Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

This is an archived copy of the 2015-16 Catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.norwich.edu/.

Program Overview

Chair, Department of Continuing Studies: Mark L. Parker

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) is an upper-division bachelor’s degree completion program. Intended for students with prior professional and academic experience who are interested in completing the bachelor’s degree but whose professional and personal situations do not require a degree in a specific discipline, the BIS provides students with a solid academic foundation in the major disciplinary areas of the academy and the interrelationships among those areas. Students learn how knowledge is created and validated in both scientific and non-scientific areas of inquiry, and how such knowledge may be applied toward the improvement of the human condition. Throughout the program emphasis is placed on ‘learning to learn’ and on applying what has been learned in personal, local, and global contexts. By also completing a required concentration in a specialized area of inquiry, graduates of the program will have demonstrated the ability to evaluate knowledge both broadly across disciplines and in depth within a specific field.

Curriculum Requirements

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies (BIS) is designed for students with at least 30 credit hours of prior college coursework or its equivalent in eligible military or professional training. The program consists of four curriculum areas:

  • Electives
  • Core Courses
  • Required Concentration
  • Capstone


The electives are taken by students who enter the program with fewer than 60 credits. The core courses are taken by all students. All BIS students must complete an 18-credit concentration in a specialized area or discipline. The capstone is the culminating activity for the program and is required for completion of the degree.

Electives 

Students who matriculate the BIS with between 30 and 59 credits of prior coursework or its equivalent will take the appropriate number of credits needed to reach the 60 credit minimum from among the following elective courses. Students with fewer than 59 prior credits may be required to take certain of these courses in order to fulfill the General Education requirements for the bachelor’s degree. [Courses marked with an *asterisk are under development; courses marked with a † may be used to fulfill a General Education requirement]:

  • COMM 215  Technology-Mediated Communication (3)
  • ECON 310  Socio-Economic Studies (3)
  • ENGL 101  English Composition† (3)
  • ENGL 250  Crime in Literature† (3)
  • HIST 210  History of the U.S. Constitution† (3)
  • HIST 310  Historical Studies† (3)
  • MATH 102  Liberal Arts Mathematics† (3)
  • MATH 232  Elementary Statistics† (3)
  • MNGT 315  Leadership (3)
  • PHLS 205  Critical Thinking (3) 
  • RELG 300  Comparative Religion† (3)
  • SCIE 301  Environmental Science† (3)
  • SOCI 330  Military Sociology† (3)
  • SOCI 335  Introduction to Cultural Competence (3)


Core Courses 

Students in the BIS are required to complete the following core courses for a total of 36 credits:

  • *INTD 310  Epistemology & Critical Thinking (6)
  • *INTD 320  Quantitative Research & The Scientific Method (6)
  • *INTD 321  Qualitative Research in the Social & Behavioral Sciences (6)
  • *INTD 330  Critical Theory in Literature & The Humanities (6)
  • *INTD 340  Human Communication and Technology (6)
  • *INTD 350  Political, Social, and Economic History (6)


Concentrations 

Students in the BIS program are required to complete one of the following 18-credit concentrations:

Leadership Studies
  • *MNGT 401  Seminar in Leadership I: Fundamentals (6)
  • *MNGT 402  Seminar in Leadership II: Leadership Styles & EQ (6)
  • *MNGT 403  Leadership of Change (3)
  • *MNGT 404  Leadership in a Technology-Driven World (3)
U.S. Historical Studies
  • *HIST 410  Introduction to History & Historiography (6)

and two of the following four courses:

  • *HIST 415  Civil War & Reconstruction (6)
  • *HIST 417  America in the Gilded Age & Progressive Era (6)
  • *HIST 418  The U.S. from 1900 to 1945 (6)
  • *HIST 419  America in the Cold War (6)
International Studies
  • *INTL 400  Seminar in International Studies (6)
  • HIST 411  History of Diplomacy I (3)
  • HIST 412  History of Diplomacy II (3)
  • *INTL 411  International Law I (3)
  • *INTL 412  International Law II (3)
Justice Studies
  • *JUST 400  Seminar in Justice Studies (6)
  • CRMJ 303  The Study of Crime (3)
  • POLS 316  Domestic Terrorism (3)
  • PHLS 324  Criminal Justice Ethics (3)
  • POLS 325  Immigration Law & Policy (3)
Strategic Studies
  • *STRA 400  Seminar in Strategic Studies (6)
  • POLS 302  National Security Policy (3)
  • POLS 306  Comparative Politics (3)
  • POLS 318  International Terrorism (3)
  • SSDA 315  Insurgency & Conflict (3)


Capstone

The capstone course, *INTD 400 (6), is the culminating academic activity for BIS students. In it, students propose, develop, and deliver a final substantive research project that combines the general knowledge acquired in the core courses with the specific knowledge of the concentration. The final project requires students to draw upon at least two different academic disciplines for research methodology, seminal literature and sources, and intellectual frameworks in order to bring an interdisciplinary perspective to the subject. The capstone course may not be fulfilled through transfer credit.