Consistent with the College’s Mission and Strategic Plan, AIS aims to create a holistic educational experience that enables students to become literate, intentional and empowered global citizens who are well-versed, not only in specifically recognized fields, but also in interdisciplinary dialogue. Through varied offerings in Anthropology, American Studies, World Languages, History, International Studies, Literature, Political Science, Liberal Studies, and Philosophy the School seeks to enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of the complex cultural, political, and imaginative dimensions of human existence.
Learning Goals/Objectives:
At the heart of School’s curriculum is a commitment to a liberal arts education. This curriculum is designed to help students:
Communicate effectively in writing and speaking
Think, read, write, analyze, and make presentations with developed critical skills
Understand and appreciate cultural differences
Understand trends in and problems facing the global community
Understand major philosophical, political, literary and social thought and become familiar with primary sources in these areas
Conduct research using a variety of methods and sources
Participate in civic and political life
Speak another language
Understand intercultural and international complexities
Use disciplinary and interdisciplinary analysis in problem solving
Apply classroom and co-op experiences to new professional, personal and cultural environments
Understand historical change
Career Paths:
AIS programs prepare students for graduate and professional studies as well as for a rich diversity of careers and life experiences. Since its creation, thousands of students have graduated from AIS. They have pursued successful careers in:
Law
Graduate school with programs in the humanities and social sciences
Consulting
Social Science research
Management positions in business
State, local, and federal governments
Leadership in non-governmental organizations
Journalism and publishing
Community organizing and public interest advocacy
Advertising and public relations
Teaching in private and public schools (when their majors included teacher education courses)
Teaching at Colleges and universities
The Curriculum of AIS:
AIS students are urged to consult with their AIS faculty academic advisors prior to registering for classes, meet with them regularly for advice and assistance in fulfilling requirements for majors and minors, and report on their academic progress.Names of faculty advisors and their advisees are posted both electronically to students each semester and are displayed outside the AIS office in the B-Wing.
1. The Undergraduate Program The undergraduate curriculum consists of a series of carefully designed and intellectually stimulating academic connections. These include a core curriculum, seven disciplinary and interdisciplinary majors, and over a dozen minors. Students may select a single major, a double major, or combine a major with a minor.
School Core The Core includes a “First Year Seminar” and a World Language Requirement The First Year Seminar (FYS): AIID 101: Intro to Liberal Studies
All first-year AIS majors complete the School’s FYS. Offered each Fall semester, this team-taught seminar introduces students to the various disciplines and interdisciplinary programs in the School, all of which are a part of a liberal arts curriculum. Focusing on a different theme each year in an engaging environment that fosters open communication, the seminar strives to enhance critical thinking, reading, and writing about the complexities of intercultural and international interaction.
World Language Requirement (Language other than English)
All AIS students must provide proof of proficiency in a world language other than English at the “intermediate low level” or complete up to three 4-credit courses in one of the languages offered in the School’s curriculum. Language instruction is offered in Spanish, Italian, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, and, beginning Fall 2010, American Sign Language. Most of these languages are offered regularly. Some are offered subject to sufficient enrollment and availability of faculty resources. The language program utilizes a modern computerized language lab.
For more information on the world language requirement and proficiency testing procedures, visit the Language Requirement and Testing page on the AIS website.
AIS Majors
Each AIS major provides a depth of intellectual and critical study and a mode of inquiry in a particular field of knowledge. AIS students are required to choose and complete a major. AIS undergraduate majors leading to Bachelor of Arts are:
American Studies
History
International Studies
Liberal Studies (a contract major)
Literature
Political Science
Spanish Language Studies
AIS Minors
Minors provide focused learning and scholarship related to the major or unrelated but of special interest to students. Minors are available in most of the above majors, as well as in Anthropology, East Asian Studies, French, Italian, Judaic Studies, Latin American Studies, Philosophy, Creative Writing, and Public Policy. Regardless of their majors, students are encouraged to participate in a minor program.
2. The Graduate Program; Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS):
The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies is an innovative approach to graduate education whose purpose is as old as the idea of the university itself. As Socrates suggested over two thousand years ago, we need more than specialized learning or mastery of a particular skill to function well in our world. Unlike traditional Masters' programs, which focus on developing skills in one specific discipline, Graduate Liberal Studies emphasizes the interrelated nature of knowledge and brings the expertise of different disciplines to bear on the issues it examines.
Ramapo’s Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program uses the interdisciplinary, multicultural and international perspectives that Ramapo first developed in its undergraduate programs to explore issues that shaped and continue to influence the modern world. Ramapo's program is unique in focusing upon the contact between Western and non-Western peoples in the past and the present. It explores how groups who are outside the mainstream have viewed society at different times, and investigates the perceptions of peoples from different cultures. Students study these issues in three core courses, followed by five electives, which build upon themes introduced in the core, culminating in a six-credit thesis.
The program is designed to enhance students’ appreciation of how historical and cultural circumstances condition human experience. Grounded in the tradition of liberal arts and interdisciplinary study, the program nurtures students’ critical thinking and effective communication. Courses taught in the program are from many disciplines, including history, philosophy, sociology, political science, and literature. Students also learn how to improve leadership skills and skills in connecting theory with practical application of knowledge.Research is central to this program. Students will learn how to access, interpret, analyze, and integrate data. They learn how to use traditional and contemporary sources, discern reliable and pertinent information, and present findings with accuracy, clarity, and significance.
The breadth and nature of the program have particular relevance to mature students who want to be able to make better sense of the times in which they live and who function in increasingly multicultural settings. Teachers will find it valuable; as will others whose work places them in contact with co-workers or clients from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The program provides an opportunity to receive a certificate of concentration in a focused area of study.
Small classes, personal attention from an outstanding faculty dedicated to effective and creative teaching and scholarship, and an intellectually challenging and diverse community prepare students for more productive lives and careers.
For information on admissions and graduation requirements, contact MALS office.
3. Co-Curricular Programs:
AIS Co-Curricular activities include a series of events designed to supplement and enhance classroom/academic learning and to educate and inform the internal and external communities of the College.Many are offered through the following programs:
a) Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Events and activities planned and organized by this Center are focused on the history of the Holocaust and prevention of genocide and human rights violations. Prominent activists, political leaders, and academics are invited to speak at these events.
b) AIS Colloquium & Visiting Writes/Poets Series. The “Colloquium” is sponsored by a dedicated team of faculty who invite experts both from within and outside the Ramapo community to present their writings or poetry, and/or to discuss important issues, events, crises, and challenges facing our nation and the world. Typically, there are three to four presentations each term.
c) Film Series. The School sponsors a number of feature films and documentaries that are relevant for the understanding of certain historical, cultural, literary, and/or political issues. Each film is placed in a special academic, social, and intellectual context and is presented with a commentary and analysis by the faculty sponsor.
d) The International at Home.This program consists of three to four events each semester, sponsored by the School’s international faculty and students and is designed to enhance the international and cross-cultural knowledge of the community.
4. General Education Courses Required for all Students at Ramapo:
a) Readings in Humanities
Readings in Humanities is a cornerstone of the College’s General Education program and is offered in multiple sections each semester by AIS.Readings in Humanities courses include philosophical and literary works from the ancient period to the present.
b) College English
The goal of this course is to help students read critically and write with clarity and precision. College English is also a fundamental component of the College’s General Education curriculum and is offered in multiple sections each semester by AIS.
