Interdisciplinary Studies

In addition to completing the General Education requirements, the foundation of the IS major is 36 hours of coursework in the chosen disciplines, divided as follows:

• Two disciplines: no fewer than 12 credits in either discipline;
• Three disciplines: 12 credits in each discipline.
  

The major allows students to pursue two degree tracks:

• B.A. degree: requires foreign language through the intermediate level;
• B.S. degree: requires additional math and science courses (beyond what is required in the general education curriculum).

Click this link for the B.A. or B.S. two-discipline curriculum audit sheet.

Click this link for the B.A. or B.S. three-discipline curriculum audit sheet.

In the last semester of a student’s work in the major, he/she enrolls in IS 499 Interdisciplinary Studies Capstone.  The IS 499 Capstone requires the following:

• The student selects a faculty committee comprised of one faculty member from each discipline in his/her curriculum, plus the general adviser for the IS major.
• The student develops a proposal for a substantial academic project based upon an academic paper of at least 20 pages in length.
• By the time the faculty committee approves the proposal, a timeline for completion of stages of the project is worked out, which may include (depending on the methodology of the disciplines covered): (annotated) bibliography; detailed outline; literature review; drafts of the paper.
• The student submits the final draft by an agreed-upon due date, which is at least a few days prior to a scheduled presentation date, in which the student orally presents his/her work to the committee (and the campus community) and answers questions about it.
• The grade for IS 499 is determined by faculty evaluation of the paper or essay and faculty evaluation of the oral presentation and response to questions.