Certification Requirements

Academic Detail

Guidelines

The Organizational Studies program is multidisciplinary in intent and grounded in the liberal arts. Developing a theoretical base for organizational participation, leadership and human interaction requires moving beyond a single area of specialization. Through a multidisciplinary approach, students will begin to develop

1. An understanding of the human condition as it is experienced in organizational life
2. An understanding of the complex nature of systems and institutions
3. The capacity for analysis that moves beyond simplistic solutions to explore the interplay of values, responsibility, and the achievement of social goals. The goals of this theoretical base are to be supplemented by and integrally related to both a significant experience in an appropriate organization and the mastering of specific skills not available in the regular curriculum.

General Requirements for the Certificate

In order to fulfill the requirements for certification in Organizational Studies, a student must accomplish the following:

1. Complete three core courses; one from each of the two major content areas and a third from either content area (courses are listed below).
2. Complete Industrial-Organizational Psychology (PSYC-230), which typically is offered during the spring semester each year.
3. Participate successfully in a month-long summer session. Contact Dr. Przybyla, the Program Director, for specific dates.
4. Complete an appropriate internship.
5. Complete an integrative paper and presentation upon completion of internship.

In order to further integration and thoughtful choices, the program director and the advisory committee shall advise and have final authority over each student's particular program selections. Course selections are to be made from the approved list. Exceptions are only by petition to the Board. Petitions must include a complete course syllabus and a detailed rational for the exception.

Core Courses

The three courses- one from Area A, one from Area B, and one from either area -- must be taken from at least two different departments. A Directed Studyor Senior Research Projectmay replace one of the courses.

(A) The Individual Within the Organization.Courses that meet this requirement are designed to focus on the role and development of the individual in organizational settings. Students will examine some combination of the following issues:

• how individuals acquire, develop, and use knowledge in organizational settings.
• how individuals communicate in the process of social interaction.
• how individuals gain an overview of the nature and foundations of sociocultural behavior.

Examples of courses that satisfy this requirement:

• BLST- 212 Race and Ethnicity
• COMM-101 Public Address
• COMM- 221 Group Communication
• COMM- 224 Interpersonal Communication
• PSYC- 220 Social Psychology
• PSYC- 240 Personality
• PSYC- 330 Cognitive Psychology
• REL- 225 Ethics and Institutional Morality
• SA- 210 Sexual Inequality
• THTR- 230 Acting: Realism I

(B) Organizational Processes and Social Organizing. Courses that meet this requirement are designed to focus on interdependent relationships within organizations. Students will develop an understanding of organizational life that reflects on either the broad nature of social organizing or a specific aspect of organizational life.

Examples of courses that satisfy this requirement:

• ART- 297 Power and Politics in African Arts
• BLST- 265 Black Women and Organizational Leadership
• BLST- 339 Culture, Identity, and Politics in Caribbean Society
• BLST- 340 Social Justice Movements in Communities of Color
• COMM- 306 Organizational Culture
• COMM- 409 International Communication
• COMM- 415 Conflict and Communication
• ECON- 422 Industrial Organization and the Public Control of Business
• ECON- 423 International Trade
• ECON- 424 Labor Economics
• ECON- 425 Racial and Ethnic Groups and the U.S. Economy
• EDUC- 213 The U.S. Education System
• ENVS- 240 Environmental Politics and Decision Making
• ENVS- 284 Environmental Planning and Design
• ENVS- 301 Environmental Practicum
• PHED- 430 Organization and Administration of Physical Education, Health, and Athletics
• POSC- 202 American Political Behavior and Institutions
• POSC- 311 Political Organizations in the U.S.
• POSC- 310 Politics of Congress
• REL- 217 Sects and Cults
• REL- 319 The Human Condition: Economic Factors and Theological Perspectives
• SA- 244 Environment, Technology, and Society
• SA- 342 Non-Governmental Organizations, Development, and Human Rights
• SA- 349 Complex Organizations
• THTR- 349 Production Management

Summer Session

The premise guiding this four-week seminar is that organizations need persons capable of examining problems with a critical and imaginative eye and of responding in an ever-changing environment with policies, actions, and decisions derived from a broad knowledge base. A major strength of Denison's liberal arts program is that it fosters the development of this broad knowledge base, as well as critical-thinking and problem-solving skills. The summer session focuses on the application of those skills in organizations. Students are introduced to the language and fundamental principles of organizational management, group processes and decision-making, marketing, finance, and accounting, enabling them to hear and interpret the problems faced by organizations. In addition, students are provided with examples of concrete problems and allowed to investigate multiple solutions.

Undergraduates are in the process of developing important skills in their academic program. The intent of the seminar is to enhance these skills and to engender the security and confidence that comes with the realization that what one knows and does has utility in one's work environment.

The seminar meets five days each week, with laboratory/class sessions convened for at least six hours and reading and/or writing assignments tied to each session. Students who participate in the summer program earn a pass, pass-with-distinction, or fail, which is recorded on their certificate.

An Internship

(May Term, summer or semester long)

The internship may take place during a summer or during a full semester. In some fields (e.g., the Arts), it may be appropriate to begin with the internship, in which case the core courses will become forms of analysis of the experience, supplemented by the summer session. In other disciplines, the internship will become the venue where coursework and the summer session are brought into play. In either case, the completion of the internship shall result in a major, integrative paper and presentation.