College of Natural and Social Sciences

ETHNIC STUDIES PROGRAM

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• Ethnic Studies Minor
• ETHS courses

Kurt Siedschlaw, Director

Graduates entering the area of business, education, individual, family, medical, and legal services must be prepared to work with an increasingly diverse population in both urban and rural areas. Those in business and industry sectors must be prepared for an increasingly diverse workforce and customer base. Educators, while predominantly Caucasian, are working in both private and public education classrooms with increasingly larger minority student populations. Employment success will be heightened through undergraduate experiences rich in knowledge and skills related to ethnic uniqueness. Future career advancement will be even more dependent upon those skills. The Ethnic Studies Program was designed to work with students to establish a course of study for the student to address these challenges.

Program Mission Statement

The Ethnic Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program committed to promoting multicultural and ethnic knowledge, understanding, skills and values to prepare students to function effectively in a culturally diverse nation and world.

Program Goals

The primary goal of the Ethnic Studies Program is to provide a curriculum that enhances student knowledge, skills and abilities in the understanding and integration of knowledge related to various ethnic groups within the United States society. Additional goals include the enhancement of student skills in the areas of critical thinking, analysis and problem solving techniques with an emphasis on ethnic and racial concerns.

Program Objectives

• To engage students and faculty in educational activities that foster awareness of and exposure to scholarly and popular literature on the roles that ethnicity and race have played and continue to play in shaping American society.
• To assist students to develop critical thinking skills related to ethnic and racial concerns.
• To assist students to develop fundamental skills related to academic research, effective writing, social, cultural, educational or business program assessment related to ethnic studies.
• To promote cross-cultural understanding and efforts to strive for social justice.

The minor in Ethnic Studies is available for students pursuing majors in other disciplines.

Courses with the prefix ETHS are offered by the Ethnic Studies Program.