Liberal Arts & Sciences: International Studies

Associate in Arts Degree

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This program prepares for transfer to a four-year program in business, social sciences or humanities with an international orientation. Along with providing a coherent liberal arts base, it provides access to instruction in French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Two high school mathematics course or the equivalent, and one year of a laboratory science are required; two years of a foreign language are recommended.

Goal 1 To develop a range of skills including critical thinking, problem solving

  • Students will identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments as they occur in their own or other’s work.
  • Students will develop well-reasoned arguments.

Goal 2 To promote support for an interest in foreign language and culture

  • Students will demonstrate knowledge and an understanding from an international perspective about the human condition and past and present culture.

Goal 3 To develop an understanding and proficiency in the intellectual skills in the use of a second spoken and written language

  • Students will demonstrate a proficiency in a second spoken and written language.
  • Students will demonstrate a proficiency in knowledge of international culture.

Goal 4 To promote diversity awareness and a global view

  • Students will demonstrate an understanding of globally relevant information and an appreciation of the differences in individuals and cultures.

Goal 5 To provide opportunities for students to demonstrate a range of skills in written and oral proficiency

  • The student will devise and confidently deliver oral proposals and reports.
  • The student will compose clear and coherent written reports and essays.

Goal 6 To prepare the student to transfer to a four-year program in the social sciences or humanities

  • Graduates will transfer to a four-year institution with junior status or before completing a degree, students may transfer general education courses towards upper level programs in other institutions.

Goal 7 To create an opportunity for the student to gain: depth in the humanities breadth in other subject areas

  • Graduates will have taken sequences of courses in languages, literature, social sciences, the arts, mathematics, and natural sciences.
  • Graduates will have taken a variety of subjects, such as languages, literature, social sciences, the arts, mathematics, and sciences.

Goal 8 To provide opportunities for students to study abroad while earning up to 15 hours toward a degree from MVCC

  • Students with an interest in study abroad will participate in academic programs in other countries.

Goal 9 To prepare students to demonstrate information literacy

  • Students will use traditional and contemporary information technology.
  • Students will identify, access, and appropriately use authoritative sources of information.

Total Credit Hours: 62

First Semester

This course is an opportunity for students to develop the skills necessary to be successful in college. Students learn the importance of the faculty-student and advisor-advisee relationship, develop time management techniques, apply effective study skill techniques, recognize the implications of living in a diverse society, utilize college resources, and explore career and transfer requirements. Collaborative projects are included. Students matriculated in a degree program must take this course in their first term of study.

This course focuses on several kinds of writing-self-expressive, informative, and argumentative/persuasive, and others. A minimum of five essay compositions are required. The course emphasizes the composition of clear, correct, and effective prose required in a variety of professions and occupations. Prerequisites: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or EN090 Basic Writing Skills or SL116 ESL4: Advanced Composition or SL145 ESOL Advanced Composition

This course is a survey of mathematics for students in those programs that do not require a mathematics sequence. It provides an appreciation of mathematical ideas in historical and modern settings. Topics include problem solving, logic, geometry, statistics, and consumer mathematics. Prerequisite: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or MA089 Arithmetic.

This course introduces the nature and study of history, and covers the emergence and development of Eurasian civilization to about 1500 A.D. in the Near East, India, China, Europe, the Western Hemisphere, and Africa. Attention is given to religion in these civilizations and on the rise of the West to a position of world power during the Middle Ages.

A minimum of two semesters in the same language will be required. The student will meet with the Humanities Department Head and the Coordinator of International Studies to assess existing foreign language competency in order to determine proper placement or possible exemption. In the case of an ESL student, for example, English may satisfy the foreign language requirement.

This course covers the convergence of theories, methods, and concepts associated with political science and comparative politics. It introduces knowledge about politics and political science in a comparative perspective and develops a framework of classifications or typologies to deal with the complexity of political life. A specific effort is made to survey major ideological strains, from communism to fascism, and to link them to recent and current regimes and movements.

Take any Physical Education Course

Second Semester

This course encourages a deeper understanding of human nature and the human condition through the study of ideas and values expressed in imaginative literature. Emphasis is placed on the use and development of critical thinking and language skills. Library-oriented research is required. Prerequisite: EN101 English 1: Composition or EN105 English Composition for Speakers of Other Languages or EN106 English 1: Composition & Reading.

This course introduces probability and statistics. Topics include graphs, tables, frequency distributions, measures of central tendency and dispersion, normal distribution, correlation and regression, probability, and inferential statistics. This course is available in two formats: lecture only, or lecture plus laboratory using technology. Prerequisite: Appropriate high school GPA or placement test score or MA089 Arithmetic.

