Sleep science degree to be launched with UNC-Charlotte

The world’s first bachelor’s degree in sleep studies will be launched this fall — at UNC.

Despite being in its early stages of establishment, the neurodiagnostics and sleep science degree program has already seen demand from students seeking to become managers of sleep labs. The labs study the sleep disorders.

The program is being offered by UNC-Charlotte, although 27 of the program’s 38 credit hours will be instructed by UNC-CH faculty, said Mary Wells, the program’s director.

While several associate degrees are offered in the field, there are no other sleep studies bachelor’s degrees offered in the country.

Wells said a statewide survey found that 73 percent of sleep disorder centers accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine are having difficulty recruiting people with the correct skill sets for management positions.

This shortage has led many students to try the new program in hopes of advancing their careers in the science, she said.

Most of the degree’s courses will be taught online, although students will be required to participate in an internship and a practicum. Students are expected to take two years to obtain a degree, Wells said.

Students must have at least an associate degree in order to apply. The deadline to apply for the program was July 15, and admission decisions will be announced in August, Carolyn Salanger, senior program manager for extended academic programs at UNC-C, said.

Salanger said around 50 students applied for the program, and up to 30 students will receive admission.

While a lot of students are in-state, Salanger said the program has attracted attention from students across the nation and abroad.

“We were very nervous about how many students would actually apply, but we got a tremendous amount of interest immediately,” she said.

Bradley Vaughn, the program’s medical director and a UNC-CH professor, said the program’s concept originated 10 years ago.

“North Carolina actually leads the nation in sleep technological education programs,” he said. “It is well identified in the nation that we are woefully short of sleep technologists.”

Michael Anderson, who was part of a group of students selected to take elective courses in the subject, said he’d like to become a frontrunner in the field.

“I certainly don’t want to have strong beliefs and not be able to practice those and lead in my example.”

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