Propose your own minor.
A minor can be a great way to structure your distribution requirements and free electives to concentrate your studies, pursue your interests, or develop your skills. Catholic University offers dozens of minor and certificate programs. You can also propose an interdisciplinary minor—six related courses from two or three departments—tailored to your interests and goals.
The Proposal
To undertake an interdisciplinary minor, you must submit a formal, written proposal to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the School of Arts and Sciences (artsandsciences@cua.edu; McMahon 107; 202-319-5114). The proposal is your responsibility, but you should also talk to your advisor and faculty members. Planning an interdisciplinary minor is a great excuse to talk to faculty you already know and an opportunity to meet a few you haven't yet.Title
What would you call this minor? Your title should be a shorthand way to tell others how these six courses are related.
Course List
What are the six courses that you will put together as the interdisciplinary minor? Why these six? How are they related to each other? This is your chance to show in some detail how these six courses cohere and complement each other. Talk to professors teaching these or similar courses. They can point you to other, related courses. Also pay attention to how often courses are taught. It won't work to list a class that hasn't been offered since 2002.
Rationale
Why do you want to take these six courses as an interdisciplinary minor? How will the interdisciplinary minor relate to the rest of your studies? How will it prepare you for life after CUA?
Limitations
An interdisciplinary minor must be approved no later than a student's junior year. The majority of courses counting toward the interdisciplinary minor should not have been attempted at the time of the proposal. That is, the interdisciplinary minor should be a thought-out plan for purposive future study, not an after-the-fact bundling of already-taken courses.
As with other minors, at most two courses may count toward both the interdisciplinary minor and a student's major or a second minor requirements.
Example of a Recent Interdisciplinary Minor
Title
"Integral Social Analysis"
Course List
Sociology 201, "The Human Condition: Culture, Society, and Person"
Sociology 340, "Catholic Social Doctrine and Social Justice"
Honors Social Science Sequence 101, "The Human Person in the Social Sciences"
JPII 510/729, "Christian Anthropology"
JPII 605, "Psychological Issues in Psychological and Neurological Science"
Psychology 224, "Psychology of Women and Men"Alternative Classes:
JPII 550/850, "Gender/the Sexual Difference"
Psychology 305, "Social Psychology"
Psychology 374, "Personality Psychology"Rationale
"This minor combines courses in theology with those in the social sciences in order to explore the implications of a theologically informed view of the human person for understanding human behavior in society. The aim is to try to integrate diverse perspectives on the human person in order to better understand both theological anthropology and empirical social science.
The Integral Social Analysis minor is an analysis of the human person through the lens of sociology, psychology, and theology. The sociology classes help look at the social problems that the individual faces. The psychology class is matched with a similar theology class to get an encompassing view of how the person thinks.
The motives or driving factors of the individual are important in understanding a particular trend or the motive for an action of society. The reason for a theological perspective is to give a deeper insight into the fundamental human desires. By studying these, one can better understand the reason for the actions of the individual and society."