Our Foundation
What James Millikin envisioned when he founded the University in 1901 was unique: the University would embrace the practical side of learning along with the literary and classical. In addition, while affiliated with the Presbyterian Church, it would not be narrowly sectarian and would remain open to all. The result is one of the nation’s first small, comprehensive universities that, nearly a century later, has four colleges and schools: the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Professional Studies, and the Tabor School of Business.
Accreditation
Millikin University has been accredited since 1914 by what is now the Higher Learning Commission. The most recent re-affirmation of that accreditation was in 2016-2017. For further information regarding this accreditation, contact the Higher Learning Commission at 30 North LaSalle Street, Suite 2400, Chicago, Illinois 60602, phone (312) 263-0456.
Specialized Accreditation In addition to being aced by the Higher Learning Commission, various programs hold discipline-specific accreditation.
Tabor School of Business
Majors in the Tabor School of Business (except Business Communication, Communication, Cybersecurity, and Organizational Leadership) are accredited by the Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).
The School of Nursing
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing/master’s degree program in nursing/Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Millikin University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.
The Millikin University and Decatur Memorial Hospital Nurse Anesthesia Program is also accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA), 222 S. Prospect Ave., Park Ridge, IL 60068, 847.655.1160.
The School of Education, in the College of Professional Studies, is an Illinois State Board of Education Approved Program for the Preparation of Educational Personnel in Illinois Institutions of Higher Education.
The School of Music, in the College of Fine Arts, is accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.
The Chemistry Department, in the College of Arts and Sciences, offers Bachelor degree programs approved by the American Chemical Society.
Our Vision
Millikin graduates will be leaders in creating a more wise, just, equitable, and sustainable society
Our Mission
For all who aspire to achieve, Millikin delivers on the Promise of excellence in education. Through the integration of theory and practice, we prepare students for;
- Professional success
- Democratic citizenship in a global environment
- A personal life of meaning and value
Our Values
- Intellectual and creative inquiry
- Inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility
- Dignity and respect for all persons
- Honest, open dialogue and reflection
- Integrity and responsibility
- Advancement of the common good
Millikin University Student Learning Goals
All University-wide learning goals directly support the Millikin University mission, commonly referred to as the three prepares: (1) professional success; (2) democratic citizenship in a global environment; and (3) a personal life of meaning and value. Students will achieve these goals through our distinctive commitment to Performance Learning or through traditional and innovative pedagogies.
Prepare One: Millikin students will prepare for professional success.
- Students will learn to assess, read deliberately, critically evaluate, reflect on, integrate, and use appropriate resources for research and practical application.
- Students will utilize qualitative and quantitative reasoning and the scientific method as tools in decision-making and creative problem solving.
- Students will develop effective and appropriate oral communication skills for diverse public contexts.
- Students will write effectively for a variety of audiences, particularly in order to contribute to existing and emerging knowledge within a professional community.
- Students will develop a comprehensive understanding of essential knowledge, principles, methods, and professional expectations in their chosen major in order to connect theory and practice within a professional environment.
Prepare Two: Millikin students will prepare for democratic citizenship in a global environment.
- Students will develop an understanding of the interrelatedness of cultures and structures in the United States and the processes that enable and encourage active citizenship in communities.
- Students will develop an understanding of societies beyond the United States.
- Students will develop an understanding of an issue of global importance and its associated ethical and social justice issues and reflect on responsibilities of citizenship in a global community.
- Students will demonstrate an understanding of diversity and the value of utilizing different perspectives when addressing organizational and societal issues and problems.
- Students will reflect on how their own individual contributions as citizens help shape and change communities.
Prepare Three: Millikin students will prepare for a personal life of meaning and value.
- Students will develop an understanding of themselves and the ability to reflect on and express their thoughts and feelings responsibly.
- Students will develop skills to build satisfying relationships, and to work collaboratively and creatively with diverse others to manage personal, community, and professional problems
- Students will use ethical reasoning to analyze issues that impact their personal lives as well as their local, national, and global communities.
- Students will critically engage in and/or analyze a creative, intellectual, and aesthetic process within the visual, dramatic, literary, and /or performing arts and enhance their capacity to enjoy their own and others’ creative processes and products.
- Students will use reflection to engage and examine issues that impact their personal lives as well as their local, national, and global communities in order to actively demonstrate their learning.
