To: DEOs, DUSs, and faculty
Below are significant additions, revisions, and closures to undergraduate CLAS majors, minors, or certificates and to the GE CLAS Core approved during the 2023-2024 academic year and included in the 2024-2025 General Catalog; links to relevant catalog pages are included throughout. These changes are organized by college/department/division and are effective Fall 2024 unless otherwise indicated.
As you will remember, all curricular changes must be included in the General Catalog before implementation because the degree audit must match the requirements stated in the Catalog. If you are planning any significant curricular additions or closures for Fall 2025 or later, please contact me or Liz Lundberg as soon as possible to discuss the feasibility of the change and the possible timeline for approval and implementation.
Any significant change to the curriculum requires CLAS approval and often the approval of the Provost and the Board of Regents. For more information, please see the new CLAS Resources Site’s Curriculum page.
GENERAL EDUCATION CLAS CORE
World Language and Cultural Exploration
During the 2023-2024 academic year, the first WLCE courses were approved by the General Education Curriculum Committee (GECC) and the Undergraduate Educational Policy and Curriculum Committee (UEPCC). The following WLCE courses were offered summer 2024 or will be offered fall 2024:
- ASIA:1005 Scripts and Trips: A Journey through East Asia
- ASL:1500 Exploring the Deaf World
- FREN:1500 Trip to France, Belgium, and Switzerland
- GRMN 1550: German Food, History and Culture
- ITAL:2205 Exploring Italy: Culture, Society, Communication
- JPNS:2127 Books of the Silk Roads
- LAS:2700 Intro to Latin American Studies
- LING:1080 Communicating Across Linguistic Differences
- SPAN 1800: Writers and Writing in Latin America
- SWAH 2100: Exploring East African Languages and Culture
- TRNS:2578 Translation in the Humanities
The following courses were approved in other GE CLAS Core categories:
- AFAM 1900: Topics in African American Studies (Diversity and Inclusion)
- CHEM:1050 Chemistry of Our Sustainable World (Natural Sciences without lab, Sustainability)
- CLSA:1454 Hebrew Bible for Everyone (Values and Culture)
- CLSA:2444 Cities of the Bible (Historical Perspectives)
- CPH 2200: Climageddon: Climate Change and Health (International and Global Issues, Sustainability)
- ENGL:2010 Foundations of the English Major (Interpretation of Literature—students in the English BA and English and Creative Writing BA programs will no longer fulfill this category using a second Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts course)
- GHS:2100 Foundations of Health Humanities (Values and Culture)
- JMC 1800: 21st Century Science: Environmental Communication in the Digital Age (Values and Culture, Sustainability)
- LAW:1010 Introduction to the Legal System and Practice (Social Sciences)
- PBAF/URP:1001 How to Change the World (Social Sciences)
- POLI:2500 Politics of Natural Disasters (International and Global Issues, Sustainability)
- RUSS:2110 Russian Sports: Politics, Scandal Glory (Historical Perspectives)
- SIED:3164 Introduction to Global Socioscientific Challenges (Natural Sciences without lab)
- SJUS 2240 The Worlds of Jews and Judaism: An Introduction to Jewish Studies (Diversity and Inclusion)
- SSW:1200 Mental Health Across the Lifespan (Diversity and Inclusion)
- UICB:2110 Introduction to Book Arts (Literary, Visual, and Performing Arts)
CLAS DEPARTMENTS AND PROGRAMS OF STUDY
Two of the subprograms within the Anthropology BA and BS programs (Gender and Culture and Environmental Anthropology) have been eliminated. The Cultural Resource and Heritage Management subprogram has been renamed Archaeology.
BIOLOGY
The BA and BS in Biology have slightly reduced their requirements, requiring only one departmental elective rather than two for the BA and only two track electives rather than three for the BS, among other similarly minor changes.
COMMUNICATION STUDIES
The BA in Communication Studies will no longer require methods courses. In their place, students will take one additional intermediate course and one additional departmental elective (for which they may still choose to take methods courses).
DANCE
The Dance BA is no longer a selective admission program. Students may declare the major without an audition, but they will still need to audition for their placement in performance courses. The Dance BFA remains a selective program, requiring an audition for admission.
