FAQs about Course Clusters

What do I have to do to complete the requirements for the Integrative Thinking Goal?

There are three requirements currently associated with the Integrative Thinking Goal:

• Two Interdisciplinary Courses OR a Course Cluster with integrative experience
• One course from those grouped under Quantitative, Inductive, or Deductive Reasoning
• Capstone experience in (each) major

What is a Cluster?

Through the Course Cluster option students have the opportunity to show the connections they are making about what they are learning without taking additional course work.  Students choose a topic or theme addressed in two courses taken from different subject areas or disciplines. While enrolled in one of the courses, in consultation with their instructor, the student develops the ideas for this paper or project which link the current course to a topic studied in a previously taken course. The student then submits the signed Cluster Proposal Form to the Registrar. The student who successfully completes the paper or project will receive a satisfactory (S) grade for IDS 90, showing this requirement for the Integrative Thinking Goal has been met.

If I want to create my own cluster, do I have to select courses from the lists on the Registrar's web page?

No.  You can make a proposal to cluster any two courses. However, the proposal must be approved by the instructor of one of the courses who will also oversee your integrative experience project. See the next FAQ for the Guidelines you must follow.

What do I have to do to propose my own cluster for the Integrative Thinking Goal?

Instructions and form for declaring an integrative course cluster 

For the Student Designed Cluster, must the courses in the two-course cluster be from different departments?

The Guidelines say any two departments or disciplines because some Programs and some Departments in themselves have instructors and courses representing different disciplines. So there may be cases in which the 2 courses do come from the same department or program but still represent different disciplines. While departments often represent one discipline, they can also represent more than one.

Who determines whether two courses offered in the same Department or Program are acceptable?

The faculty member who will assess the proposed integrative experience makes this determination.