Courses

Cross-listed undergraduate courses may be applied toward the degree requirements, as can relevant independent study courses.

IDS 500 - Interdisciplinary Methods

This course is designed to familiarize students with the research methods and scholarly debates in a variety of disciplines. Students gain familiarity with a variety of research methods, read and analyze examples of interdisciplinary research, and develop their own research proposal and program of study. Gateway course for the program.

Credit Hours: 3

IDS 520 - Fundraising Fundamentals

In this course, students will be taught the major aspects of fundraising for nonprofit institutions. Students will examine the fundamentals of advancement services, gift accounting, grant writing, gift cultivation and solicitation, and methods of mass fundraising. Students will also use the techniques taught in the class to create a sample campaign.

Credit Hours: 3

IDS 550 - Supervised Readings

Students work with the instructor to compile and complete a reading list focused on a specific interdisciplinary topic not covered by regular course offerings. Weekly meetings discuss the readings, and a significant research paper is required. May be repeated for credit with a substantially different topic.

Credit Hours: 3

IDS 600 - Interdisciplinary Research Project I

Students will conceive, propose and complete a major interdisciplinary research project. The final product may take a variety of forms, including a thesis, internship with significant leadership or research responsibilities, or a major initiative (e.g. leading a grassroots environmental campaign or designating a historic landmark). This semester focuses on conceptualization, writing a final proposal, and initiating research.

Credit Hours: 3

IDS 601 - Interdisciplinary Research Project II

Prerequisites: IDS 600

Students will conceive, propose and complete a major interdisciplinary research project. The final product may take a variety of forms, including a thesis, internship with significant leadership or research responsibilities, or a major initiative (e.g. leading a grassroots environmental campaign or designating a historic landmark). This semester emphasizes project completion and evaluation.

Credit Hours: 3

CMS 550 - Special Topics

This course is designed as a one-time graduate-level course to be offered whenever departmental resources are sufficient to do so. It will deal with special topics in the mass media, journalism, or broadcasting according to the research agenda and interests of a particular professor. Topics could include, but are not limited to: ethical, legal, theoretical, and societal issues in the mass media; practical applications of video, photographic, print, and/or computer-based media production.

Credit Hours: 3

ENG 545 - Science Writing

This course examines the forms of communication undergirding science. Students analyze and write in a variety of scientific genres as they learn the rhetorical dynamics of research. Emphasis is also placed on the public understanding of science, including representations of science in fine art and film.

Credit Hours: 3

ENG 546 - Visual Rhetoric

Students analyze and synthesize the rhetoical principles by which visuals are produced and used to inform, educate, advocate, and persuade. Students also consider the cultural contents for visual communication, how visuals work with other forms of communication, and the ethical implications of how visuals are used for rhetorical purposes.

Credit Hours: 3

ENG 548 - Ethnography and Travel Writing

This course focuses on nonfiction writing about culture. Students use participantobservation and interviewing as tools for developing vivid characters, scenes, dialog, and story elements, while reading Latin American and Hispanic ethnography for exemplars. Emphasis is placed on writing that promotes cultural awareness and understanding of the changing American demographic.

Credit Hours: 3