Interdisciplinary Studies, Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies (246)
Program Coordinator
Anne L. Heintzman, anne.heintzman@wku.edu, (270) 745-2966
The Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies degree is designed for those who need or desire a flexible degree program. Within the limits specified for the degree, students, with their advisors, may design programs to suit their personal needs and educational objectives.
This program requires 60 credit hours of coursework. Students who have previously earned 60 hours of credit with a 2.0 cumulative grade point average or above in all higher education coursework, including all coursework completed at Western Kentucky University, and have met all other requirements for the degree, may apply as candidates for the AIS degree. If, upon evaluation of their transcripts, such students meet all the requirements for the degree, the degree will be awarded at the next graduation ceremony.
Opportunities
The Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies degree is an attractive option for employment or promotion in business and industry. In addition to those wishing to enhance their employability, several other groups of students will find the program suits their needs. These include those who are seeking a degree for their personal satisfaction; those who plan to move on to a bachelor's degree but wish to have a degree at the two-year level; and those who wish to consolidate previously-earned credits into a degree program.
Areas of Concentration
- Arts
- Business
- Education
- Health
- Humanities
- Science
- Social and Behavioral
- Technology
- Organization and Communication of Ideas
- Social Justice and Equity Studies
- Sustainability
Program Requirements (60 hours)
Minimum requirements for the AIS degree are 60 total hours distributed among the WKU Colonnade, concentration, and elective courses.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Colonnade for Associate Degree Seeking Students | ||
| Complete a minimum of 15 hours of Colonnade coursework chosen from: | 15 | |
College Composition (F-WC) | ||
Arts & Humanities (E-AH) | ||
Social & Behavioral Sciences (E-SB) | ||
Quantitative Reasoning (F-QR) or Natural and Physical Sciences (E-NS) | ||
Additional Foundations or Explorations Category | ||
| Area of Concentration | ||
| Select 27 hours in an area of concentration: 1 | 27 | |
Arts | ||
Business | ||
Education | ||
Health | ||
Humanities | ||
Organization and Communication of Ideas | ||
Social and Behavioral Science | ||
Science | ||
Social Justice and Equity Studies | ||
Sustainability | ||
Technology | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select hours of electives to reach 60 | 18 | |
| Total Hours | 60 | |
- 1
One quarter of the areas of emphasis hours must be earned at WKU.
A student must obtain a 2.0 grade point average in the concentration. An overall 2.0 grade point average is required to be awarded the AIS degree.
Students seeking the AIS degree must complete a minimum of 25% of their degree program in residence at Western Kentucky University. Courses taken at WKU off-campus locations through regional campus offerings or other WKU outreach are considered as having been taken in residence.
The Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies degree cannot be filed as a second degree program; as a result, students applying for concurrent or subsequent associate degrees must file the Associate of Interdisciplinary Studies as their primary degree program. Electives are in addition to the Colonnade courses and area of concentration. They may come from Colonnade categories or courses that do not fall into any Colonnade categories or areas of concentration.
Arts Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Arts Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AD, ANIM, ANTH, ART, DANC, ENG, FILM, FLK, HON | ||
| Floral Design | ||
| Advanced Floral Design | ||
| Wedding Floral Design | ||
| IDST, JOUR, MUS, PERF | ||
| Psychology and Science Fiction | ||
| SPS, THEA, UCC, UX | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Business Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Business Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| ACCT, ACTU, AD, AGEC | ||
| Digital Media | ||
| BA, BDAN, BDAS, BE, CIS, CIT, CM, COMM, CRIM, CS, CSCI, DH, ECON, ENG, ENT, ENV, EMDS, FACS, FIN, FINC, GISC, HCA, HIM, HMD, HON, SUPR | ||
| Floral Shop Management | ||
| IDST, LEAD, MATH, MFG, MFGE, MGMT, MGT, MIL, MKT, OST, PH, PLS, PR | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| Social Psychology | ||
| The Psychology of Sales Behavior | ||
| Psychology and Law | ||
| RE, REC, SPM, SPS, STAT, SUPR, UCC, UX, VJP, WFA | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Education Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Education Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AGED, BE, CNS, EDU, ELED | ||
| Foundations of Art Education and Methods II | ||
| Foundations of Art Education and Methods III | ||
| Life Science for Middle Grades Teachers | ||