Performance Learning
The three hallmarks of Performance Learning
Performance Learning provides the student with opportunities to:
- Partner with faculty, staff, and fellow students to create student-driven experiences, which exist within and beyond the academic discipline.
- Engage with third-party stakeholders in a purposeful and professional manner.
- Participate in reflective processes which advance professional growth by critically examining the continuous cycle of doing/ learning/becoming.
The comprehensive definition of Performance Learning
Our founder, James Millikin, conceived of a university “where the scientific, the practical, and industrial shall have a place of equal importance, side by side with the literary and classical.” We have built upon this legacy by designing an environment rich in Performance Learning where students are provided opportunities to experience real-world risks and rewards while combining theory and practice with imagination and innovation. Engaged in supportive partnerships with faculty and staff, our students practice their disciplines in the classroom and perform their disciplines through engagement with a global community of experts – scientists, artists, authors, or other committed third-party stakeholders. Millikin students learn to shape their lives, own their careers, and impact their communities. We believe the best way to learn is to do and reflect – in the classroom and beyond.
We call this innovative approach to education Performance Learning. Our commitment to provide all students in all disciplines opportunities for Performance Learning distinguishes Millikin University as a leader in higher education.
Our Educational Distinctive: The Millikin Program of Student Learning
Expect to be challenged. Expect to be changed. At Millikin, we challenge students to exceed their expectations and meet ours. We challenge students to change to meet the demands of the world with knowledge, skills, and values acquired through Millikin’s Program of Student Learning.
The distinctive Millikin Program of Student Learning (MPSL) is designed to challenge minds from the student’s very first week on campus and to transform lives throughout the education experience as students gain knowledge and expertise culminating in capstone courses in the majors that emphasize practical near-professional performances in their areas of expertise. The MPSL celebrates the potential of every student who comes to be challenged and transformed.
The strategy of the Millikin Program of Student Learning is to provide each student with appropriate challenges and necessary support in essential transitions for academic success in the first year of study, to continued development in advanced studies for breadth of knowledge and skills both within and beyond the major for several years, concluding with empowering academic student-mentoring into a productive professional life following undergraduate studies.
The components of the Millikin Program of Student Learning (MPSL) include: (1) an intensive major area of study in pursuit of student growth and professional success (2) a series of University Studies program requirements, which includes a first-year experience opportunity for all incoming students, and (3) completion of a minimum of 120 credits to graduate, including at least 39 credits at the 300 level or above.
The Major
The Millikin Program of Student Learning has established guidelines for the structure of high-quality majors. At Millikin, each major is deliberately designed to offer students an intensive and collaborative learning experience customized to fit their needs in preparation for professional success.
Millikin students begin with an introductory course in their major, as early as their first year, in which they learn about the curriculum and opportunities for study in the discipline. In their second year, students enter into a more concentrated inquiry of their major through critical analysis of primary texts and theories of the field. As the major progresses, faculty and students engage in collaborative efforts for academic inquiry and research, applying theory to practice in the field, which culminates in a performance learning moment. Each major has developed a Senior Capstone course or experience that features high-quality intellectual inquiry and near-professional performances of the student. To best suit student needs and demands of the major, approaches to implementing the capstone include apprenticeship learning, portfolios, problem solving, and academic inquiry seminars.
The University Studies Program
Reflection, writing, and ethical reasoning will guide your studies. Through the integration of reflection throughout the University Studies curriculum, you will explore and discover ways for developing a life of meaning and value. As you practice and polish your ethical reasoning skills and learn discipline based knowledge, you will come to understand and participate in a variety of opportunities to develop democratic citizenship in a local, national, and global scale. By asking you to write across the University Studies curriculum, we foster confidence in your ability to write for professional success.
