McMicken Explores New Programs, Units, and Unit Connections

McMicken faculty members are considering several exciting opportunities to expand, enhance, and strengthen liberal arts and science offerings.

Journalism (Jon Hughes)

The department of English is proposing a writing-based journalism major with three concentration areas: news/editorial, magazine/creative nonfiction, and photojournalism. Majors would be required to take 24 hours of core courses and a minimum of 10 journalism elective courses (30 credit hours) in one of the three concentrations. They would also have to complete an internship and a minor (27 hours) from a McMicken department.

Public Administration (Joe Gallo)

The Center for Organizational Leadership is exploring reactivating in a new form an interdisciplinary Master's program in public administration. It will draw courses from departments within and outside the college and will be designed to attract both non-traditional and traditional students. It will initially be offered in the evening and will partner with the public sector community by developing internship programs and contract research projects.

Neuroscience (John Bickle)

Faculty members from McMicken's biology, philosophy, and psychology departments are working with College of Medicine faculty to propose an undergraduate neuroscience program. UC already has a nationally recognized neuroscience community but no undergraduate degree offering in the area. Much of the coursework and lab training for a strong program is already being taught throughout the college but is scattered across numerous departments. The proposed offering would provide a curriculum organized around the behavioral and biological sciences that make up current neuroscientific research skills. It would bridge UC's academic and medical campuses and help to achieve national prominence in undergraduate education.

Archaeology (Lynne Schepartz)

A proposed BA in archaeology will provide students with opportunities to pursue their interests in archaeology through coursework, museum and field experiences, and laboratory research in prehistory, classical archaeology, geoarchaeology, and geophysics, GIS applications to archaeology, historical preservation, and bioarchaeology. This would be one of several archeology majors in the country. Associate Professor Lynne Shepartz will be chairing a faculty group developing this proposal.

Women's Studies (Anne Runyan)

The Center for Women's Studies has applied for department status after 30 years as one of the nation's oldest women's studies programs with a nationally recognized graduate program and significant endowment. It currently has nine full and joint appointed faculty and almost 100 affiliate faculty. It offers a major, minor, MA, MA/JD, and graduate certificates. Its recognition as a department would enable it to continue to attract outstanding faculty and students and would serve as a significant milestone and further catalyst for community supporters and donors.

Work and Family (David Maume)

The department of sociology is proposing a distance learning graduate certificate in work-family studies. This would be the first completely online graduate certificate in this area in the nation. The program would be designed to reach human resource professionals who wish to upgrade their credentials or gain continuing education credit; others might want to earn the certificate as a prelude to joining a more traditional master's program.

School of World Cultures and Languages (Gigi Escoe)

As the college continues to emphasize the importance of area studies and language instruction in a global society, faculty members are being asked to explore the creation of a “School of World Cultures and Languages” that would connect and promote the department of romance languages and literatures and the department of German studies, area studies programs, and additional foreign language instruction in other units. While each of the departments involved in the school would retain their departmental identity, this umbrella framework may have the potential to raise the visibility of member departments, to improve language instruction, to help support regional studies programs, to improve resource availability, to house a world class language technology and media center, and to create a collaborative structure and atmosphere conducive to cross-unit cooperation and interdisciplinary undertakings. An ad-hoc committee, chaired by associate dean Escoe, with representatives from all language programs and relevant departmental units, will consider the advantages, challenges, impact, and opportunities of a potential new school.