ways that come with a happy marriage of town and gown: the rich atmosphere of academic pursuit, the lively presence of youth and the heady mix of political and social diversity. Denton, of course, is doubly blessed. Texas Woman’s University and the University of North Texas have long been an integral part of the city’s social, educational and economic life.

Now we have even more to feel good about. The two schools have just reached an agreement to offer a joint dual degree in mathematics and engineering.

UNT and TWU have offered several joint programs before, but this is believed to be the first time the two schools have hooked up to offer an undergraduate dual-degree program.

Here’s how the five-year program will work: Students will attend the first two years at TWU, take courses on both campuses during their third year and spend the last two years at UNT, taking a heavy dose of courses from the UNT College of Engineering.

At the end of the five years, graduates will receive two bachelor’s degrees: one in math from TWU and one in electrical engineering from UNT.

This gives TWU students an option they haven’t had heretofore, and it gives UNT a chance to attract more women and minority engineering students.

In addition, UNT has received a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation that will enable it to offer some scholarships for the program.

If we weren’t afraid of wearing out the “w” key on our computer, we’d call this a win-win-win-win situation.

First, the students win by receiving the educational, social and cultural benefits of attending two excellent but different universities, and by getting a chance to earn two very marketable degrees in five years. Both universities win by making both campuses more attractive to new students. The math and engineering disciplines win by obtaining a wider and deeper pool from which to draw the skilled people they will have to have in the years to come.

And the people of Denton win simply by being a town where two vibrant and growing universities continue to expand their services and enrich the lives of their students.

We note as a sidelight that both TWU and UNT recently chalked up record spring enrollments, and the news of this exciting new joint venture bodes well for a series of such happy reports.

Denton’s future is irrevocably tied to its two universities, and if this latest announcement is any indication, the future looks good for us all.