Schools

School of Humanities and Social Sciences

School of Humanities and Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Minors

International Studies
The international studies minor is designed to provide students with:

(a)    awareness of international issues, challenges and opportunities,

(b)   knowledge of global similarities, differences, ways of understanding and approaches to policymaking,

(c)    opportunities for cross-disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary approaches to academic study, and

(d)   experience with cultures outside the United States.

This 15 credit minor is easy to combine with a variety of campus majors and plans of study and allows students to explore in-depth areas which compliment their major coursework—such as international business, comparative political systems, or cross-cultural communication. While not required, students who pursue this minor are strongly encouraged to combine their interest in international studies with in-depth study of languages like Spanish and coursework which provides broad international content. Please consult the International Studies Minor website on a regular basis for an update as to which courses are being offered in any given semester. If you have questions about the minor or seek advising as to how to incorporate the minor into your plan of study, please consult Dr. Donna McLean at domclean@iuk.edu.

The international studies minor is open to all students on the IU Kokomo campus.

Requirements:  The minor comprises at least 15 credit hours of coursework including:

  1. Gateway Course: I100 Introduction to International Studies
  2. Capstone class: Any approved overseas study course (3 credit class) which may include, but is not restricted to the following: BUS-D 496 Foreign Study in Business, HSS-F 200 Foreign Study, NURS-K 433 Korean Culture and Healthcare practicum (2 credits) with NURS-K 432 Korean Culture and Healthcare (1 credit), or HSS-I 450 The Innovations Symposium (3 credits) or SPCH-S 427 Cross-cultural Communication. As a capstone experience students are required to take either S427 Cross-cultural Communication (as long as they have not taken the course as part of their third requirement for the minor described below—you can only get credit once in the minor for taking this class), or any overseas study class offered through the university. To satisfy the overseas study requirement for students not taking SPCH-S 427,  students must complete at least 3 credits of coursework which involves travel, an internship or service work opportunity outside of the US, or an in-depth approved study of a culture unfamiliar to the student.
  3. An additional nine credits of coursework from any TWO of the following categories:

Global Markets and Governance
Coursework in political science, economics or business with broad international content

  • POLS-Y 217 Introduction to Comparative Politics (3 credits)
  • POLS-Y 219 Introduction to International Relations (3 credits)
  • POLS-Y 339 African politics (3 credits)
  • BUS-D 300 International Business Administration (3 credits)
  • BUS-D 301 The International Business Environment (3 credits)
  • BUS-D 302 International Business: Operations of International Enterprise (3 credits)

Possible special topics courses may also be approved as part of this requirement. Such courses are generally not available on a regular rotation, but when available, students can determine whether a course meets the requirement by contacting Dr. McLean or consulting their advisor.

Arts and Civilization
Coursework in the humanities, fine arts or history with broad international content

  • FINA-A 101 Ancient and Medieval Art (3 cr.)
  • FINA-A 102 Renaissance Through Modern Art (3 cr.)
  • ENG-L 225 Introduction to World Masterpieces (3 credits)
  • ENG-G 301 History of the English Language (3 credits)
  • HIST-H 228 History of the Vietnam War (3 credits)

Possible special topics courses may also be approved as part of this requirement.

These courses are generally not available on a regular rotation, but if a course meeting criteria determining broad international content was offered in the area of arts and civilization, students would be able to authorize the course as part of the international studies minor. An example of a special topics course might be ENG-L 381,  Recent Writing: Twentieth-Century World Literature.

Health and Environment
Coursework in nursing, public policy or the natural sciences with broad international content

  • CHEM-C 390 Special topics in Chemistry (3 credits)
  • NURS-K 432 Korean Culture and Healthcare (1 credit)
  • NURS-K 433 Korean Culture and Healthcare practicum (2 credits)

Possible special topics courses may also be approved as part of this requirement. These courses are generally not available on a regular rotation, but if a course meeting criteria determining broad international content was offered in the area of health and environment, students would be able to authorize the course as part of the international studies minor

Culture and Society
Coursework in communication, sociology or cultural study with broad international content

  • S200 Workshop in special topics: Hispanic Culture (3 credits)
  • PSY-P 391 Psychology of Gender and Ethnicity (3 credits)
  • SPCH-S 427 Cross-cultural communication (3 credits)
  • SOC-S 335 Race and Ethnic Relations
  • SOC-S 363 Sociology of Development (3 credits)
  • SOC-S 419 Social movements and collective action

Possible special topics courses may also be approved as part of this requirement. Special topics courses are generally not available on a regular rotation, but if a course meeting criteria determining broad international content was offered in the area of culture and society, students would be able to authorize the course as part of the international studies minor. A possible special topics class might be SOC-S 344, Sociology of Childhood (3 credits)

If students would like to certify that a special topics course will fit into the international studies minor, they are requested to send the course number with a brief description of the course to the International Studies Committee. Please email the request to: domclean@iuk.edu for distribution to the International Studies Committee. The committee will review the matter and get back to the student as soon as possible through email.

Pre-Law Minor

The Pre-Law minor offers students interested in either exploring the idea of law school or committed to it but preferring to major in a traditional degree program such as History/Political Science, English or Sociology. The program strives to provide students with a basic understanding of our society’s historical and political development, solid reading, writing, communication, and critical thinking skills, and some experience with the law directly. The Pre-Law minor is coordinated by the department of History/Political Science. Both the department of History/Political Science and the English department also offer concentrations in Pre-Law within their Bachelor’s degree programs. Minors must complete 18 credit hours with a grade of C- or higher from the following:

  • Political Science Foundation: POLS-Y 215 Introduction to Political Theory (3 cr.)
  • History Foundation: any 300+-level History course (3 cr.)
  • Literature Foundation: Any ENG-E- or ENG-L 300+ literature course (except ENG-L 390 and ENG-L 391) (3 cr.)
  • Humanities Foundation (3 cr.):
Choose one of the following courses:
Ethics and Philosophy
  • PHIL-P 342 Problems in Ethics
  • PHIL-P 345 Problems in Social and Political Philosophy
  • PHIL-P 375 Philosophy of Law
Debate and Argumentation
  • SPCH-S 228 Argumentation and Debate
  • SPCH-C 310 Rhetoric and Public Address
  • SPCH-C 321 Persuasion
  • SPCH-C 325 Interviewing
  • SPCH-C 444 Political Communication

Law Electives (6 cr., with at least 3 cr. at the 300-level or above) from Public Administration and Health Management (PAHM), Criminal Justice and Homeland Security (CJHS), Psychology, Labor Studies, Sociology, Political Science, or Business)

Public Administration and Health Management

  • PAHM-V 376 Law and Public Policy (requires PAHM-V 170 as a prerequisite)

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