Interdisciplinary Studies
Mission Statement
The mission of the Interdisciplinary Studies program is to provide a value-centered education focused on understanding oneself, one's society, one's culture, and the increasingly multi-cultured nature of one's world, whereby the student will be helped to find vision and purpose in life, regardless of vocation, for contribution to and integration into her or his world.
The Interdisciplinary Studies program is a Baccalaureate degree combining a General Education core, a particular academic focus that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries, and electives to total a minimum of 120 semester hours. The Interdisciplinary Studies degree is designed to provide a framework of study in which a focus can be designed by faculty across disciplines to meet the specific and dynamic demands of changing career fields.
Interdisciplinary Studies degrees are purposefully designed to allow students to pursue particular areas of interest while learning to use multiple disciplinary and academic methodologies in the exploration of existing bodies of knowledge. Students with these differing approaches will gain skills and depth of knowledge in their areas of interest.
Students may choose an Interdisciplinary Focus listed below.
INTERDISCIPLINARY EMPHASES:
Individualized Major
An individualized program of study is possible, if it is an interdisciplinary combination of courses created in collaboration between advising faculty from each discipline and approved by the Interdisciplinary Studies program director. Students interested in such a self-designed major will work with the Program Director and a committee of faculty in the disciplines to be studied. A proposal must be prepared by the student and defended before the committee for approval. See the Dean of Humanities, Education, and the Arts, or the Interdisciplinary Studies Program Director for more information.
The Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Humanities and Social Sciences is designed to provide the student an opportunity for concentration in one or more areas of interest within the humanities and social sciences with reinforcement from related disciplines. While focus and concentration is provided in a particular discipline, a broader based education is provided through connecting the humanities with social sciences. The degree is a liberal arts degree that equips the student for a variety of professional opportunities or to pursue graduate specialization in a variety of fields including law, human relations, politics, and the behavioral sciences, and religious ministry. It further provides an understanding and context for functioning effectively in the multicultural world of the 21st Century.
General Requirements for the Degree:
- A minimum of 45 hours coursework at or above 300 level; of those 45 hours, 15 hours must be at the 400 level.
- 6 hours of Philosophy (including 3 that may be taken as part of the General Education Core), and
- Senior Seminar: An important component of the Interdisciplinary Studies program is the Senior Seminar. Students must participate in a seminar course (planned for the Spring semester in the Senior year). In this seminar, the course instructor will work with students to develop post-graduate plans and to hone the skills needed for their post-baccalaureate plans, whether graduate school or career. The instructor of the course will work in coordination with the advisor of each student to design a project that synthesizes the student's interests with post-college professional or graduate study plans.
- Student must have a 2.00 GPA to qualify, and must maintain 2.00 GPA to graduate with interdisciplinary studies degree.