This honors seminar and study abroad experience is designed to give students basic Japanese language skills and introduce them to the cultural and professional environment of Japan.  In today’s global economy, it is essential for young professionals to understand the impact of cultural differences on business and industry.  The course will take place in over a two-week period.  It will consist of 36 hours of language instruction as well as daily site visits to companies and historical and cultural sites in Japan.

Application required; applications closed for fall 2012.

This multidisciplinary course introduces and promotes entrepreneurial thinking for effectively responding to key challenges in our new global economy. The course centers on global issues such as environment, health, poverty, education, sanitation, agriculture, trade and migration/immigration. The focus is on social entrepreneurship and how to develop an offering (a product or service) that would be responsive to a societal need, produce a social benefit and make a nominal profit. Students will work in teams to develop a product or service that meets the triple bottom line of profit, environment, and social good. These low cost, innovative products or services will be for consumers who make between just $2.00-$5.00 a day and will contribute to solutions to complex global problems.

UC students will collaborate with University of Quebec at Montreal (UQAM) students to develop the products/services, working in cross-national and cross-discipline teams through video conferences and direct meetings in Cincinnati and Montreal. These student teams will create entrepreneurial solutions to above-mentioned challenges, using critical thinking in bringing about economically sound decisions to solve contemporary global challenges.

A required study tour to Montreal will take place early in the fall semester. Learn more.

Application not required. Students can register for the course directly.

For nearly all of human history, life, as Thomas Hobbes observed, was “nasty, brutish and short.”  This began to change in some of the lands of Northern Europe during the 18th century, the era known as the Enlightenment.  This interdisciplinary course will focus on the developments of that era, especially as they were experienced in Great Britain.  It will examine the evolution of the Enlightenment and its importance to the emergence of the modern world, with a focus on its themes of scientific and technological progress, improved living standards, accountable government, individual human rights, and the revolutionary role of arts and culture in social progress. 

Students will travel to the United Kingdom, a "cradle land" of the Enlightenment, to visit sites associated with the Enlightenment and meet with representatives of institutions that continue to promote it.

Application required. Learn more.

As our environment becomes more urbanized we seek ways to comprehend our urban centers, as both a means of reaffirming intentions and envisioning alternative futures. This seminar will be focused on exploring methods for observing the city as a framework for projecting innovations toward sustainability in urban life and form.

This is an exciting international travel and interdisciplinary seminar intended to expose students to diverse and interesting urban environments with work in Cincinnati followed by a ten day travel opportunity in Brazil (the class will visit Rio de Janiero and Curitiba, Brazil).  Students from diverse disciplines and from both design and non-design backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Application required. Learn more.

Canceled for fall 2012 due to low enrollment. Will be offered in spring 2013.

The course introduces students to the history and structure of the Arab-American community in the United States. Critical, anthropological, sociological, and literary readings will be discussed from the perspective of important social issues such as gender, class, race, marginality, identity, ethnicity, discrimination, assimilation, representation, alienation, and otherness, to encourage students to reflect on the social diversity of experience and to think critically about social issues in the United States from the perspective provided by the Arab-American response to the American vision and experience.

A weekend study tour to Dearborn, Michigan is a required component of the course. Learn more.

Participate in a global challenge, develop sustainable solutions, design a prototype, learn social entrepreneurship, and compete with other US Universities.

In this studio seminar, engage in a multidiscipline, multi-country student collaboration to develop sustainable solutions & business plans for simple but pressing problems in waste management, food storage, food security, rain water harvesting etc. Learn to develop & apply your creativity with corporate mentors during the semester and work with virtual teams from leading partner schools in India at the IIT  or in Mexico at the Tech de Monterrey. Your team will compete with teams from seven other US universities including Cornell and Duke in the Acara Challenge http://acara.environment.umn.edu/acarachallenge/2011fall/.  Winners will have the opportunity (if you choose) to incubate and implement the winning plans into successful sustainable social businesses. UC students won the Bronze prize last year. http://business.uc.edu/news/departments/undergraduate-programs/2012/feb/acara-challenge-medal.html. 

Students who are not in University honors can receive permission to enroll if they have a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher. Please email honors@uc.edu to receive permission. 

Because it focuses on a “real life” problem applicable to all segments of society, this course will appeal to both males and females and to students in all disciplines. We will examine the issues of sex trafficking of the young and physical, psychological and sexual abuse by family members, teachers and strangers. Students will assume major leadership roles in the class, which will include a mandatory weekend service trip to a residential facility in , where staff members will explain the organization’s mission and challenges and students will have the opportunity to interact with teen victims of abuse. This experience will fulfill thirty hours of Cincinnatus credit. Films, fiction and non-fiction readings and speakers representing law enforcement and social services will be the focus of in-class activities. In addition, students will be required to perform five hours of service on their own time at a designated local facility or may choose to do an assigned in-class presentation. To compensate for time spent in service or preparation, class will not meet on several Fridays. Prospective students should contact Professor Billie Dziech at dziechbw@uc.edu.

