Programs
Cornerstone | Degree in Three | Certificate in Environmental Studies | Medical Humanities Certificate | English Language in a Global Context | Latin American and Latino Studies
Cornerstone
Cornerstone Integrated Liberal Arts is a 15-credit-hour certificate program designed for all Purdue undergraduates. The two-semester first year sequence is taught by a team of award winning Liberal Arts Faculty Fellows. It is followed by three courses built around a series of themes designed to add depth to the student’s major. The Cornerstone certificate provides students with a road map to navigate the varied options of the Purdue core curriculum. It presents a set of classes that complements the student’s area of study and fosters the creative thinking that makes good business and industry leaders, and even more importantly good citizens.
Cornerstone students will cultivate exceptional communication skills as well as an appreciation of the need to examine a diversity of opinions and develop as lifelong learners positioned to make a transformative impact on the world and their communities.
English Department Faculty Fellows
- Prof. Angelica Duran
- Prof. Michael Johnston
- Prof. Chris Lukasik
Program Overview:
Cornerstone consists of a 2-semester first-year sequence of Transformative Texts. These courses are based on the fundamental premise that great texts inform and inspire students, develop their creative thinking and imaginative capacity, and help them see the world from different perspectives, broadening their understanding of the world and the challenges people face.
SCLA 101 Transformative Texts, Critical Thinking and Communication I: Antiquity to Modernity (UCC Written Communication and Information Literacy)
SCLA 102 Transformative Texts, Critical Thinking and Communication II: Modern World (UCC Oral Communication)
Students then proceed to take 9 hours in the Cornerstone
Themes of Cultural Impact and Representation:
Science and Technology
Environment and Sustainability
Healthcare and Medicine
Management and Organization
Conflict Resolution and Justice
Sample
English Department Courses
ENGL 223: Literature and Technology
ENGL 225: Literature, Injustice, Inequality
ENGL 226: Narrative Medicine
ENGL 234: Ecological Literature
ENGL 322: Word, Image, Media
ENGL 344: Environmental Ethics, Policy, and Sustainability
ENGL 367: Detective Fiction
ENGL 373: Science Fiction and Fantasy
ENGL 419: Multimedia Writing
ENGL 421: Technical Writing
ENGL 439: Topics in Disability Studies
Degree in Three
The College of Liberal Arts offers the opportunity for students to complete their degree in three years. Degree in 3 majors allow students to enter the work force or graduate school a year earlier than traditional plans of study while also providing a cost-effective way to complete an undergraduate degree. Students can complete the three-year option with or without AP credit by adding summer sessions to traditional coursework in Fall and Spring semesters.
Certificate in Environmental Studies
Environmental and Sustainability Studies is a new, interdisciplinary undergraduate certificate administered by the Center for the Environment. The Certificate gives students working in multiple disciplines a broad exposure to how environmental and sustainability challenges and solutions are conceived, represented, and researched in the Humanities, Social Sciences, Agriculture, and STEM disciplines. The program introduces students to a wide range of environmental issues from diverse perspectives so that they can more effectively comprehend and evaluate today’s environmental and sustainability challenges.
The certificate is designed to help students in all majors to take a more sophisticated and integrated approach to solving environmental and sustainability challenges in their future careers. For information, contact your advisor or the Program Coordinators: Prof. Leigh Raymond, lraymond@purdue.edu and Prof. Robert P. Marzec, rmarzec@purdue.edu.
Medical Humanities Certificate
The Medical Humanities Certificate offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the intersection of human experience, medical practice, and scientific technology. The program emphasizes how bioscience and health care take place within specific cultural and social contexts. Drawing from expertise across the University, this new program offers rich exposure to both the humanities and social sciences.
The Medical Humanities Program provides an opportunity to provide new models within and across fields and to foster collaborations between departments and programs. Research and Curriculum working groups promote ideas about medicine and health among the university by sharing research, applying for grants, and bringing in outside speakers, while involving students in a more tangible, practical way.
