Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Interdisciplinary Studies

Faculty Director: Thomas Gustafson, Ph.D.

Director: Richard Fliegel, Ph.D.

Interdisciplinary Major

The interdisciplinary major allows students to create an individual, original major. It is a flexible option available when a combination of existing majors and academic minors does not adequately fulfill a student’s educational goals. With close advisement, students can build their own programs of study.

The interdisciplinary major is an intensive research program for students with a focused interest in a topic that requires study from more than one disciplinary perspective. Interdisciplinary majors are usually self-motivated students with good writing skills and an intellectual passion for a particular area of inquiry. Course work is selected to lead to a thesis project integrating the areas of research comprising the interdisciplinary major.

Admission

Admission to the interdisciplinary major is by application. Applications, which may be obtained from the program office, are considered by a special admissions committee. Interested students must have a GPA of 3.0 (A = 4.0) or above; those with less than a 3.3 are the exception. No one is usually admitted after the end of the first semester of the junior year.

Program Requirements

Students in the program must meet all graduation requirements of the college. When admitted, students establish an academic “contract,” which outlines each semester’s course of study through graduation. The contract includes a minimum of nine (four unit) upper-division courses, distributed in at least two fields. The primary focus of the major should be in the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. These areas of concentration must then be combined in a senior thesis or project, written under the guidance of a faculty committee.

Restrictions

Course prerequisites cannot be waived; admission to courses restricted to majors is subject to availability and direct negotiations; admission to departments and/or schools which have their own admission requirements must be processed separately.

Bachelor of Arts in Narrative Studies

See English for a full description of the major.

Minor in Critical Approaches to Leadership

This minor is offered by faculty from several disciplines whose perspectives are brought to bear on issues and questions that should inform the judgements of capable, ethical leaders. Students are introduced to theoretical and historical models of leadership, engage in case studies of modern leaders, select critical electives that explore ethical and social considerations of leadership, examine professional applications of leadership principles, and integrate what they have learned in a capstone course. The emphasis of the minor is on leadership as expertise in community-building and takes advantage of USC’s programs in community service, including the Joint Educational Project, the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics and other internships available through the Division of Student Affairs.

Five upper-division courses, totaling 20 units, are required.

Core Courses		Units
Choose two:
CLAS 370	Leaders and Communities	4
CLAS 375	Alexander the Great: Leadership, Personality and World Conquest	4
PHIL 335	Theoretical Models of Leadership	4
MDA 325	Case Studies in Modern Leadership	4

Critical Electives		Units
Group A — choose one
PHIL 337	History of Modern Political Philosophy	4
PHIL 437	Social and Political Philosophy	4
PSYC 355	Social Psychology	4
REL 341	Ethics in a Technological Society	4
REL 360	Ethical Issues in the New Medical Revolution	4
REL 375	Conflict and Change and the Ethics of Business	4
SOCI 320	Social Psychology	4

Group B — choose one
IR 303	Leadership and Diplomacy	4
MOR 470	Global Leadership	4
POSC 365	World Political Leadership	4
POSC 423	Presidents and the Presidency	4

Capstone Course		Units
AMST 365	Leadership in the Community, or
MDA 365	The Art and Adventure of Leadership, or
MDA 475	The Future of California	4

Core Courses		Units
Choose two:
CLAS 370	Leaders and Communities	4
CLAS 375	Alexander the Great: Leadership, Personality and World Conquest	4
PHIL 335	Theoretical Models of Leadership	4
MDA 325	Case Studies in Modern Leadership	4

Interdisciplinary Minor in International Health, Development, and Social Justice

This minor is intended for students who wish to understand the challenges associated with health care as an ethical issue in the international context. In doing so, it focuses on the convergence of three large fields of inquiry, raising questions about their intersection. Social justice is concerned with equity, with questions of fairness as they inform (or should inform) access to resources necessary for the survival and well-being of people around the globe.

To provide the necessary content, this minor presents an introduction to political economy, to cross-cultural approaches to health and wellness, and to theories of economic development as they relate to health care.

This minor is intended to prepare students for careers and leadership roles in the arenas of international health, medical ethics, overpopulation, economic development, human welfare and principles of social justice.

As with all minors, students should include four courses outside their major, four courses at the upper-division level, and four courses that are not being used to satisfy any other subject requirement. In addition, to satisfy this minor, students must choose courses from at least two different departments.