| Course |
Credits |
Suggested Timeline |
| University Seminar (IN 140) |
3 |
First semester, year 1 |
| University Writing (EN 181) |
3 |
Year 1 |
| Writing in the Disciplines (EN 281) |
3 |
Year 2 |
| U.S. Cultural Studies |
3 |
Year 2 or later |
| U.S. Structural Studies |
3 |
Year 2 or later |
| Global Studies |
3 |
Year 3 or later |
| International Cultures and Structures |
6-8 |
Any semester |
| Creative Arts |
3 |
Any semester |
| Natural Science with Laboratory |
4 |
Any semester |
| Oral Communication Studies |
3 |
Year 1 or 2 |
| Quantitative Reasoning |
3-4 |
Any semester |
The Millikin University First-Year Experience
Millikin prepares first-year students for professional success, democratic citizenship in the global environment, and a personal life of meaning and value through challenging yet supportive curricular and co-curricular offerings. In the area of professional success, first-year students learn how to be critical thinkers and how to collect, evaluate and synthesize knowledge in University Studies courses like University Seminar and University Writing. Outside the classroom, first-year students apply critical thinking skills and develop leadership abilities through student-run organizations, through interaction and participation in residential life, and through intercollegiate athletics. In the area of democratic citizenship in the global environment, first-year students complete a service-learning project in University Seminar while learning to embrace diversity in the community through residential living and through intentional student development programming. Inside the classroom, first-year students prepare for a personal life of meaning and value by engaging faculty in discussion relating to ethics and integrity and by learning to become reflective thinkers in the University Studies Program’s seminar and writing courses. Outside the classroom, first-year students learn interpersonal skills and personal responsibility in the residence halls, through intercollegiate athletics, student-run organizations, and through campus support services.
In addition to ensuring the quality of curricular and co-curricular experiences within the University Studies Program, each academic major has deliberately created a course that introduces students to the major, engaging them within their chosen discipline during the first college year. Millikin is committed to providing a challenging yet supportive experience for new students, intentionally ensuring that full-time faculty are teaching and advising students during their first college year.
University Studies Program Requirements
All Millikin students take a series of University Studies courses designed to provide a challenging development through the first three years of study at Millikin. Three learning threads are introduced and developed through these requirements: (1) ethical reasoning, (2) reflection, and (3) intensive writing. The first-year courses (IN 140 and EN 181 ) emphasize ethical reasoning and academic inquiry along with related skills necessary for academic success, including critical writing, reading, research, reflection, and communication. In year two or later, all Millikin students take a United States Cultural Studies and a United States Structural Studies course. Taught by faculty from across the disciplines, these classes engage students in ethical reasoning, writing, and reflection skills as they relate to the study of the diversity of cultures, institutions, and social structures in the United States. Students also take EN 281 in their sophomore year to learn about and practice the writing required of disciplines across the University and to introduce students to the writing they will do in their advanced coursework. We also challenge all Millikin students to examine, reason, reflect, and write about global issues through a Global Studies course taught by faculty from a variety of disciplines. These University Studies requirements deliberately challenge students to prepare for academic success, to understand our own country’s multicultural realities and to make connections to the international global society of the contemporary world. This core of University Studies courses introduces and reinforces key skills necessary for success and provides students with various models for ways of knowing and for inquiry into broader and more important questions that may arise within or beyond the major’s area of expertise. Along the way, students are asked to perform their learning through engagement in activities characteristic of democratic citizens in a global environment. Such performance provides the foundation necessary for students to actively engage in civic duties now and beyond.
The University Studies Program’s additional requirements may be taken by students at any time throughout their undergraduate experience at Millikin. These requirements ensure a breadth of learning and ways of knowing from a variety of academic disciplines and approaches to inquiry, including (1) a quantitative reasoning course, (2) a creative arts course, (3) a natural science with a laboratory course, (4) an oral communication studies course, and (5) international cultures and structures courses. Through course advising, students can select and shape the direction of these University Studies requirements to complement and supplement learning opportunities in their majors. Students in a major or minor that delivers a course outside of the first year (e.g., United States Structural Studies, United States Cultural Studies, and Global Issues courses) may take it to fulfill both a University Studies requirement and a requirement in the major or minor, depending on requirements of the major or minor.
Global Awareness
Over the course of four years, students will complete a minimum of nine credits in global and international coursework. Global Issues courses explore a topic of global importance. Students will continue to develop their understanding of democratic citizenship with an intense focus on a particular issue of global importance and associated ethical and social justice issues. These courses include a significant research component, are writing intensive, and require exploration of primary sources (e.g., texts, music, artifacts, etc.). The two-course International Cultures and Structures requirement focuses on cultures and social structures outside the United States. “Culture” refers to learned systems of meanings, and their representations, that people use to interact with the world around them, including language, values, beliefs, norms, traditions, customs, history, art, and artifacts. “Social structures” refers to generally stable patterns of interactions, from the smallest units found in individual social relationships, through larger economic, political and social institutions in societies, to worldwide systems of relationships among nations. Through these courses, Millikin students complete their education with a greater understanding of global awareness.
