Two content areas, one degree!
Students in our Integrated Studies Department understand the ideas expressed in Goethe’s classic German poem. Like the ginkgo leaf, they pursue a degree that is both one and double.
Students with a major in Integrated Studies complete two minors (music and business management, psychology and religious studies, art history and event planning, etc.) and complete an Integrated Studies core that includes courses focusing on interdisciplinary research, analysis, and writing. The highlight of the degree is a two-semester capstone sequence in which students research and complete an interdisciplinary senior thesis or project. Our major generally attracts creative, self-motivated students who are loath to leave behind multiple areas of expertise and interest to focus exclusively on a single discipline.
The quality of our theses and projects is a direct outcome of our interdisciplinary curriculum and our project-based, experiential pedagogy. The projects and theses have proven especially useful for graduates applying for jobs or seeking to enter graduate or professional programs.
An internship course available to students gives credit for work related to a given program of study. This enhances our job-ready interdisciplinary program in which students graduate with a degree strongly focused on a specific post-graduation goal, giving them 1-2 years of experience in the workplace.
Integrated Studies courses are designed to create discussion and problem solving across discipline areas. The IS 2000 Knowledge Integrated course introduces this concept of bringing multiple disciplines to help solve complex problems. The IS 300R and IS 350R are seminar style, discussion based, reading and writing intensive courses that explore a single topic from multiple disciplines.
Finally, the IS 4980 course gives you the opportunity to develop a proposal for your own interdisciplinary thesis paper or project, one that is informed by your two minor areas of study. You will complete your thesis in IS 4990.