This course is concerned with civilizations and their influences on each other in the modern world. It traces the rise of the West to a position of world dominance and its impact on non-Western societies. Emphasis is placed on the major forces that have shaped the contemporary world - industrialization, urbanization, nationalism, militarism, imperialism, democracy, and communism.

(a) A minimum of two semesters in the same language will be required. The student will meet with the Humanities Department Head and the Coordinator of International Studies to assess existing foreign language competency in order to determine proper placement or possible exemption. In the case of an ESL student, for example, English may satisfy the foreign language requirement.

This course examines the cultural evolution of humans in a cross-cultural perspective. It includes the study of kinship, marriage, family, political and economic organization, the arts, and the individual in society. It covers the historical background of development of the discipline, research methods, and concepts proposed by various schools of anthropological thought.

Take any Physical Education Course

Third Semester

This course is a survey of the world literature masterpieces in English translation from the ancient times through the Renaissance. Among the major writers and texts studied are Homer, Sophocles, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Dante, the Bhagwad Gita, the Jataka, Machiavelli, Rabelais, Cervantes, and Shakespeare. Prerequisite: EN102 English 2: Ideas & Values in Literature.

Take any Natural Science General Education Course

This course introduces economic theory and its relevance to daily life in a market economy. Topics include scarcity, supply and demand, choice, economic growth, taxation, and the role of government in the economy. Attention is given to current economic issues and their impact upon everyday life.

This course is an introduction to public speaking. It emphasizes the fundamentals of preparing, organizing, supporting, and delivering the speech based on factual material. It includes topic selection, audience analysis, fact vs. opinion, outlining, supporting material, and visual support. Informative, demonstrative, and persuasive speeches are presented. Elements of interpersonal communication, logic, and persuasion are discussed. Prerequisite: EN101 English 1: Composition or EN105 English Composition for Speakers of Other Languages or EN106 English 1: Composition & Reading.

Select a From the following: Business Electives: BM212 or IS101 Social Science Electives: SO101, PY101 or AN101. Humanities Electives: HU204, HU205, HU220. HU292, HU186, HU187, HU188, EN280, EN281, HU289, HU290, HU291, HU295, HU296, SA300, or any additional Foreign Language.

Take any Physical Education Course

Fourth Semester

This course is a survey of world literature masterpieces in English translation from the Enlightenment through the Twentieth Century. Among the major writers studied are Swift, Pope, Voltaire, Roussnau, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Kafka, Ibsen, Camus, Garcia Marquez, Achebe, Mishima, and Mann. Prerequisite: EN102 English 2: Ideas & Values in Literature.

This course covers the skills necessary to analyze contemporary international politics. It focuses upon international politics as a political system, examines the types of actors (individuals, groups, or institutions) who make decisions determining the course of international politics, and discusses how nations deal with one another in international interactions. Prerequisite: PS101 American National Government or PS202 Comparative Politics.

Take any Natural Science General Education Course.

Select a From the following: Business Electives: BM212 or IS101 Social Science Electives: SO101, PY101 or AN101. Humanities Electives: HU204, HU205, HU220. HU292, HU186, HU187, HU188, EN280, EN281, HU289, HU290, HU291, HU295, HU296, SA300, or any additional Foreign Language.

Take any Physical Education Course

(a) A minimum of two semesters in the same language will be required. The student will meet with the Dean of Humanities and the Coordinator of  International Studies to assess existing foreign language competency in order to determine proper placement or possible exemption. In the case of an ESL student, for example, English may satisfy the foreign language requirement.

(b) Restricted Electives include: (opportunity to choose two courses listed below)

Business Electives:

BM212 International Marketing
IS101 Computers and Society

Social Science Electives:

SO101 Introduction to Sociology
PY101 Introduction to Psychology
AN101 Biological Anthropology

Humanities Electives:

HU204 History of Art 1
HU205 History of Art 2
HU220 Studies in Mexican Culture (other)
HU292 Approved courses listed as “Topics in Humanities”
HU186 Music Appreciation
HU187 Art Appreciation
HU188 Film Appreciation
EN280 Dramatic Literature 1
EN281 Dramatic Literature 2
HU289 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 1
HU290 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 2
HU291 Interdisciplinary Studies in the Humanities 3
HU295 Survey of Western Philosophy
HU296 Topics in Philosophy

Additional foreign language study

SA300 Study Abroad - SA300 requires permission of the student’s Dean and the Coordinator of International Studies. Students must fulfill the General Education requirements described in the General Education Quick Reference Guide. To ensure that you will fulfill these requirements for graduation, you must meet with your advisor as you plan each semester at MVCC.