Course Descriptions
(expanded from descriptions in the UND Academic Catalog)
The following three courses are required for the major:
IDS 280: Learning Across the Disciplines (3 credits)
As part of this course, students will devise a course of study they will pursue for their interdisciplinary degree—students will, for example, investigate course offerings and interview faculty in various applicable disciplines. Students will be required also to construct a web page that reflects the various disciplines that contribute to their track. Career options will also be explored. A research essay that focuses on some important aspect of the individual’s interdisciplinary field will be assigned. The course will also examine the nature of disciplines and fields and the way in which knowledge is organized. Basic assumptions and orientations will be compared and contrasted for scientific, social scientific, and humanities areas. Current literature in the field of interdisciplinary studies will be presented.
IDS 491: Capstone Interdisciplinary Seminar (1–3 credits) [to be taken along with the Senior Project, IDS 498]
Offered only in the spring semester, IDS majors will ordinarily take this course in their final semester before graduation. This is a senior-year integrative experience that involves a synthesis of what has been learned in the major. Students will be required to present the results of their senior project to the seminar, which will consist of all the graduating seniors in IDS (who will thus represent a variety of interdisciplinary tracks). Issues and problems that arise from the transition from an academic experience to the world of work will also be explored in the seminar.
IDS 498: Senior Project (3 credits, repeatable to 6 credits)
In their senior year, IDS majors will design and carry out a project that focuses on the area of interest that each student has pursued. Projects will include data or material from a variety of relevant disciplines or fields. Students will synthesize cross-cutting information into a creative/original whole and discuss applications of this new approach.
This is perhaps the most important course in the program, requiring that each student select from her or his work at UND and other experiences that he or she considers most significant and useful to create a meaningful project. The course is a co-requisite of the senior capstone seminar (IDS 491), where the student will present the project, either as an in-progress effort —for instance, discussing the process of formulating a research question, proposing the work of an internship, planning a performance or exhibition—or present the project in its final completed form. Therefore the project will become part of the other students’ interdisciplinary experience as well.
The following courses are electives:
IDS 399: Interdisciplinary Topics (1–3 credits)
This course was created to allow various faculty an opportunity to offer unique, and sometimes experimental, interdisciplinary courses that focus on issues, topics, or problems whose study necessarily draws on more than one academic discipline. Topics vary from course to course; classes are usually taught in a seminar/discussion format and are often team-taught. See the current class list for topics. IDS 399 is not a requirement of any IDS track; however, students may choose to include this course in their plan of study.
IDS 495: Service and Citizenship (3 credits)
Prerequisite: Junior or Senior standing. Students will design community service projects, or will join existing projects, and engage in volunteer action during the semester. Class meetings on campus will center on a critical discussion of volunteerism and community service; current literature on service learning will be studied. Self-assessment of experiential learning outcomes, as well as a portfolio and essay will be required. IDS 495 is not a requirement of any IDS track; however, students may choose to include this course in their plan of study. |
