Schwarzenegger Signs Bills Allowing Cal State to Offer 2 Doctorates

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California signed two bills on Tuesday authorizing the California State University system to offer doctoral degrees in nursing practice and physical therapy. The University of California has traditionally had the sole authority to offer doctorates under the state’s Master Plan for Higher Education, and in the past it has fought efforts to allow Cal State to encroach on that territory. In a further sign that tensions over the issue have cooled, however, the University of California did not oppose either bill in the Legislature. Cal State started its first doctoral programs, in education, in 2007.