DIVISION OF INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMS
The certificate in Museum Studies, in collaboration with the Pomerantz Career Center, has made some changes to the internship requirement to allow students more options and flexibility. The certificate’s administrative home is also moving to the Division of Interdisciplinary Programs.
DIVISION OF WORLD LANGUAGES, LITERATURES, AND CULTURES
- The Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures—Chinese subprogram no longer requires Classical Chinese, and the BA and minor will start with a new gateway course taught in English, “China Beyond Walls.” These changes will make the BA and minor more accessible for students who have not taken Chinese language courses prior to college
- The BA in French is closing and recombining some of its subprograms. Students in this program who wish to choose a subprogram will now be able to choose either the French and Arabic track or the Language, Literature, and Culture track.
- The BA in German is simplifying some requirements to allow for more flexibility, including allowing some upper-level courses taught in English to count toward the major.
The Iowa Intensive English Program officially closed, effective spring 2024. The program had not been in use since prior to fall 2023. - The Portuguese BA will close, effective fall 2025.
ECONOMICS
The Tippie College of Business will begin advising Economics BA and BS students in Fall 2024, with those programs of study (as well as the Economics minor) administratively moving to TCOB in Fall 2025.
ENGLISH
- The English BA program has slightly fewer requirements, and those requirements are structured to create more distinction between introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses. The requirement categories are now more thematic and methodological with less emphasis on coverage of historical periods and more opportunities to study non-Anglophone literature and literary traditions.
- The English and Creative Writing BA program also has slightly fewer requirements, and those requirements are structured to create more distinction between introductory, intermediate, and advanced courses. The requirement categories are now more thematic and methodological with less emphasis on coverage of historical periods and more opportunities to study non-Anglophone literature and literary traditions.
- The BA and BS in Environmental Sciences have eliminated two subprogram options and streamlined the structure of the remaining tracks (“Environmental Bioscience” and “Environmental Geoscience”).
- The minor in Environmental Sciences has eliminated subprograms altogether. Students completing this program will still have the flexibility to specialize within the minor through course selection if they wish.
One of the subprograms of the Sport and Recreation Management BS program has been renamed. The “Communications and Public Relations/Journalism” subprogram will now be called “Public and Media Relations.”
HISTORY
A new certificate in Jewish Studies has been established and will be offered starting fall 2024. The certificate’s administrative home is the Department of History, and it combines existing coursework across seven departments. The two introductory courses for the certificate have been approved for General Education status.
INTERDEPARTMENTAL STUDIES
Several emphasis areas within Interdepartmental Studies will be discontinued: Applied Human Services—Aging Services, Applied Human Services—Self-Defined, Business Studies—Self-Defined, Health Science—Aging, and Health Science—Self-Defined.
POLITICAL SCIENCE
- The BS in Political Science is changing some requirements to provide students with more course opportunities within the department, including more statistics, analytics, and experiential learning courses.
- The BS in International Relations is also changing some requirements to provide students with more course opportunities within the department, including more statistics, analytics, and experiential learning courses.
- The Religion and Media minor has closed, effective spring 2024.
- The requirements for the Religious Studies BA have been slightly restructured, allowing students to specialize more in particular areas of the field rather than emphasizing breadth.
SCHOOL OF ART, ART HISTORY, AND DESIGN
The School of Art and Art History was renamed The School of Art, Art History, and Design to better reflect the school’s curriculum and areas of expertise.
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
The Social Work BA is no longer a selective admission program. Students can declare the major directly and will need to meet certain prerequisite benchmarks in the early courses to move on to the core major courses.
STATISTICS AND ACTUARIAL SCIENCE
The Actuarial Science BS is no longer a selective admission program; students can declare it directly. There will be a new course early in the major that helps students learn about the field, and students will work with their advisors to assess whether the major is a good fit.
THEATRE ARTS
The certificate in Public Digital Arts has been renamed Digital Arts to more closely match faculty expertise. The tracks within the certificate have also been removed, giving students pursuing this certificate more flexible requirements.