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School of Interdisciplinary Studies
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies in University College advances intellectual fusion through innovative curricular developments and degree offerings. Objectives of the school are to offer a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies degree that is innovative and rigorous, to provide course offerings for degree programs and exploratory students on the Downtown Phoenix campus, to incubate new degree programs on the Downtown Phoenix campus, to develop new degree programs in interdisciplinary and individualized studies, and to partner with the School of Extended Education to offer a range of degree completion programs.
The School of Interdisciplinary Studies, located at the Downtown Phoenix campus, offers a wide range of courses in the natural sciences, mathematics, social sciences, fine arts, and humanities. The school is home to the Language Resource Lab and Integrated Science Lab, and the school hosts the W. P. Carey School of Business. The faculty of the school is composed of distinguished professors from school across ASU, professors from the Emeritus College, outstanding lecturers, graduate teaching associates, faculty associates, and visiting professors.
BACHELOR OF INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES
The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS), the largest and one of the best recognized interdisciplinary studies degree programs in the nation, offers an innovative and rigorous degree to students whose academic and career interests are not satisfied by traditional majors. It provides students a remarkable freedom to choose from a rich menu of more than 100 disciplinary concentrations and to integrate multiple academic interests into a degree with interdisciplinary breadth and intellectual cohesion. An Interdisciplinary Studies student could, for example, choose to integrate biochemistry and psychology, small business and social welfare, communication and urban planning, international business and Chinese, or many other unique combinations.
Interdisciplinary studies is an approach to answering questions, solving problems, and addressing contemporary social issues from multiple perspectives. Students develop the intellectual tools needed to build bridges between academic disciplines and to apply their skills, innovations, and knowledge in various academic and practical settings. Students take an active role in creating their educational plans and defining their career goals. The degree emphasizes written communication, versatility, self-assessment, and critical thinking.
By engaging a breadth of knowledge and experience, and by acquiring the skills to integrate various domains of knowledge, students prepare themselves for a vast variety of careers. One student combined biology and chemistry in preparation for pharmacy school, and another prepared to own a small business by studying communication and small business. One integrated sociology and family studies to further his career as a police officer. Another studied philosophy and economics to prepare for law school.
Interdisciplinary Studies students apply the skills and knowledge they acquire in class through community engagement. As part of their applied experiences, students collectively spend more than 75,000 hours each year with local business, government, and nonprofit organizations. The faculty are actively engaged in the academic community. They hold doctoral degrees in anthropology, communication, comparative culture, educational psychology, English, interdisciplinary studies, Middle East history, political economy and public policy, political science, and psychology. They have authored academic books, the first interdisciplinary studies textbook, and academic articles in disciplinary and interdisciplinary journals.
To graduate with a BIS degree, a student must successfully complete all university and General Studies requirements (see General Studies), the four BIS core courses, and the requirements for two concentrations of their choice.
Students declare either premajor status or major status. Students seeking either status must be in academic good standing and must complete the Cyber Workshop (found on the Web at universitycollege.asu.edu/sis) before meeting with an advisor to declare major or premajor status. Students who do not satisfy the requirements for major status outlined below should instead declare pre-major status while working to become eligible for major status.
To be eligible for major status, a student must meet all of the following requirements:
1. have completed at least 56 hours of university credit;
2. be in academic good standing;
3. have completed two courses in each concentration with a “C” or higher; and
4. have completed General Studies requirements for mathematics and English composition.
Students complete a series of four core courses that provide the knowledge and skills necessary to integrate their two concentrations into a cohesive and coherent degree. Throughout the core courses, the student assembles a portfolio, including self-assessment of progress toward career goals and an evaluation of key educational and cocurricular activities.
These core classes consist of BIS 301 (an introduction to concepts and theories of interdisciplinarity), BIS 302 (an exploration of interdisciplinary approaches to human inquiry), BIS 401 (an applied study, in which students bridge their academic work and an applied learning site), and BIS 402 (a capstone seminar).
BIS 301 is taken first and is the prerequisite to BIS 302. BIS 301 and BIS 302 are prerequisites to BIS 401 and BIS 402, which may be taken concurrently or in sequence. To enroll in BIS 401, a student must apply online. Access universitycollege.asu.edu/sis for application deadlines. Each core course must be completed with a grade of “C” or higher.
BIS 301 Foundations of Interdisciplinary Studies L (3)
BIS 302 Interdisciplinary Inquiry (3)
BIS 401 Applied Interdisciplinary Studies (3)
Students complete requirements for two single concentrations or one double concentration. Students select their subject-area concentrations with consideration given to their academic interests and educational goals. To ensure interdisciplinarity, students may not use concentrations rooted in the same discipline. For concentrations, see the BIS Concentrations table below. Each concentration requires a minimum of 18 semester hours with grades of “C” or higher. At least 12 of those 18 hours must be in upper-division courses. Some concentrations have additional GPA and/or admission requirements.
With this degree comes the promise of outstanding academic advising. Each of the professional advisors in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies is committed to providing every student with the support needed to reach his or her academic goals. Early and periodic advising is recommended to facilitate selecting courses that best meet the graduation requirements.
For more information, visit UASB 203, or call 480/965-1970. For information about the program at the Polytechnic campus, see Interdisciplinary Studies—BIS.
Courses
Information about all courses is available on the Web at ASU Interactive. For more information, see Classification of Courses.
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