Academic & Career Preparation
The demand for professionals who can synthesize the ethical, social, historical, and practical aspects of health care continues to grow. Purdue graduates who go on to take leading roles in the fields of medicine, engineering, science, and public policy should demonstrate an understanding of and an appreciation for the cultural and historical dimensions of their disciplines.
Students with Medical Humanities training have gone on to work in social/economic research, medicine, allied health professions, dentistry, health law, medical social work, nursing, public health, and public policy studies. This certificate will aid graduates pursuing degrees in pharmacy, medicine, occupational therapy, and other health professions, as well as law and graduate school programs to stand out.
Requirements
18 hours (6 courses) required with at least 6 hours from each the Social Science and Humanities Categories including more than 50 courses from across campus.
Sample Courses
CLCS 385: Science, Medicine, and Magic in the Ancient West
ENGL 22600: Narrative Medicine
ENGL 42201: Writing for the Health and Human Sciences
ENGL 439: Topics in Disability Studies
HIST 47005: Women and Health in America
ANTH 325/SOC 352: Drugs, Culture, and Society
English Language in a Global Context - A New English Major
In this track, students learn about the history of the English language, the varieties of English dialects around the world, and the teaching of English as a second language. Students receive practical training in ESL, experience a unique curriculum, can participate in internship opportunities, and study structure, history, and social contexts.
Key Features:
Reputation: Engl-Global’s integrated curriculum in theoretical and applied linguistics combines courses in English Language and Linguistics with courses in Teaching English as a Second Language, taking advantage of Purdue’s international reputation as a leader in Linguistics and Second Language Studies/ESL at the graduate level.
Internship Opportunities: Students gain on-the-job experience as an apprentice English language instructor in the Purdue Language and Cultural Exchange (PLaCE), as well as the opportunity to participate in a weekly seminar in applied linguistics. Study-abroad options are also under development.
Training: Engl-Global provides valuable training for domestic students who want to teach English abroad in their home country, and for future professionals who wish to bolster their English language credentials for working in international contexts. The program also provides a strong background for those who wish to pursue graduate studies in Applied Linguistics of Second Language Studies.
Minor in English: For students who are not majoring in English, a portion of the Engl-Global curriculum can be taken in the form of a four-course minor in English. The suggested combination includes one course in introductory linguistics, two courses in Teaching English as a Second Language, and the internship course.
For more information, visit http://www.cla.purdue.edu/students/academics/majors/English/englgc.html
Latin American and Latino Studies
Latin American and Latino Studies (LALS) is an interdisciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts, School of Interdisciplinary Studies. LALS provides a way for students to contemplate transnational connections and to approach the study of Latin American and Latino societies and cultures from a variety of methodological and disciplinary approaches. The program offers a minor that is open to all Purdue University undergraduate students as an opportunity to expand the breadth of their knowledge regarding Latin American and U.S. Latino Cultures.
Fun Facts:
The program offers a 15-credit hour minor that is comprised of courses in Spanish, Portuguese, Political Science, History, English, and Anthropology. Courses outside of CLA may soon be added. Minors in LALS offer an array of study-abroad and internship options that can satisfy required courses for the minor.
Points of Pride:
As a vibrant, cross-territorial interdisciplinary program, LALS
- Brings together the study of Latin America and Latino communities in the U.S. and the Caribbean.
- Offers a minor that will internationalize students’ studies and enhance potential career objectives.
- Facilitates exploration of the similarities and differences among the histories, cultures, social institutions, and political systems of countries throughout the Americas and in the Caribbean island nations.
- Provides opportunities for students to learn about the history of European colonization, slavery, migration, cultural and economic trade, and transnationality and globalization and their impact on the region.
Careers:
An LALS minor will help students seeking a broad range of careers, such as:
- Congressional Aide Global Human Resources Manager
- Consular/Embassy Assistant International Financial Planner
- Diplomat Social Worker
- FBI Agent United Nations Officer
- Humanitarian Relief Worker World Health Organization Officer
Contact Information
Beering Hall, Room 6180 Dr. Alfred Lopez, Director
100 North University Street (765) 494-2764
(765) 496-1848 alopez@purdue.edu
IDIS@purdue.edu cla.purdue/sis/latin-american
