Multidisciplinary Programs

Africana Studies: The program gives a comparative perspective to the study of the history, politics, and culture of peoples of African descent in the United States and peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora. Students take courses in the arts and humanities and the social sciences and at least one course from each of the three regions of the African Diaspora (Africa; North America; and Europe, the Caribbean, and South America). They are encouraged to study abroad in Africa or the Afro-Caribbean, or in the southern United States at one of four historically Black colleges (Fisk, Howard, Spelman, Morehouse) or at Mohammed V University in Rabat, Morocco. All majors complete a senior thesis or project. The program also offers two correlate sequences. More

American Culture: The program draws on faculty members from more than a dozen departments who usually teach in two-person teams. The program seeks to address the dissimilar ways various disciplines study culture, to provide a broad knowledge of various facets of American culture, and to develop a more sophisticated understanding of one aspect of American culture. Each student designs, with close supervision, his or her own program. Students are encouraged to fulfill the requirement for familiarity with a culture other than American through study abroad. The program requires a multidisciplinary senior project. More

Asian Studies: The program takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the history, economics, politics, geography, languages and literatures, religions, and cultures of the peoples of Asia. Major requirements provide in-depth studies by encouraging regional specialties (for example, East Asia, South Asia, China, India, Japan, and Korea) as well as breadth by requiring a common introductory course, a senior seminar, and courses outside the student's chosen regional specialty. Majors are required to become proficient in an Asian language and write a senior thesis and are encouraged to spend junior year abroad. Asian Studies also offers a correlate sequence. More

Cognitive Science: Vassar has the oldest degree-granting undergraduate cognitive science program in the nation. The program's key elements are sustained exposure to an integrated multidisciplinary perspective through core courses on perception and action, language, knowledge and cognition, and research methods; development of specialized expertise in a research area or methodology through electives; and completion of a senior research project or thesis. The program draws on faculty and resources of the departments of biology, computer science, linguistics (anthropology), psychology, and philosophy. More

Environmental Studies: This program invites students to explore environmental issues through a wide range of perspectives in the social and natural sciences, as well as the humanities and the arts. Students combine work in a particular field of their choice with multidisciplinary courses, often team-taught, in the program. The major involves field experience undertaken in regional settings (such as Vassar's 280-acre ecological preserve and urban ecology projects in New York City) and through international programs. Introductory and senior seminars frame the major, which also includes a senior project or thesis of the student's own design. More

The Independent Program: This program allows Vassar students to pursue areas of concentration that lie outside the college's existing majors. Students in the program design their own interdisciplinary majors in consultation with faculty and the director. They propose a sequence of courses and independent work that culminates in an interdisciplinary senior project or thesis. Independent majors approved by the program are comparable in breadth, depth, cohesion, and rigor to other majors at Vassar. More

International Studies: The program provides a solid, systematic grounding in the study of global interdependence while allowing students to develop strengths in at least two traditional disciplines. In consultation with the program's director, each student designs a program that builds a core of knowledge in the international social sciences, develops fluency in at least one foreign language, and includes upper-level work that may come from the sciences, humanities, or literature and arts. Students are encouraged to spend their junior year abroad. In addition, each year the program organizes a specialized study trip to an area of current interest. Treated as a semester course, students learn about the language, culture, and history of the area they will visit. Recent destinations have included Cuba, Indonesia, Russia, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. Work in the final year includes a senior seminar in the program and the completion of a thesis. More

Jewish Studies: This program provides a multidisciplinary and multicultural approach to the study of Jews and their cultures — a subject unified by a history of some three millennia. This historical experience is marked by a rich diversity with respect to race, ethnicity, and gender roles; class formation, political status and affiliation, and geography; languages, literature, and other forms of expression; and religious beliefs and practice. Majors who intend to spend the junior year abroad in Israel are advised to begin with study of Hebrew in the freshman year. More

Latin American and Latino/a Studies: The program takes a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the history, politics, economics, geography, literature, and culture of Latin America and Latino/a populations of the Americas. All students achieve competency in Spanish or Portuguese and complete a senior thesis and a senior seminar (recent topics include "New Worlds: Culture Clashes in Latin America" and "Varieties of Indian Experience in Latin America"). Some study in Latin America (either during summers or the junior year) is strongly recommended. The program also offers a correlate sequence. More

Media Studies: The program encourages the understanding and critical evaluation of new and old media technologies, the centrality of media in global and local culture, and the contemporary and historical impact of media on individuals and societies. The program emphasizes several interrelated approaches to the study of media: multidisciplinary perspectives derived from the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences; historical study of communication and the representation of knowledge; theoretical and critical investigation of how media shape our understandings of reality; examination of global as well as indigenous and oppositional media forms and practices; and practical work in the use of media technologies. Prospective majors submit a "focus statement" outlining their interests, objectives, the proposed course of study, and a tentative senior project. More

Science, Technology and Society: The program enables students to understand the central role of science and technology in the emergence of an advanced industrial society; to consider the social, political, philosophical, and cultural implications of the human experience in a technological society; and to explore possible directions of future development, using alternative social theories and perceptions. A senior thesis and senior seminar are required. More

Urban Studies: The growth and transformation of cities and their surrounding regions, urban history, the social problems of urban life, the design of the built environment, and past and present efforts at urban planning are among the major themes in this multidisciplinary program. In addition to coursework in a wide range of departments, students gain direct experience by engaging in field work, doing a workshop in urban practice, completing a senior thesis or project, and participating in the work of an urban research institute. The program also offers a correlate sequence. More

Women's Studies: Working with an advisor or advisors in the program, students plan a course of study tailored to their particular interests. Students take an introductory course, courses from at least three disciplines, at least one course in feminist theory, and other courses germane to their self-designed programs. A senior thesis or project is also required. Recent topics include "Global Feminisms" and "Feminist Approaches to Science and Technology." The program also offers a correlate sequence. More