Interdisciplinary Degree Programs

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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: Afro-American Studies, Asian Studies, Latin American Studies, Multidisciplinary Studies, Social Science Studies and Women’s Studies.

Degree Objectives/Learning Outcomes

Afro-American Studies:

The Afro-American Studies Program is offered under the auspices of the Interdisciplinary Studies unit of the College of Liberal Arts. Students may major or minor in Afro-American Studies. The program in Afro-American Studies is designed to provide students with the critical tools required, and to expose them to the historical knowledge and current research necessary, for an informed understanding of the Afro-American experience today. The program is built around a core of courses that systematically document critical aspects of the Afro-American experience from its antecedents in antiquity to the prominent issues of the present day. Engaging both past and contemporary aspects of this experience provides students access to materials and events that have historically not been given adequate treatment, and allows students to contextualize current issues relating to Afro-Americans in an academically critical way. The program is also designed to effectively prepare students who desire to continue on to graduate work in Afro-American Studies.

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.

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.

Women’s Studies:

Women’s Studies provides students with interdisciplinary approaches and methodologies for studying gender relations, i.e. how gender, in intersection with other substantive categories of analysis and identity, such as race, class, sexuality, ethnicity, physical ability, nationality, shapes the material conditions of peoples’ lives all over the world. Our classrooms are interactive learning environments that value diversity and multiple perspectives. Our students learn new ways of viewing the world, develop tools for critical thinking, and are empowered to make a difference in the world. Our curriculum provides students with the skills to undertake cutting-edge research on contemporary issues through our core sequence of upper-division courses on theory, research methodologies, and praxis. Students interested in learning more about gender issues in conjunction with other interests find that it is easy to combine our curriculum with other majors, minors and fields of study. In addition, internship and leadership opportunities, combined with individualized advising from core faculty, allows students to pursue career goals while undertaking their course of study. Women’s Studies equips students to enter a range of careers in today’s diverse and multicultural workplaces. Students can pursue further study to become researchers and scholars either within the growing field of Women’s/Gender Studies or in a wide range of academic fields in the humanities and social sciences where knowledge of contemporary gender analysis provides an advantage. Women’s Studies is also excellent preparation for careers in such fields as law, education, counseling, social and community work, government, nursing, social justice work, business, public relations, advertising, journalism, and many other fields.
 

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

Afro-American Studies
Asian Studies
Latin American Studies
Multidisciplinary Studies
Social Science Studies
Women’s  Studies

Advisement

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

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