A new international studies minor is in the final stages of approval and could be implemented as early as Winter term, according to Chris Wohlforth, associate director for program development at the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding. An architecture, design and urban planning program is also in the works, although the proposal is still in the early stages of approval, according to art history professor Marlene Heck.
Proposed changes to academic programs go through a four-step process to gain approval, according to Wohlforth. The first is to submit a proposal to one of the four faculty divisional councils -- humanities, sciences, social sciences and international and interdisciplinary programs. Proposals must then pass through the Committee on Instruction, the Committee on Policy and finally the Committee of Chairs. Each group asks questions and offers revisions to the proposal.
"The process ensures that you're not generating programs without any thought," Wohlforth said.
The international studies minor would fall under the Dickey Center's administration and would require students to complete six classes on international relations. The proposal was recently approved by the Committee on Policy and is waiting to be placed on the agenda for the Committee of Chairs, according to Wohlforth. The Committee of Chairs is scheduled to meet on Nov. 10, although the proposal may not appear on that meeting's agenda, Wohlforth said.
"The prospects [of being approved] are pretty good because we don't need a lot of money," Wohlforth said. "The courses already exist."
The minor is built around a group of interdisciplinary courses -- Violence and Security in the government department, Culture, Places and Identity in the comparative literature department and two geography courses, Global Health and Society and Introduction to International Development, Wohlforth said.
Students can fulfill the other two course requirements through elective courses -- one with a focus on international studies and one advanced foreign language literature course, Wohlforth said.
"It's a pretty rigorous language component," she said, referring to the fact that advanced language courses have numerous prerequisites.
Wohlforth began planning the minor when she arrived at the College eight years ago. Students currently take a variety of classes with an international focus, Wohlforth said, but these courses lack a cohesiveness that the minor will provide.
Until 1970, the College had an international relations major, but it has since become a concentration within the government department, according to Wohlforth. International relations is different from international studies because it applies political science methods to understanding global issues, while international studies uses perspectives from various disciplines, Wohlforth explained.
Some upperclassmen have expressed dismay that they cannot complete the minor before graduation, although the general student response has been quite positive, Wohlforth said. Prospective students are also enthusiastic about the new offering, she added.
Faculty have also responded favorably, Wohlforth said. Professors believe that the minor complements the College's current curriculum, and the interdisciplinary nature of the minor may introduce students to new departments, she added.
Like the international studies minor, the ADUP program would be an interdisciplinary offering of existing classes from different departments, including art history, studio art, engineering, geography, sociology and economics. The ADUP program, if approved, would allow students to petition to modify any major with the program's curriculum, Heck said.
The proposal for the ADUP program, submitted to the Committee on Instruction last year, awaits revisions regarding specific credits and required classes, according to Heck. The proposal is about one to two years away from possible implementation, she added.
"It makes the most of courses already on the books," Heck said. "It's a way to sample widely and fill [distributive requirements] across the campus."
Although the College does not currently have an architecture program, six to 10 Dartmouth graduates matriculate at prestigious graduate schools of architecture each year, Heck said.
"Architecture is considered a professional school," Heck said. "But I think the best way to become an architect is to become liberally educated. You can prepare yourself to be a very attractive candidate [for graduate school]."
Approval for both proposals would ensure that the programs last regardless of which professors are currently teaching at the College, both Heck and Wohlforth said.
