Applied Social and Cultural Studies
Zach Olson (Assistant Academic Director)
zolson@une.edu
Mission
The mission of the Society, Culture, and Languages programs is to offer a vigorous and exciting broad-based liberal arts education with an emphasis on cultural, global, and political dynamics. The programs provide a combination of theoretical, scientific, practical, and experiential approaches to understanding and solving human problems. Issues of gender, race, class, and culture, as well as hands-on learning, are emphasized throughout the curriculum. Our goal is to graduate students with marketable skills that prepare them for careers in a variety of public and social services and/or for graduate study in related areas.
Major Description
The Bachelor of Arts in Applied Social and Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary degree that allows students to integrate coursework from sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, communications, and other related fields of study. The major core emphasizes social science methods and ways of knowing while introducing students to a variety of social science disciplines. Within the Applied Social and Cultural Studies degree, students will also pursue a concentration in one of the three particular content areas.
In addition to the interdisciplinary approaches to the social sciences, there are two unique elements to this program. First, students complete a 120-hour internship. This helps students to engage in experiential learning, apply social science to the real world, undertake career explorations. Second, upper-level students participate in a semester-long applied sociological experience. One option is an internship with a minimum of 360 hours of engagement to be selected from a variety of area schools, agencies, and programs. A second option is for a student to study abroad. While studying in a foreign society and culture is important, the primary focus is for students to take courses and engage experientially in a way that helps students develop their areas of interest. There needs to be an integrated social science experience that drives the study abroad learning as well as the opportunity to explore a new society and culture for this to be a successful experience.
Overall, this program will provide students with a strong foundation for understanding today's social issues and problems. The student will also have a wide range of skills and experiences that will enhance their future educational and career opportunities as well as enable them to be more active and aware citizens.
Curricular Requirements
| CAS Core Requirements | Credits |
|---|---|
| Total | 42-46 |
| ASCL Core | Credits |
|---|---|
| Three (3) of the following four (4) courses: | Credits |
| ANT 102 - Cultural Anthropology | 3 |
| SOC 150 - Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| PSY 105 - Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| PSC 105 - Introduction to Political Science and SOC 268 - Practice of Social Research | 3 and 3 |
| SOC 270 - Classical Social Theory or SOC 280 - Contemporary Social Theory | 3 |
| SOC 300 - Internship | 3 |
| SOC 370 - Applied Field Methods | 3 |
| Total ASCL Core Credits | 21 |
| Applied Capstone Experience (See Details Below) | 9-16 |
|---|---|
| Concentration Credits (See Options Below) | 12 |
| Total Credits in Major | 84–95 |
| Open Electives (needed to reach 120 credits) | Variable |
|---|---|
| Minimum Total Required Credits | 120 |