Immersion and Summer School Opportunities
The Millikin Program of Student Learning also provides students with opportunities for alternative approaches to courses and learning. Courses are offered in summer school sessions and as intensive short-term immersion studies in January, May, and August. These alternative time-structures provide unique opportunities for travel courses, workshops, internships, and special undergraduate research efforts. Recent examples of travel courses include ecology field studies in Alaska, poetry studies in Chile, business studies in Paris, theatre studies in London, Shakespeare in London, photography in the Southwest, urban studies in Chicago, and teaching experiences in the Dominican Republic as well as in China. Recent on-campus workshops and courses include web design, digital photography, Midwest literature, business communication, and many more. These immersion and summer school offerings provide special opportunities not available through the regular semester term and help students catch up or get ahead in their studies as needed. A study abroad course may fulfill the general education requirement for an international cultures & structures course.
University Studies Program Requirements
University Studies Course Requirements & Learning Goals
Dr. Matt Olsen, Faculty Coordinator for IN 140 - University Seminar
Dr. Michael Hollis-George, Faculty Coordinator for EN 181 - University Writing , and EN 281 - Writing in the Disciplines
Dr. Carmella Braniger, Faculty Coordinator for United States Cultural and Structural Studies and Global Studies
Dr. Mirela Tanta, Faculty Coordinator for International Cultures & Structures
Prof. Sarah Crist, Faculty Coordinator for Oral Communication
Prof. Jana Henry Funderburk, Faculty Coordinator for Creative Arts
Dr. Emily Olson, Faculty Coordinator for Quantitative Reasoning
Dr. Jenna Smith, Faculty Coordinator for Natural Science with a Lab
IN 140 - University Seminar * (3)
First semester freshman year: This course is an introduction to academic inquiry at the college level. Seminar topics vary across sections. Each section engages students in critical and ethical reasoning, includes a service learning component, and addresses specific orientation topics.
The learning outcome goals for students taking IN 140 are that students will be able to:
- Use ethical reasoning to analyze and reflect on issues that impact their personal lives as well as their local, national, and/or global communities;
- Reflect on the significance of contributions to community through service learning; and
- Work collaboratively and creatively with diverse others.
*This course is waived for Transfer students with 12 or more credits. This is generally 12 or more transfer credits post high school graduation.
EN 181 - University Writing (3)
University Writing builds on students’ existing knowledge of writing situations as they further develop their identities and abilities as writers. This course emphasizes the rhetorical, situated nature of writing and requires students to consider the needs of real audiences as they critique existing texts and compose their own texts in a variety of genres and modes. Students will study and intensively practice all aspects of the writing process including invention, research, drafting, revision, and reflection. Must be completed with a C or better. Should be taken in the first year.
The learning outcome goals for students taking EN 181 are that students will be able to:
- Read critically to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate texts;
- Compose in multiple genres and modes to address specific rhetorical situations, with emphasis on audience, purpose, and context;
- Practice all aspects of writing processes including invention, research, drafting, sharing with others, and revising; and
- Reflect on writing processes, practices, beliefs, attitudes, and understandings.
EN 281 - Writing in the Disciplines (3)
Writing in the Disciplines requires the advanced study and practice of writing, emphasizing writing as a means of thinking, a form of inquiry and research, and a method of communication. This course enables students to further develop their abilities to address the discursive conventions of genres in and beyond their disciplines through research and practice with a variety of rhetorical situations. Students will develop and carry out a semester-long, intensive research and writing project. Must be completed with a C or better. Pre-requisites: EN 181 . Restriction: sophomore standing.
The learning outcome goals for students taking EN 281 are that students will be able to:
- Conduct in-depth primary and secondary research;
- Evaluate sources for edibility, bias, quality of evidence, and quality of reasoning;
- Develop arguments rooted in research in order to enter disciplinary and cross-disciplinary conversations;
- Explain rhetorical choices they make in specific writing situations and how those choices are influenced by disciplinary conventions; and
- Develop additional expertise in: Composing in multiple genres and modes to address specific rhetorical situations, with emphasis on audience, purpose, and context; practicing all aspects of writing processes including invention, research, drafting, sharing with others, and revising; and reflecting on writing processes, practices, beliefs, attitudes, and understandings.
