Interdisciplinary Studies

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Purpose and Focus

The College of Liberal Arts offers a number of interdisciplinary programs that enable students to take courses in several departments and colleges on campus. Students combine their course work in exciting and innovative ways beyond the existing Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees in order to meet their career goals and to reflect their personal interests. There are Interdisciplinary B.A. degree programs in the following fields: Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistic Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies, and Social Science Studies.

Degree Objectives/Learning Outcomes

Asian Studies:

The Asian Studies program focuses on the distinctive cultural, political, linguistic, literary, artistic, and historical aspects of Asian and Asian-American life. Students are trained in diverse areas of Asian civilization, especially the traditions and contemporary societies of China, India, Japan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, the Philippines, and other Asian countries. The degree prepares students for careers in government and teaching, as well as in areas of international business, consulting, and media.

Latin American Studies:

Latin American Studies is a multidisciplinary major that covers the important region of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. Participating faculty specialize in political economy, border studies, anthropological approaches, and exile studies as well as Latin American history, literature, and film. Course work in the program offers students an opportunity to acquire a comprehensive knowledge of the history, politics, economics, culture, and literature of Latin American and the Caribbean. Graduates from the program receive theoretical and practical training to pursue careers in multinational companies that operate in Latin America. Latin American Studies majors are also well suited to work in the federal government, in various international organizations (such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and other organizations), or to teach in primary and secondary schools.

Linguistic Studies:

The degree in Linguistic Studies is an integrated study of human language and communication. Focus is placed on the structure of languages, their development in the past, differences between their dialects, as well as the distribution of language families and linguistic types throughout the world. The Linguistic Studies degree offers its students a strong skill set in critical and analytical thinking as well as a basis for future careers in language and linguistics pedagogy, translation, and speech technology. The degree also prepares students for further study in graduate school at the doctoral level in a number of fields (e.g., anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, literature, law, and library science).

Multidisciplinary Studies:

The degree program in Multidisciplinary Studies is designed for the student who has clear interests and objectives that overlap colleges and/or departments, and whose objectives cannot reasonably be met through existing majors and minors. The program offers students the opportunity to focus and harness their energies by providing plans of study tailored to their individual interests through the incorporation of courses or sets of courses offered in departments and colleges across campus. As such, the program emphasizes flexibility and combines specialized knowledge from individual disciplines as a means of approaching and analyzing problems from divergent and multidisciplinary perspectives. Students participate in a capstone during their final semester, demonstrating the incorporation of their areas of study into a project, presentation, and paper.

Social Science Studies:

Students who major in Social Science Studies will understand how various social science disciplines structure and advance knowledge, raise and answer analytical questions, and deal with competing theories within specific fields. Emphasis is placed on developing critical awareness of the different methodologies applied to questions about society, social interaction, and human subjectivity. Students work closely with their advisers to plan a program that satisfies the required competencies in a chosen area of focus and in the social science disciplines. Students participate in a capstone during their final semester, demonstrating the incorporation of their chosen disciplines into a project, presentation, and paper.
 

For degrees in Classical Studies, see Department of Foreign Languages.

Accreditation

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Undergraduate Major

Interdisciplinary Studies (120 credits)

Degree Programs

Asian Studies
Latin American Studies
Linguistic Studies
Multidisciplinary Studies
Social Science Studies

Advisement

Advising is provided by the Wilson Advising Center and by each Program Chair of the Interdisciplinary Degree Programs (Asian studies, Latin American Studies, Linguistic Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies, and Social Science Studies).

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