Interdisciplinary Majors Under Faculty Guidance

Interdisciplinary Bachelor’s Majors Degree with Individual Concentration (BDIC)

Degrees: Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of Science

Contact: Prof. José Ornelas, Director; Linda Roney, Coordinator Office: 608 Goodell Phone: 545-2504

Faculty Supervisors: Alexandrina Deschamps (Women’s Studies), Henry Geddes (Commu- nication), Gino Sorcinelli (Accounting), Paula Stamps (Public Health), Nikki Stoia (Music).

The Major

BDIC is a degree-granting program that offers motivated and self-directed students the opportunity to design their own interdisciplinary majors under faculty guidance. The Program allows students to pursue their educational goals in areas not available within an existing depart- mental curriculum or traditional major on the campus. Each student’s program of study (the “concentration”) is developed with the advice and approval of a faculty sponsor (chosen by the student) and a BDIC faculty supervisor. Students confer with these faculty members on a regular basis as they progress through and continue to develop their programs. BDIC concentrations are interdisciplinary, drawing upon at least two departments, and integrating approaches and knowledge from at least two disciplines. In planning their concentrations, students are encouraged not only to select courses from two or more departments or schools within the University, but also to draw upon the resources of the Five College consor- tium. BDIC majors frequently undertake independent study or field experience learning; study abroad is encouraged where relevant. Each concentration is developed to span four semesters (usually the junior and senior years). BDIC majors earn either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree. (For the B.S., 60 credits are required in courses from the sciences and mathematics.) The student’s tran- script records the area of concentration. Be- cause of the individualized nature of each student’s program of study, BDIC has almost as many concentrations as it has students in the major. To guide and assist this diverse group,

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BDIC has a staff of five faculty supervisors and satisfies the University’s Junior Year Writing Writing about American Society additional experienced faculty and staff, in- requirement for BDIC majors. Students who Creative Writing cluding many BDIC peer advisers. Each student have completed the Junior Year Writing re- Theatre and Social Change is assigned to one of five academic clusters quirement of another major are exempted from Human Ecology within BDIC: Arts and Cultural Studies; Busi- this requirement. ness and Law; Communication; Education and Business and Law 5. A six-page Senior Summary and a one-page Organizational Behavior Human Development; and Health, Natural Sci- Abstract at the completion of the major. ences, Computer Science and Engineering. Entrepreneurial Studies 6. Completion of the foreign language require- Computer Applications in Finance and Eco- Admission to the Program ment if six or more courses in the student’s nomics The BDIC major is a program of at least four concentration are in departments in the Arts Global Economics and Finance semesters, planned and approved in advance. A and Sciences (Colleges of Humanities and Fine Economics and Investments minimum of 30 degree credits, with an overall Arts, Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Investment Psychology grade point average of at least 2.0, is required Social and Behavioral Sciences). For guide- Sales Strategies and Social Behavior for admission. Students may initiate the admis- lines on fulfilling the foreign language require- Human Resource Management sion process as early as the second semester of ment, see the Arts and Sciences section of this Labor-Management Relations their freshman year, if they will have met this Catalog. Land and Environmental Resource Management minimum by the end of the semester. Incoming Construction Management transfer students with 30 or more transfer cred- Economics and Legal Studies its may begin the admissions process as soon as Career Opportunities Law in Society they receive formal acceptance from the Uni- Southeast Asian Cultures and Commerce versity. It is strongly recommended that stu- Graduates of the program have been very suc- International Trade and Foreign Policy dents apply before their junior year. Later ap- cessful in the employment sector and in gradu- International Development and Finance ate or professional school. Past surveys of plication, especially after the first semester of Communication alumni have shown that 80% of those respond- the junior year, may result in the need for Screenwriting ing were either in careers or graduate school (or additional semesters or summer sessions at the Critical Film Studies both) related to their individual concentrations. University. Film and Twentieth Century American Culture This success stems from the high level of mo- The first step in the application process is to Documentary Filmmaking/Native American tivation and capacity for self-direction charac- meet with a peer adviser, who will familiarize Studies teristic of students who design their own major, the student with BDIC and with the Program’s Filmmaking: Directing for Cinema as well as the specificity of their academic requirements, and will discuss academic and Political Communication preparation for a given career and/or graduate career interests. In order to be accepted into the Instructional Media program of study. BDIC major, students must enroll in BDIC Consumer Psychology in Communication 396P, a one-credit independent study proposal Communication Arts and Film Technology writing course. During this course, students Photojournalism work with the proposal class instructor and a Recent BDIC Social Perspectives through Journalism peer adviser in order to complete a proposal Concentrations Public Relations in Sports Industries outlining their concentration. Final acceptance Creative Writing and Advertising into BDIC comes with the completion of BDIC The following list is drawn from the titles of Psychology and Advertising 396P at which time a BDIC faculty supervisor programs designed by recent BDIC students. Multimedia Technology in Advertising approves each student’s proposal. This provides only a sample of representative Intercultural Communication concentrations and is not meant to limit the Archaeological Tourism Major Requirements possibilities for any potential majors: Education and Human Development 1. Completion of BDIC 396P during which a Adolescent Development and Education proposal is completed. Arts and Cultural Studies Asian Studies Educational Media 2. Completion of at least 12 interrelated upper- International Relations Language and Speech Development division courses (numbered 300 or above) in Japan and the European Community Educational Reform for a Multicultural Society the area of concentration, not including BDIC Modern European Cultural History Public Policy and Human Services 396P or 496C. Each course must be passed with Third World Development The Therapeutic Application of Dance Edu- a minimum grade of C. Courses must be drawn American Studies cation from two or more departments each semester, History and Racism Criminal Psychology and must be at least three credits each. A Sociolinguistics Health Education Counseling maximum of nine practicum credits (earned in Philosophy and Literature Women’s Health Issues and Eating Disorders field experience and internships) may be ap- Cultural Studies through Literature and Politics Gerontology and Social Welfare plied to the major. Arts Administration Pre-Art Therapy 3. A six-page Mid-Program Report halfway Architecture and Culture Culture, Society and Personality through the BDIC program. Comparative Religion and Holocaust Studies Health and Fitness Management 4. Completion of BDIC 496C, Junior Year Buddhist Philosophy through Art Arts for the Handicapped Writing in Interdisciplinary Studies course. This Biblical Archaeology Writing Children’s Literature