United States Studies Courses
The two-course US Studies requirement, taken during the sophomore year, explores both cultural (IN 250 ) and socio-structural (IN 251 ) aspects of the United States. Students will develop their understanding of democratic citizenship, with a focus on ethics and justice, as it relates to topics that affect the United States. These courses include a research component, are writing intensive, and require exploration of primary sources (e.g., texts, scores, performances, artifacts, etc.). A democratic society is a collaborative and participatory enterprise in which the legitimacy of public authority rests on the consent of the citizenry. Responsibilities of democratic citizenship include making informed decisions about voting, demonstrating knowledge about public affairs, engaging in civil discourse, understanding and actively participating in democratic political processes, being able to analyze and evaluate news and information, cultivating and effectively advocating opinions on matters of public policy, understanding and evaluating diverse opinions, supporting free speech, being involved in community service that addresses public problems, and recognizing that an individual’s actions affect the world.
United States Cultural Studies (3)
United States Cultural Studies courses explore the diversity of cultures in the United States, including historical perspectives that inform contemporary understandings of diversity issues. Culture refers to learned systems of meanings, and their representations, that people use to interact with the world around them, including language, values, beliefs, norms, traditions, customs, history, art, and artifacts. Students will build on their introduction to ethical thinking by considering ethical and social justice issues and their responsibilities for democratic citizenship. These courses include a significant research component, are writing intensive, and require exploration of primary sources (e.g., texts, scholarly research, music, artifacts, etc.).. Restriction: Sophomore standing.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a course that fulfills the United States Cultural Studies requirement are that students will be able to:
- Analyze diverse cultures in the United States through the use of discipline-appropriate sources;
- Use ethical reasoning to make a judgment about some aspect of the culture of the United States.
- Reflect on your responsibilities as a democratic citizen in the United States.
United States Structural Studies (3)
United States Structural Studies courses explore the diversity of groups and institutions in the United States, including historical perspectives that inform contemporary understandings of diversity issues. Social structures refers to generally stable patterns of interactions, from the smallest units found in individual social relationships, through larger economic, political and social institutions in societies, to worldwide systems of relationships among nations. Students will build on their introduction to ethical thinking by considering ethical and social justice issues and their responsibilities for democratic citizenship. These courses include a significant research component, are writing intensive, and require exploration of primary sources (e.g., texts, scholarly research, music, artifacts, etc.)..).
Restriction: Sophomore standing.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a course that fulfills the United States Structural Studies requirement are that students will:
- Analyze social structures within the United States through the use of discipline-appropriate sources.
- Use ethical reasoning to make a judgment about some aspect of the structure of the United States.
- Reflect on your responsibilities as a democratic citizen in the United States.
Global Studies (3)
Global Studies courses explore a topic of global importance. Students will continue to develop their understanding of democratic citizenship with an intense focus on a particular issue of global importance and associated ethical and social justice issues. These courses include a significant research component, are writing intensive, and require exploration of primary sources (e.g., texts, music, artifacts, etc.). Restriction: Junior standing.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a course that fulfills the Global Studies requirement are that students will be able to:
- Analyze a topic of global importance through the use of discipline-appropriate sources.
- Use ethical reasoning to make a judgment about some aspect of a global issue.
- Reflect on your responsibilities as a democratic citizen in a global environment.
Creative Arts (3)
Creative Arts courses such as courses in literature (e.g., fiction, poetry, drama), the arts (e.g., painting, sculpture, architecture, design, music, theatre and dance, film, photography, new media), and the history/philosophy of art examine mediums that explore and express the potential of human imagination and the value of human artistic production. In courses fulfilling this requirement, students will engage with issues involved in making, interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating written texts, musical works, visual and material culture, performing arts, and other media presentations in the context of the histories and cultures that have shaped and been shaped by their production. Students enrolled in these courses will increase their ability to understand themselves and others and will enhance their capacity to enjoy their own and others’ creative processes and products.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a course that fulfills the creative arts requirement are that students will:
- Investigate discipline-specific creative process;
- Analyze the art using discipline-appropriate vocabulary; and
- Evaluate how art relates to an individual life of meaning and value.
