Before I get into my rant about Osteopaths, I would agree with Engineering. There are Engineering degrees UM could offer that MSU and Tech don't.
UM wouldn't want to even try to compete with MSU's Mechanical or Computer Engineering Degrees. Those are both nationally ranked programs. That would be a waste of resources.
Tech has three of the best engineering programs in the nation in Petroleum& Mining Engineering, they are top ten in the nation in Electrical Engineering and one of thirteen Geological Engineering programs in the entire nation.
Between MSU and Montana Tech, both schools pretty much cover the Engineering gambit, but there are areas of engineering that UM could definitely specialize in.
- Aerospace Engineering (I think UM should capitalize on this one).
- Industrial Engineering
- Biomedical Engineering (with the School of Pharmacy, Physical Therapy, and all of the specialized medical facilities in Missoula it would make sense)
- Environmental Engineering (makes sense with the School of forestry)
- Nuclear Engineering (neither MSU or MTech offer this and they don't need a nuclear reactor to study the discipline)
I agree with you on a Dental School as well, and I am very much a proponent of Engineering.
Now my rant.
Doctors of Osteopathy = Quacks, snake oil salesmen. I understand they take the same boards as M.D.s, but one is science and the other is new age crystals, skull massage, and magnets. I have more faith in WebMD than I do Osteopaths.
My mom is seeing an osteopath. This quack has her doing cranial sacral therapy, massages, infrared light therapy and no joke, MAGNETS, and meditation to treat her blind eye. She actually believes that garbage is going to restore her eyesight along with praying 8 times a day, because apparently 8 is some significant thing in the bible. Meanwhile, instead of listening to an ACTUAL doctor, having the eye removed, which would allow her brain to adjust, and strengthen her good eye she is throwing money at this voodoo priest.
I have more use for attorneys, but I put Osteopaths and Journalists on the same level of usefulness. Bring the hate...