Multidisciplinary Studies (BA) Curriculum

This course examines critical thinking and the analysis of arguments in terms of premises, reasons, and conclusions. Course topics include obstacles to critical thinking, diagramming arguments, belief and doubt, logical fallacies, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, inferences, and judging scientific theories.

This course draws from theories in the fields of communication, sociology, and philosophy in order to provide a comprehensive overview of the concept of civility. The theories provide a lens through which communication in the digital age, and its impact on individuals and communities, will be examined. Practical tools and techniques offer an opportunity for the application of effective and appropriate civil communication in various social contexts.

This introductory course provides the student with a basic understanding of personal financial planning. The course is designed to help students understand how to plan for a successful financial future for themselves and their families. The course offers a comprehensive treatment of financial planning to help students understand the complexities of today's financial world and evaluate their financial options through a formal decision-making approach.

Research Methods presents a broad view of the methods and techniques for conducting academic and professional research. The course focuses on why and when research is performed, the methodologies involved and a description of the applied statistical tests most often used. Techniques and procedures are compared and contrasted so each student gains a firm understanding of what method or test to use and why. Topics include: the research enterprise, theory and research, ethics in research, research design, sampling techniques, questionnaires, interviews, observational techniques, secondary data, reliability and validity issues, data coding,hypothesis testing and sampling distributions. Students will be required to successfully complete the ethics certificate of completion using the Collaborative Institution Training Initiative (CITI) to advance further in the program.

This course explores the fundamental principles of successful professional communication. Students learn how to write business correspondence, job search correspondence, public relations documents, and professional reports. Students also gain experience in defining their audiences and purpose, designing document layout, as well as writing, revising, and proofreading text. In completing the requirements of this course, students showcase and evaluate their own writing and design skills in a professional correspondence portfolio. Additionally, through a series of reflective journal exercises, students reflect on their learning and writing progress. NOTE: Credit may not be awarded for both EN261 and EN361.

This course is designed as a senior-level capstone course to be taken at the end of the Multidisciplinary Studies degree program in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. This capstone course provides an opportunity for students to synthesize and articulate the theories and principles gained through their program of study, and to demonstrate mastery of the University's core professional competencies (critical thinking, communication, data aptitude, personal/social responsibility, career management, distributed collaboration).