Natural Science with a Laboratory (4)
In a natural science with a laboratory course, students utilize qualitative and quantitative reasoning and the scientific method as tools in decision making and creative problem solving. Examples include, but are not limited to, BI 102 , BI 125 , BI 130 , BI 204 ; CH 114 , PY 100 /PY 104 , PY 101 /PY 105 ; or any approved Lab-Science course. Note that the labs PY 104 /PY 105 can be taken independently of either lecture, PY 100 /PY 101 , in separate semesters such that PY 100 with PY 104 OR PY 105 and PY 101 with PY 104 OR PY 105 will fulfill the NSLE requirement.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a natural science course with a lab are that students will be able to:
- Use logic and the scientific method to analyze the natural world and solve problems.
- Examine the global and personal importance of scientific issues.
- Connect theories and descriptions found in lectures and textbooks with real-world phenomena in laboratory and field environments.
Oral Communication Studies (3)
One three-credit course in oral communication is required. This requirement may be satisfied by taking CO 200 - Public Speaking or CO 242 - Business and Professional Communication . Majors in the Tabor School of Business must take BU 230 - Business Conversations . This requirement should be completed during the Freshman or Sophomore year.
Oral Communication Studies courses combine communication theory with the practice of oral communication skills. Students will develop effective and appropriate oral communication skills for diverse public contexts. Oral Communication Studies course: (1) develop awareness of the communication process; (2) provide intentional, organizational, and expressive strategies; (3) promote understanding of and adaptation to a variety of communication contexts; and (4) emphasize critical skills in listening, reading, thinking, and speaking.
The learning outcome goals for students taking an oral communication course are that students will be able to:
- Understand and demonstrate communication processes through invention, organization, drafting, revision, editing and presentation;
- Analyze, evaluate, and synthesize in a responsible manner material from diverse sources and points of view;
- Select appropriate communication choices for specific audiences;
- Use authority, point of view, and individual voice and style in communications; and
- Participate effectively in groups with emphasis on listening, critical and reflective thinking, and responding.
Quantitative Reasoning (3 - 4)
Quantitative reasoning (QR) courses teach students how to utilize qualitative and quantitative reasoning and the scientific method as tools in decision making and creative problem solving. The learning outcome goals for students taking an approved QR course are that students will be able to:
- Use deductive reasoning in a formal, symbolic, axiomatic system, and
- Apply the theorems of the system.
In order to satisfy the QR requirement, students must pass an approved QR course.
Examples of approved QR courses are:
Prerequisites for these courses vary. Consult the departmental course listings. Below is the course description for IN 102 - Topics in Quantitative Reasoning .
IN 102 - Topics in Quantitative Reasoning (3)
A topical approach to quantitative reasoning for non-STEM majors. Basic concepts of quantitative reasoning will be covered with an emphasis on using deductive reasoning in a formal, symbolic, axiomatic system, and applying theorems of the system to solve appropriate problems relevant to today’s society. Topics may include sets, statistics, elementary probability, voting theory, financial mathematics, sports statistics, and mathematics for social justice. Topics may vary from section to section, depending on faculty selection. Fulfills MPSL quantitative reasoning requirement. This course is not a prerequisite for any mathematics or computer science course, and it does not count towards the distribution requirement for the Bachelor of Science degree.
Transfer students may meet the Quantitative Reasoning requirement with a qualified course transferred from a previous school or by completing the Associate of Arts or Science degree.
International Cultures and Structures (6 - 8)
This two-course requirement focuses on cultures and social structures outside the United States. It may be satisfied by courses in modern language, internationally focused courses from a variety of disciplines, study abroad courses, or a combination of these. Culture refers to learned systems of meanings, and their representations, that people use to interact with the world around them, including language, values, beliefs, norms, traditions, customs, history, art, and artifacts. Social structures refers to generally stable patterns of interactions, from the smallest units found in individual social relationships, through larger economic, political and social institutions in societies, to worldwide systems of relationships among nations. Each course must address culture and/or social structures. Students in a major or minor that delivers a course in International Cultures and Structures may take it to fulfill both University Studies requirement and a requirement in the major or minor, depending on requirements of the major or minor.
The learning outcome goals for students taking a course that fulfills the ICS requirement are that students will:
- Analyze culturally diverse points of view through examination of primary sources;
- Comprehend cultures and/or social structures of countries outside the United States; and
- Compare cultural and/or social structures found in countries outside the United States to those found within the US.
A single course may be used to satisfy no more than two requirements of an Academic Degree, an Academic Major, Academic Minor, Academic Concentration, or Academic Certificate for a student’s Undergraduate or Graduate academic credentials. This policy applies to all requirements in their totality and cannot be applied separately to the various categories listed above.
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