Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies

This is an archived copy of the 2020-2021 Catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.norwich.edu/.

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 310Epistemology& CriticalThinking6
Science and the Scientific Method (6 credits)
INTD 320The Scientific Method: Understanding the Results of Quantitative Research6
SCIE 301Environmental Science3
SCIE 310Scien Basis of Sustainability3
Qualitative Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (6 credits)
ECON 310Socio-Economic Studies3
or POLS 306 Comparative Politics
or POLS 318 International Terrorism
or SOCI 335 Intro to Cultural Competence
SOCI 209Methods of Social Science Research3
Critical Theory in Literature and the Humanities (6 credits)
ENGL 250Crime in Literature3
or ENGL 270 Military Literature
RELG 300Comparative Religion3
Human Communication and Technology (6 credits)
COMM 315Tech-Mediated Communication3
COMM 301Business & ProfessionalWriting3
or COMM 302 Data Analysis and Writing
or COMM 305 Strategic Communications
Political, Social, and Economic History (6 credits)
HIST 310Historical Studies3
HIST 402Israeli-Palestinian Conflict3
HIST 411History of Diplomacy I3
HIST 412History of Diplomacy II3
HIST 425AmericanForeignPolicy 20thCent3
Total Cr.36

Concentrations 

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

Leadership Studies
MNGT 401Sem in Leadership I:Fundamntls6
MNGT 402Sem in Leadership II Styles EQ6
MNGT 403Leadership of Change3
MNGT 404Leadershp in Tech-Driven World3
Total Cr.18
Justice Studies
CRMJ 201Foundations Criminal Justice3
CRMJ 303The Study of Crime3
CRMJ 306Procedural Due Process3
PHLS 324Criminal Justice Ethics3
POLS 316Domestic Terrorism3
POLS 318International Terrorism3
Total Cr.18
Strategic Studies
PHLS 210Ethics in the Modern World3
POLS 302National Security Policy3
POLS 306Comparative Politics3
POLS 318International Terrorism3
SSDA 315Insurgency and Conflict6
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 400Capstone6
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.