REQUIRED COURSE WORK: 24 units

Lower Division requirement: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
Students should have some experience with engaging ethical questions or considering the context in which these issues arise, which can be accomplished by completing one of the following:
ANTH 101	Body, Mind and Healing	4
ANTH 105g	Culture, Medicine and Politics	4
ANTH 125g	Social Issues in Human Sexuality and Reproduction	4
ANTH 205	Introduction to Global Studies and Overseas Research	4
BISC 102Lxg	Humans and Their Environment	4
BISC 103Lx	General Biology for the Environment and Life	4
BISC 150Lxg	The Nature of Human Health and Disease	4
ECON 205	Principles of Macroeconomics	4
GEOL 108Lg	Crises of a Planet	4
IR 101xg	International Relations	4
IR 213*	The Global Economy	4
PHIL 137gm	Social Ethics for Earthlings and Others	4
PHIL 140g	Contemporary Moral and Social Issues	4
SOCI 225g	Sociology of Health and the Body: Social Perspectives	4
SOCI 242g	Sociology, Human Behavior, and Health	4
SWMS 225	Gender, Sex, and Science: A Gender Studies Approach	4

Introduction to Political Economy: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
The courses in this and the following categories provide an understanding of the forces that shape global development.
ECON 238xg	Political Economy and Social Issues	4
ECON 340*	Economics of Less Developed Countries	4
ECON 350*	The World Economy	4
POSC 435	Politics and the Economy	4

Theories of Development: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
IR 325	Rich and Poor States in the World Political Economy	4
IR 344	Developing Countries in World Politics	4
IR 454	The International Political Economy of Development	4
POSC 255g	Cultures, Civilizations and Ethnicities in World Politics	4
POSC 450	Political Development	4
POSC 456	Women in International Development	4
SOCI 314	Analyzing Social Statistics	4
SOCI 362	Global and Transnational Sociology	4
SOCI 470	Development and Social Change in the Third World	4

Cross-cultural Perspectives on Health and Wellness: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
These courses explore cultural attitudes and differences about health and wellness that affect decisions about health care.
ANTH 301	The Performance of Healing	4
ANTH 305	Childhood, Birth and Reproduction	4
ANTH 405	Evolutionary Medicine	4
IR 339	Public Health and International Relations	4
PSYC 367*	Health Psychology	4
PSYC 462m**	Culture and Mental Health	4
REL 460	Senior Seminar: Medical Ethics	4
SOCI 385	Population, Society, and Aging	4
SOCI 475	Medical Sociology	4
SWMS 336	Health, Gender and Ethnicity	4

Perspectives on Social Justice: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
These courses familiarize students with the application of legal and ethical questions to social phenomena and the allocation of resources.
ANTH 300	Evolution, Ecology, and Culture	4
IR 316	Gender and Global Issues	4
IR 401	The United Nations and World Order	4
PHIL 431	Law, Society, and Politics	4
PHIL 437	Social and Political Philosophy	4
REL 366	Religion and Social Change	4
SOCI 360m	Social Inequality: Class, Status, and Power	4
SWMS 384m	Gender, Social Inequality, and Social Justice	4

Capstone Requirement: Choose one course (4 units)		Units
These three capstone courses examine efforts to introduce issues of social justice to the distribution of health care and other resources essential for human survival and well-being.
MDA 320	Global Ethics: Poverty, Health and the Human Condition	4
SOCI 408	Volunteers, Non-Governmental Organizations, and Everyday Politics	4
SOCI 450	Non-Governmental Organizations/Non-profits Field Practicum	4

Courses of Instruction

Interdisciplinary Major Program (INDS)

The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.

INDS 100 Topical and Multidisciplinary Seminars (1–4, max 12, FaSp) Small group investigation from an interdisciplinary perspective.

INDS 101 Directed Research and Tutorials (1–4, FaSp) Research and study with L.A.S. Faculty Associates and other faculty.

INDS 102 Field Study (1–4, FaSp) In-service experience in a variety of off-campus institutions under the supervision of an L.A.S. Faculty Associate.

INDS 300 Topical and Multidisciplinary Seminars (1–4, max 12, FaSp) See INDS 100 for description.

INDS 301 Directed Research and Tutorials (1–4, FaSp) See INDS 101 for description.

INDS 302 Field Study (1–4, FaSp) See INDS 102 for description.

INDS 400 Topical and Multidisciplinary Seminars (1–4, max 12, FaSp) See INDS 100 for description.

INDS 401 Directed Research and Tutorials (1–4, FaSp) See INDS 101 for description.

INDS 402 Field Study (1–4, FaSp) See INDS 102 for description.

INDS 494 Senior Thesis (1–8, FaSp) Writing the IDM senior thesis under the supervision of a faculty qualifying exam committee.

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