| Chemistry / Middle School | ||
| Dance Pedagogy | ||
| Linguistic Analysis | ||
| Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics | ||
| Literature/EST Capstone | ||
| 2nd Language Acquisition Theory | ||
| Methods and Materials for Teaching English as a Second Language | ||
| Teaching English as a Second Language Practicum | ||
| FACS, HED, HON, ID, IDST, IECE, LME, LTCY | ||
| Earth System Science for Teachers | ||
| History Teaching Methods | ||
| Number Systems and Number Theory for Teachers | ||
| Fundamentals of Geometry for Teachers | ||
| Introduction to Advanced Mathematics for Middle Grades Teachers | ||
| Rational Numbers and Data Analysis for Teachers | ||
| Geometry for Elementary and Middle Grades Teachers | ||
| Problem Solving for Elementary and Middle Grades Teachers | ||
| Problem Solving for Secondary Teachers | ||
| Seminar in Middle Grades Mathematics | ||
| MGE, MKT, MLNG, PE, PETE, REC, SEC, SMED, SPED, SPS, UCC | ||
| Pedagogy for Performance Majors | ||
| Music for the Elementary Teacher | ||
| Teaching Music in the Primary Grades | ||
| Comprehensive Arts Education for the Elementary Teacher | ||
| Educational Psychology: Development and Learning | ||
| Psychology of Learning | ||
| Adolescent Psychology | ||
| Psychology of the Gifted and Creative | ||
| Moral Development and Education | ||
| Applied Cognitive Psychology | ||
| Child Developmental Psychology | ||
| Production of Theatre for Children | ||
| Play Production in the Schools | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Health Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Health Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AH, BIOL, CD, CHEM, CHHS, COMM, DH, ENV, EXS, FACS, GERO, HCA, HED, HIM, HMD, HON, IDST, NURS, PE, PETE, PH | ||
| Biomedical Ethics | ||
| Philosophy of Science | ||
| Sociology of Health and Illness | ||
| REC, SFTY, SPM, SPS, SWRK, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Humanities Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Humanities Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AFAM, ANIM, ANTH, ARBC, ARC, ART, ASL, BCOM, CHIN, CHNF, DANC, DCS, ENG, FILM, FLK, FREN | ||
| World Food Development | ||
| Writing in the Geosciences | ||
| GERM, HIST, HON, HUM | ||
| History of 20th Century Fashion | ||
| IDST, JAPN, LME, MLNG, MUS, PERF, PHIL, POP | ||
| History of Mathematics | ||
| Psychology and Science Fiction | ||
| History of Psychology | ||
| RELS, SPAN, SPS, SUS, THEA, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Science Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Science Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| ACTU, AGEC, AGED, AGMC, AGRI, AGRO, AH, ANSC | ||
| Computer Animation III | ||
| Broadcast Meteorology | ||
| ASTR, BDAS, BIOL, CE, CHEM, CHHS, CM, CS, DH | ||
| Climate, Resources, & Society | ||
| Teaching Science in the Elementary School | ||
| EE, EM, EMDS, ENGR, ENV, EXS, GEOG, GEOL, GISC, HCA, HIM, HMD, HON, HORT, IDST, MATH, ME, METR, MFGE, NURS, PH, PHYS, PSY, PSYS, REC, SEAS, SMED, SPS, STAT, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Social and Behavioral Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Social and Behavioral Concentration can apply the following prefixes: | 27 | |
| AERO, AFAM, ANTH, ARC, ASL, ATCU, CNS, COMM, CRIM, ECON, EDU, ELED, FACS, FLK, GEOG, GERO, GWS, HIST, HON, ID, IDFM, IDST, IECE, JOUR, LEAD, LME, LS, MIL, MKT, PE, PETE, PH, PLS, POP, PS, PSY, PSYS, RELS, SOCL, SPED, SPM, SPS, SWRK, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Technology Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Technology Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AGMC, ANIM, BCOM, BE, CE, CIS, CIT, CM, CS, CSCI, EE, EM, ENGR, ENV, GISC, HIM, HON, ID, IDFM, IDST, INS, ME, MFG | ||
| Social Media Marketing | ||
| OST, SEAS, SPS, UCC, UX, WFA | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Organization and Communication of Ideas Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Organization and Communication Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AD, AERO, ARBC, ART, ASL, BCOM, CD, CHHS, CHIN, CHNF, COMM, DH, EMDS, ENG, ENV, FILM, FLK, FREN, GERM, HCA, HON | ||
| Greenhouse Maintenance and Operation | ||
| Greenhouse Maintenance and Operation Laboratory | ||
| Floral Shop Management | ||
| IDST, ITAL, JAPN, KORE, LTCY, PE, PETE, PH, REC, RUSS, SOM, SPAN, SPM, SPS, SUPR, SWAH, SWRK, UCC, WFA | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Social Justice and Equity Studies Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Social Justice and Equity Concentration can apply the following prefixes and/or courses: | 27 | |
| AFAM, CRIM, DCS, ENV, GWS, HON, IDST, PH, PHIL, PLS, PS | ||
| Psychology of Prejudice and Stereotyping | ||
| SPS, SWRK, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |
Sustainability Concentration
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Students pursuing the Sustainability Concentration can apply the following prefixes: | 27 | |
| AGRI, AGRO, ENV, GEOG, HON, HORT, IDST, SPS, UCC | ||
| Total Hours | 27 | |