Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies
Associate Dean 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 three curriculum areas:
- Core
- Concentration
- Capstone
The six core domains, constituting 36 credit hours, must be completed successfully by all BIS students. All degree students must also 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. Free electives are taken by students who enter the program with fewer than 60 credits.
| Core Domains: | ||
| Epistemology and Critical Thinking (6 credits) | ||
| INTD 310 | Epistemology& CriticalThinking | 6 |
| Science and the Scientific Method (6 credits) | ||
| INTD 320 | The Scientific Method: Understanding the Results of Quantitative Research | 6 |
| SCIE 301 | Environmental Science | 3 |
| SCIE 310 | Scien Basis of Sustainability | 3 |
| Qualitative Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits) | ||
| ECON 310 | Socio-Economic Studies | 3 |
| or POLS 306 | Comparative Politics | |
| or POLS 318 | International Terrorism | |
| or SOCI 335 | Intro to Cultural Competence | |
| SOCI 209 | Methods of Social Science Research | 3 |
| Critical Theory in Literature and the Humanities (6 credits) | ||
| ENGL 250 | Crime in Literature | 3 |
| or ENGL 270 | Military Literature | |
| RELG 300 | Comparative Religion | 3 |
| Human Communication and Technology (6 credits) | ||
| COMM 315 | Tech-Mediated Communication | 3 |
| COMM 301 | Business & ProfessionalWriting | 3 |
| or COMM 302 | Data Analysis and Writing | |
| or COMM 305 | Strategic Communications | |
| Political, Social, and Economic History (6 credits) | ||
| HIST 310 | Historical Studies | 3 |
| HIST 402 | Israeli-Palestinian Conflict | 3 |
| HIST 411 | History of Diplomacy I | 3 |
| HIST 412 | History of Diplomacy II | 3 |
| HIST 425 | AmericanForeignPolicy 20thCent | 3 |
| Total Cr. | 36 | |
Concentrations
Students in the BIS program are required to complete one of the following concentrations:
| Leadership Studies | ||
| MNGT 401 | Sem in Leadership I:Fundamntls | 6 |
| MNGT 402 | Sem in Leadership II Styles EQ | 6 |
| MNGT 403 | Leadership of Change | 3 |
| MNGT 404 | Leadershp in Tech-Driven World | 3 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
| Justice Studies | ||
| CRMJ 201 | Foundations Criminal Justice | 3 |
| CRMJ 303 | The Study of Crime | 3 |
| CRMJ 306 | Procedural Due Process | 3 |
| PHLS 324 | Criminal Justice Ethics | 3 |
| POLS 316 | Domestic Terrorism | 3 |
| POLS 318 | International Terrorism | 3 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
| Strategic Studies | ||
| PHLS 210 | Ethics in the Modern World | 3 |
| POLS 302 | National Security Policy | 3 |
| POLS 306 | Comparative Politics | 3 |
| POLS 318 | International Terrorism | 3 |
| SSDA 315 | Insurgency and Conflict | 6 |
| Total Cr. | 18 | |
Capstone
The six-credit capstone course, INTD 400, 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.
| INTD 400 | Capstone | 6 |
| Total Cr. | 6 | |
General Education
Students are required to meet general education competencies in writing, literature, history, arts and humanities, science, social science, and math and may do so by transfer credit or enrollment in courses offered through the College of Graduate and Continuing Studies.
Transfer Credit and Student Progress in the Program
CLEP and DSST exams may be accepted for transfer credit by the academic program manager, depending on the requirements of the Norwich course for which credit is sought. CLEP and DSST transcripts must be applied to a student’s record by the time they have earned 100 credits in their program. No credit derived from CLEP or DSST exams will be applied to the student’s record after this point.
Students must complete all core and elective coursework, including any courses necessary to fulfill required general education competencies, before being enrolled in a field study course unless given prior written approval by the program manager.
Students must complete all required coursework including any required field study courses before being enrolled in a capstone course, unless given prior written approval by the program manager.
All transfer credit must be applied to the student’s record before being enrolled in a capstone course.