304 Continuing Education Continuing Education

Health, Natural, and Computer Sciences/ Degree: Bachelor of General Studies winter sessions. Three graduate degree pro- Engineering grams are also offered online. The accelerated Human Physiology and Psychology Contact: Information Desk M.B.A. program is designed for professionals Neuroscience Office: 358 N. Pleasant St. who want to continue their education in the Bio-Ethics and Medical Sociology Phone: 545-2414 management field. The Master of Science (Nurs- Exercise Physiology and Nutrition E-mail: [email protected] ing) in Community/School Health prepares ad- Nutrition and the Developing World Website: www.umass.edu/contined vanced-practice nurses as expert clinicians in Public Health Policy the care of children, adolescents, and their Holistic Health For over 25 years, the Division of Continuing families in diverse community and school health Environmental Health and Science Education, a University Outreach unit, has pro- settings. The Master of Public Health provides Political Economy of Natural Resources vided access to the academic resources of the graduate education for practicing professionals Primate Conservation University to those people of the Common- with relevant public health-related experience. Environmental Chemistry and Anthropology wealth who are not full-time degree students, to Online courses are developed and taught by Ecological Economics local and national business firms throughout resident University faculty and meet the same Human Factors Engineering the state, and to the general community. An academic requirements as traditional on-cam- Computer Science/Linguistics administrative arm of Academic Affairs, the pus courses. Computer Graphics Division works closely with the various aca- Educational Computer Animation demic units in planning and offering credit and Systems Software Engineering noncredit programs to meet the needs of non- Degree Programs Building Construction Technique and Design traditional students. Theory Continuing Education meets the educational The Bachelor of General Studies (B.G.S.) is a Scientific Journalism needs of more than 15,000 people each year University of Massachusetts degree available Land Use Planning and Policy with a variety of programs that include evening to part-time students through the Division of credit courses during the fall and spring semes- Continuing Education. The B.G.S. is flexible ters; University summer and winter sessions and responsive to special needs that cannot be The Courses courses; access to specialized on-campus and met in traditional full-time day programs. It is off-campus undergraduate and graduate degree specifically designed for people whose other 396A Independent Study, 1-12 cr programs; professional development programs responsibilities—family, work, or other life 396B Independent Study, 1-12 cr and workshops; certificate programs; indepen- circumstances—make full-time work toward a dent study courses and internships; specialized degree difficult. The program of study is built 396P Independent Study—Proposal, 1 cr courses designed to meet specific needs; non- around individual goals and interests. Every 496A Independent Study, 1-12 cr credit workshops in the areas of English as a B.G.S. student receives personalized academic 496B Independent Study, 1-12 cr Second Language, personal enrichment, career advising. and personal development, and recreation; and The B.G.S. with Individual Concentration 496C Junior Year Writing in Interdiscipli- online courses. The Performing Arts Division allows students to design a program of study nary Studies, 3 cr (PAD) provides music, theater, and dance in- combining courses in two or more academic struction to students of all ages and all levels of departments. Students work with an academic ability. PAD offers private and group instruc- adviser and a faculty sponsor in one of the tion and recital experience to students on cam- relevant departments to plan an academically pus and people in the community who do not sound concentration directed toward specific otherwise have the opportunity to study with career goals or areas of interest. resident faculty. Possible concentrations are almost unlim- Any person who has graduated from high ited. Past concentrations have included such school or has a certificate of General Educa- areas as environmental waste management, arts tional Development (G.E.D.) may enroll in un- administration, pre-law, human services ad- dergraduate courses through the Division. Ad- ministration, and horticultural therapy. The mission to a degree program (matriculation) B.G.S. degree has been used advantageously follows general University admissions guide- by three different groups of Continuing Educa- lines. tion students: 1) those who would like to orient their degree more specifically toward a career area that demands interdisciplinary study; 2) Online Courses and those who are already established in a career but would like the benefits of a general liberal Degree Programs arts degree; and 3) those who are looking for a specific match of disciplines not easily obtain- Undergraduate- and graduate-level courses are able in a traditional single academic major. offered online at the University’s virtual cam- Academic advisers are available to help stu- pus, accessed at www.UMAmherstOnline.org. dents with degree programs or courses related Approximately twenty courses are offered to their life and career objectives. each semester, as well as during summer and

