Student Affairs

Multidisciplinary Studies Curriculum and Course Outline

Core 1 - Sociology (18 credit hours):

• SOCI 101 Introduction to Sociology
• SOCI 230 Criminology
• SOCI 308 Sociology of Afr. Amer. & Latino/a Education
• SOCI 313 Sociology of Disaster
• SOCI 329 Topics in Sociology: Mental Health
• Alternative: SOCI 334 Juvenile Delinquency
• SOCI 339 Sociology of Deviance

Core 2 - Communication (18 credit hours):

• COMM 201 Theories of Communication
• COMM 203 Small Group Communication
• COMM 217 Interpersonal Communication
• COMM 301 Communication Research
• COMM 317 Intercultural Communication
• COMM 431 The Body in Communication
• Alternative: COMM 401 Critical-Cultural Studies

Related Electives (9 credit hours):

• SOWK 350 Encounters in Human Diversity
• PSYC 447 Counseling Strategies
• PSYC 496 Intro to the Psychology of Learning

Capstone (3-12 credit hours):

• SOCI 300 Internship: Dean Studies

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

CORE 1:

SOCI 101 (3 cr.) Introduction to Sociology:  Introduction to the scientific study of human groups, organizations, and societies. Examination of major sociological questions and approaches to studying them.

SOCI 230 (3 cr.) Criminology:  The nature and causes of criminal behavior and the types of social response to law violation. Offered in Fall, Spring. Prereq: SOCI 101, ENGL 110.

SOCI 308 (3cr.) Sociology of African American and Latino/a Education:  Social and historical analysis of the secondary and postsecondary experiences of African American and Latino/a youth in the U.S. informed by critical race, feminist, and stratification theories.

SOCI 313 (3cr.) Sociology of Disaster:  Behavioral and organizational response to environmental hazards and disasters. Case studies of major natural disasters and hazardous materials incidents illustrate individual, group, and societal challenges faced in such events. Issues include building a disaster resistant community, the impact of the media, and the governmental success and failures. Offered annually. Prereq: SOCI 101 or SOCI 211.

SOCI 329 (3cr.) Topics in Sociology: Mental Health:  This course will help demonstrate an ability to apply sociological perspectives towards the study of mental health, evaluate the pros and cons of doing so, explain how race, class, and gender (along with other social statuses like religion and sexual orientation) influence and impact mental health outcomes and experiences, explain and analyze how governmental and legal policies can affect mental health outcomes, and evaluate the pros and cons of different policies. This class will demonstrate awareness that issues of mental health should always be considering within a larger social context and within their historical era by critically analyzing arguments put forth by sociologists, journalists, and politicians about issues relating to mental health and well-being in the context of mental illness, natural disasters, grief and loss, care giving, military service, and job loss.

SOCI 334 (3cr.) Juvenile Delinquency (Alternative to SOCI 329):  Nature and extent of juvenile crime; theories of causation; techniques of control and prevention. Offered annually. Prereq: SOCI 101, 230.

SOCI 338 (3cr.) Sociology of Deviance:  Deviance as a social phenomenon. Discusses how definitions of deviance have changed over time, how people become labeled “deviant” and the utility of various theories of deviance. Offered annually. Prereq: SOCI 101.

 

CORE 2:

COMM 201 (3cr.) Theories of Communication:  Focuses of the different approaches to the study of communication as a discipline. Emphasis on both historical and current scholarship n the field through diverse means of inquiry. Offered in Fall, Spring. Prereq: COMM 100, and for Communication majors, COMM 101.

COMM 203 (3cr.) Small Group Communication:  Emphasis on the theory and practice of small group communication and problem solving. Group formation, teamwork, leadership, decision making in groups, group conflict, and other concepts will be explored. A collaborative group service-learning project and course activities will reinforce course concepts. Offered periodically. Prereq: ENGL 110.

COMM 217 (3cr.) Interpersonal Communication:  Combines both theory and experiential application of interpersonal communication to provide students with a means to analyze relationships and to integrate more effective communication strategies in their lives. Offered periodically. Prereq: COMM 100.

COMM 301 (3cr.) Communication Research:  A survey of research methods for the study of problems in communication. Students define a research problem, survey, and critique relevant literature, and design a research strategy using various research paradigms. Majors should take this course in junior year. Offered Fall, Spring. Prereq: ENGL 110, COMM 201. COMM 201 and COMM 301 may be taken concurrently. However, if COMM 301 is taken after COMM 201, a grade of C or higher is required in COMM 201.

COMM 317 (3cr.) Intercultural Communication:  Explores the possibilities of communication between and among diverse cultures. Close study of cultural codes, symbolic interaction, nonverbal behavior, and contexts of intercultural contact. Develops and understanding and appreciation of human diversity and competence in intercultural communication practices. Offered periodically. Prereq: COMM 100, ENGL 110, and Junior standing.

COMM 431 (3cr.) The Body in Communication:  Focuses on the ways that bodies communicate other than verbally, and how this process of embodied communication plays an active role in our sense of belonging and difference as well as gives shape to the ongoing negotiations between culture and nature. Offered periodically. Prereq: COMM 100, ENGL 110, and Junior standing.

COMM 401 (3cr.) Critical-Cultural Studies Communication (Alternative to COMM 431):  Reciprocal influences of communication on culture and culture on communication. Messages, meanings, and culture are approached from several critical standpoints. Offered in Fall, Spring. Prereq: C or higher in COMM 101, 201, and 301.

 

RELATED ELECTIVES:

SOWK 350 (3cr.) Encounters in Human Diversity:  An upper-level, multicultural, interdisciplinary, interactive course designed to enhance students’ knowledge, skills, and values relative to working with people in professional situations within a diversity-embracing atmosphere. Focuses on the various differences in communication styles brought about by gender and culture. Designed for students whose anticipated careers are primarily oriented to direct work with people. Prereq: COMM 100, ENGL 110, and Junior standing.

PSYC 447 (3cr.) Counseling Strategies:  And introduction to the process and practice of counseling. Emphasis is placed on learning counseling theories and on counseling skills.

PSYC 496 (3cr.) Topics in Psychology: Introduction to the Psychology of Learning:  This course is designed to introduce you to the basic principles that underlie behavior change in both human and nonhuman animals. We will briefly cover relatively “simple” phenomena such as habituation and sensation but will devote most of the semester to studying Pavlovian (i.e., associative or classical) and operant conditioning. This course will focus primarily on the basic, experimental research underlying these procedures, but will also consider findings from the applied literature and briefly examine how behavioral principles are applied in non-research settings. Offered periodically. Prereq: junior or senior standing and permission of instructor.

 

CAPSTONE: 

SOCI 300 (3-12 cr.) Internship:  Student Affairs (Dean of Students at Millersville University)