Included in the course is a required weekend service trip to an Eastern Kentucky non-profit residential facility for abused young people ages twelve to eighteen. The dates for this experience are tentatively October 12-14, 2012.

The class may also volunteer with ProKids, a local non-profit that works on behalf of abused and neglected children who are in the foster care system. To offset this volunteering time, some Friday classes may be canceled.

Introduces students to the spatiotemporal correlations that are common to both architecture and music, will demonstrate that these art forms are related superficially as well as fundamentally, will compare elements that are common to both art forms, and will focus upon various artistic styles that have been prevalent during certain periods of history.  Rather than attempting to provide an exhaustive history of various global trends, this course will focus on certain principles found in these two art forms as they have developed with the Western world.  Among other topics, for example, the course will examine the influence of Classical thought and the effect of golden Proportion, the importance of form when applied to music and architecture, and the influence of societal demands and desires upon the architect and the composer or performing musician.  The course is unified in part through the overarching examination of these two art forms from an historical perspective.

In a global world, being smart and working hard isn't enough. Through collaborative learning experiences in this UC Forward gateway course, students will be able to demonstrate clearly—precisely and convincingly—constructive, effective and transformative solution-oriented outcomes for problems brought by a client or user group.

Students will:
-Identify and distinguish differences between types of collaboration
-Perform as a constructive and effective member of a trans-disciplinary team
-Appraise opportunities to create new perspectives for problem-solving
-Conduct qualitative, quantitative and archival research
-Synthesize research and ideas to develop initial concept prototypes
-Justify solutions based on market and societal inquiry.

Students this year mentioned...

"I feel as though the knowledge I've gained from this course has been the most applicable to the real world out of everything I have learned in college thus far."

"I was able to do something I had never done before, and I did it with a variety of personality types. It really showed me how groups of people interact in the business world."

"The experiential aspect is truly what made the learning in this class. It was nontraditional, and almost all the learning was through working on the project and through activities done in the classroom."

"I really liked how we were put into groups with people who were different disciplines and personalities. This really helped improve my communication skills, and also my ability to work well in teams."

Here is a link to the course website:
http://www.uc.edu/provost/ucforward/introductory_experiences/trans-disciplinary_collaboration.html

This seminar will be taught in two seven-week segments. Descriptions for each segment are below.

First 7 Weeks:
Career Confidence: Building Your New Career With Authenticity and Positive Influence
Great careers are not found. They are made. Everything you need to start building yours is already within you. Take the time to learn how to put it all together and bring it to the world. Career Confidence can show you how. This portion of the course is focused on enabling determined, thoughtful people of all academic and professional backgrounds to build a sense of purpose, influence, and control in their careers by understanding and exercising processes from creative professions. The stories and exercises shared within this course will illuminate the connections between inspiration, action, and influence, in a way that will allow you to reignite everything you thought you knew about your career.

About the Instructor:
Joel Kashuba is a practicing industrial designer and creative researcher. He has written for Innovations magazine and has been a keynote and inspirational speaker at design conferences throughout the United States. As the instructor of Career Confidence, Mr. Kashuba will peel back his unique, enthusiastic, and deeply-considered perspective as he shares stories that carry deep lessons for each of us as we build purpose in our careers.

Second 7 Weeks:
Business Etiquette, Protocol and Professional Image
This segment of the course provides an opportunity to examine the importance of corporate etiquette, protocol and soft skills in today’s business environment.  There is a thorough examination of the relationship of behavioral competencies and professional success. Students will successfully integrate their formal education and technical proficiency with soft skills training creating a well rounded, informed and prepared graduate.  The intent is to create a balance of educational excellence and real life experience. Topics covered will include proper business and social introductions, business and social etiquette for every environment, maneuvering the corporate culture, business and social dress, social media and the business world, electronic etiquette and protocol, cross cultural etiquette, interviewing etiquette and protocol, and business and social dining etiquette.

Student will develop skills in the following areas:
-To properly prepare for successful entry into the job market.
-To increase personal confidence through business etiquette and social graces knowledge.
-To understand the importance of electronic etiquette & social media in the professional arena.
-The ability to assess business and social situations and employ the appropriate behaviors.

About the Instructor:
Char Goolsby is an accomplished etiquette and protocol professional.  She is a graduate of Siena Heights University with a Degree in Professional Communications and a certification from the prestigious Protocol School of Washington.  For 10 years she studied under the renowned Marilyn Smith Evans, a private consultant for respected professional organizations including the Ritz Carlton Hotel. Char’s clients include The National Football League, The National Basketball Association, The UAW, General Motors Corporation and several celebrity clients.  She has also provided consulting services for several universities and junior colleges around the country.  Char provides image consulting services to many political campaigns and crises management firms. Char spends a great deal of time volunteering in the world community.