305 University Without Walls University Without Walls

In collaboration with academic departments, Montague House The Courses the Division provides course access for sev- eral University degree programs: two special- Degrees: Bachelor of Arts (All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise ized programs leading to the B.S. in Nursing Bachelor of Science noted.) (one for R.N.s without a B.S.N., and one for individuals who have a baccalaureate degree Contact: Gary Bernhard, Director 191A Perspectives on Learning (both sem) in a field other than Nursing); the part-time, Office: Montague House off-campus professional M.B.A. offered by Phone: 545-0844, 545-1378 An introduction to higher education for the Isenberg School of Mangement; the M.S. in Web site: www.umass.edu/uww adult learners. Focus on development of Labor Studies offered by the Labor Relations E-mail: [email protected] intellectual skills (critical reading, effec- and Research Center; the M.Mus. in Music tive writing, efficient organization, and Education offered by the Department of Music Academic Staff: Abel, Bernhard, Bracey, critical thinking); the methodologies com- and Dance; the Soil Science Certificate and Dowling, Golding, Hendra, Koski, Medina. mon in the academy. The relationships the M.S. in Plant and Soil Sciences, and the Administrative Staff: Brinkerhoff, Fusek. between academic and experiential learn- M.P.H. in Epidemiology, offered at the ing and the larger social context of higher University of Massachusetts Medical School Founded in 1971, the University Without Walls education. in Worcester as part of the degree program of (UWW) is the University of Massachusetts’ 193A Introduction to the Biological the School of Public Health and Health Sci- adult degree program. Serving students in most Sciences (BS) (1st sem) ences. fields available at the University, UWW offers Key ideas of modern biology for a general The Division also provides access to the individualized degrees which may be similar student audience. Basic concepts such as School of Education’s postbaccalaureate to majors offered by other departments or may cell structure, molecular genetics, and teacher certification program. In collaboration be interdisciplinary in nature. UWW students evolution, and recent developments in ge- with the University of Rhode Island, the Divi- earn a B.A. or B.S. degree depending on the netic engineering and biotechnology. Pri- sion provides some course access and adminis- program they design. They must meet all mary focus on achievement of scientific trative support on the Amherst campus for a University requirements for bachelor’s de- literacy through understanding of basic program leading to an M.S. in Library and grees including completion of 120 credits with scientific information. Social implications Information Studies at the University of Rhode 45 credits in residency and all General Educa- also discussed. Island. tion requirements. Many of these requirements Ongoing Division programs include the can be satisfied through transfer credit. 196Y Independent Study—Degree Arts Extension Service, which helps develop The UWW curriculum puts strong emphasis Development (both sem) 2 cr self-sufficient community-based arts pro- on the development of communication skills, grams and provides services and training for Students work in groups and individually critical reading, and critical thinking. It also to master the skills of individual degree individual students, artists, and artist groups. encourages students to explore the relationship The University’s Family Business Center as- development. Extensive writing and re- between practical experience and academic writing, library research, formal interview- sists family-owned companies in recognizing learning, and to strike a balance between the their common problems and in finding solu- ing of faculty experts and practitioners. two. As part of our commitment to the role that Students document their exploration of tions to the unique challenges confronting them. work and other experience can play in educa- The center offers members an educational, in- their field and produce a coherent, well- tion, most students develop a credit-bearing developed degree proposal. teractive learning environment, including pre- portfolio describing and analyzing the learning sentations by experts from the fields of psy- they have gained through experience. 240 Introduction to Ecology (BS) chology, management training and develop- Most students in UWW are working adults (2nd sem) ment, law, accounting, financial and estate plan- with family and community responsibilities Principles of modern ecology for a gen- ning, and banking. which make obtaining a bachelor’s degree eral student audience. How natural com- through a conventional route difficult or im- munities work. Topics include popula- possible. For this reason, UWW offers compre- tions, community structure, major biomes hensive and supportive advising from the time (e.g., deserts, grasslands, forests, and rain students matriculate. Our students come from forests), prospects for conservation. Read- an unusually wide range of cultural and ethnic ings, films, and field trips. backgrounds, and this diversity is valued in UWW. The program serves students through- 370 Writing About Experience (both sem) out the Commonwealth, although the majority Students analyze in writing those experi- come from Central and Western Massachusetts ences which have changed the way they including the Greater Springfield area. Courses understand and solve problems. Frequent are often provided at off-campus locations, and assignments, the revision process, and peer UWW has also developed a low-residency, editing help students organize and focus distance-learning option for its three core their writings. Satisfies Junior Year Writ- courses. ing requirement.

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