Undergraduate Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science

College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

Website: https://coss.fsu.edu/iss

Director: Lisa Turner de Vera, College of Social Sciences and Public Policy

The Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science (ISS) provides a multidisciplinary view of contemporary social issues and problems. The program offers students an opportunity to draw on the several disciplines of the social sciences. Students learn to integrate those disciplinary perspectives as they seek an understanding of complex social issues, problems, and events. The program is flexible so that students may pursue their own individual specialized and pre-professional interests. Students may design their major to focus around disciplinary orientations to the social science, or special interdisciplinary concentrations in urban studies, inequality and society, public policy, public service, law and society, social entrepreneurship and innovation, and environmental studies are offered.

Digital Literacy Requirement

Students must complete at least one course designated as meeting the Digital Literacy Requirement with a grade of “C–” or higher. Courses fulfilling the Digital Literacy Requirement must accomplish at least three of the following outcomes:

  • Evaluate and interpret the accuracy, credibility, and relevance of digital information
  • Evaluate and interpret digital data and their implications
  • Discuss the ways in which society and/or culture interact with digital technology
  • Discuss digital technology trends and their professional implications
  • Demonstrate the ability to use digital technology effectively
  • Demonstrate the knowledge to use digital technology safely and ethically

Each academic major has determined the courses that fulfill the Digital Literacy requirement for that major. Students should contact their major department(s) to determine which courses will fulfill their Digital Literacy requirement.

Undergraduate majors in the interdisciplinary program in social science satisfy this requirement by earning a grade of “C–” or higher in CGS 2060 or CGS 2100.

State of Florida Common Program Prerequisites for Social Science

The Florida Virtual Campus (FLVC) houses the statewide, internet-based catalog of distance learning courses, degree programs, and resources offered by Florida's public colleges and universities, and they have developed operational procedures and technical guidelines for the catalog that all institutions must follow. The statute governing this policy can be reviewed by visiting https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2021/1006.73.

FLVC has identified common program prerequisites for the degree program in Social Science. To obtain the most up-to-date, state-approved prerequisites for this degree, visit: https://cpm.flvc.org/programs/35/196.

Specific prerequisites are required for admission into the upper-division program and must be completed by the student at either a community college or a state university prior to being admitted to this program. Students may be admitted into the University without completing the prerequisites but may not be admitted into the program.

Internet Supported Distance Learning

A bachelor's degree program is available that enables students with an AA degree to earn an FSU degree without moving to Tallahassee. To be admitted, students are strongly recommended to have completed the University's oral communication competency requirement and the computer skills competency requirement. Due to limited course availability, it is strongly suggested that students contact the distance learning advisor to review course planning options, prior to admission. For more information, visit https://distance.fsu.edu/support or contact the program advisor.

Requirements

Major program of studies at FSU: forty-three hours

A major in the interdisciplinary program requires forty-three semester hours. For the general option, work must be taken in at least three departments within the program. Participating departments include: anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, public administration, sociology, and urban and regional planning. Up to nine of the required forty-three hours may also apply to General Education. Twenty-one hours must be taken in courses numbered above 2999. A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0 on all coursework applied to the major must be maintained. All coursework within the major must be passed with a grade of “D” or higher.

Required coursework:

Students must complete the required course, ISS 3923 Interdisciplinary Forum, with a grade of “S”.

Students must also complete the required course, ISS 4304 Contemporary Social Problems and Policy Solutions with a grade of “C” or higher. This course is applicable to any departmental concentration area within the structure of the major.

Interdisciplinary Social Science General Option (forty-three hours)

Students must have:

  1. Satisfactory completion of the one-hour forum
  2. A primary concentration of eighteen hours in one participating department
  3. A secondary concentration of twelve hours in a second participating department and
  4. The remaining twelve hours distributed among any of the remaining participating departments that are not being used for the primary or secondary concentrations
Interdisciplinary Social Science Specialization Option (forty-three hours)

Alternatively, students may complete the requirements of interdisciplinary specializations in law and society, public policy, public service, urban studies, inequality and society, social innovation and social entrepreneurship, or environmental studies. For further details, speak with an advisor.

Degrees

The courses of study offered by the interdisciplinary program in social science lead to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BS) degrees.

Requirements for a Minor in Social Sciences for Psychology Majors at the Panama City Campus

A minor in the interdisciplinary program in social sciences is available for psychology students at the Panama City campus. Students may obtain the minor by successfully completing a total of fifteen semester hours of coursework in interdisciplinary social science participating departments, which include interdisciplinary social science, anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, public administration, sociology, and urban and regional planning.

Undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy

The Public Policy Certificate allows students to develop their abilities as policy advocates and policy analysts by focusing attention on areas of public policy that are of contemporary importance to Florida and to the nation.

Admission Prerequisites:

In order to apply for admission to the Public Policy Certificate program, students must the following requirements

Minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA

Successful completion of ISS 4304 Contemporary Social Problems with a grade of “C” or higher

Application Procedure:

Email completed application form, personal statement, and faculty recommendation letter to ISS-PublicPolicy@fsu.edu prior to completing six (6) credit hours towards the Public Policy Certificate. If you have completed more than six (6) credit hours towards the Public Policy Certificate, your application may not be processed.

Admission is limited to 20 students per academic year. Applications will be considered in the order in which they were received.

Certificate Requirements:

Students must complete twenty-one (21) credit hours at FSU toward this certificate. Students must maintain a 3.0 GPA or higher in all certificate coursework. The following breakdown of courses is required:

PUP 3002 Introduction to Public Policy (3)

Nine (9) credit hours from approved lists noted below in one of the following policy areas (see approved lists below):

  • Health and Aging
  • Poverty and Inequality
  • Risk Management
  • Environmental Policy
  • Government Regulation
  • ISS 4014 Evidence Based Public Policy (3) (with a grade of “C” or higher)
  • ISS 4925 Public Policy Seminar (3)

Three (3) credit hours of quantitative analysis coursework selected from:

  • POS 3713 Understanding Political Science Research
  • SYA 4300 Methods of Social Research
  • SYA 4400 Social Statistics
  • ECO 3431 Analysis of Economic Data
  • ECP 4618 Research Methods for Studying Housing, Land, and Mortgage
  • ISS 3330 Interdisciplinary Research Methods

Honors in the Major

The ISS program participates in the upper-division honors in the major. For requirements and other information, see the “University Honors Office and Honor Societies” chapter of this General Bulletin.

Definition of Prefixes

IDH—Interdisciplinary Honors

IDS—Interdisciplinary Studies

ISS—Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Undergraduate Courses

IDH 4020r. Honors Formative Experience (0-3). This course meets the university Formative Experience requirement and can count toward points for completion of the honors program. Students work with honors faculty while embarking on independent experiential learning projects including internships, student leaderships (e.g., Honors Colloquium Leader, executive board service), research, or international experiences.

IDS 2472. Freshman Seminar (3). This seminar course aims to advance library research, writing skills, and critical thinking skills among lower division students. Students learn to develop and improve their capacity to communicate complex ideas about a topic of their choosing in speech and in writing through participation in the seminar and research activities.

IDS 3342. Boomers and Millennials: Changing Generations (3). In this course, students are guided through original empirical research to appreciate the sources of changes across contrasting generations, and to follow up the impact of generational change for a wide range of social, economic and political dimensions of everyday life. Research projects compare different generations at equivalent points in the life cycle.

ISS 2937r. Social Science Honors Seminar (3). May be repeated to a maximum of nine (9) credit hours; repeatable within the same term.

ISS 3241. Foundations of Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation (3). This course provides a comprehensive overview of social entrepreneurship and innovation, examining how it promotes innovative, impactful, and sustainable solutions to social problems. The course looks at: innovation and impact across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors; social enterprise within nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid organizations; and social transformation throughout a system.

ISS 3330. Interdisciplinary Social Science Research (3). This course provides an overview of how to study the social world scientifically. Rather than simply present students with facts about social problems, students learn to ask rigorous questions and think about the social world in a more scientific manner. This course introduces students to the scientific method and how it applies across the social science disciplines.

ISS 3923. Interdisciplinary Forum (1). (S/U grade only.) Interdisciplinary Social Science Forum is an introductory course for ISS majors to explore and share advising, career, and academic experiences as members of the field of interdisciplinary studies. Students will obtain an orientation to professional and academic options for ISS students via applications-based curriculum, visiting lectures, and workshops.

ISS 4014. Evidence Based Public Policy (3). This course is an interdisciplinary public policy course that emphasizes the social science concepts which provide fundamental insights into how public policy is created through collective action and how it can succeed or fail by the actions of individuals and institutions.

ISS 4304. Contemporary Social Problems and Integrative Solutions (3). This course uses multiple and interrelated perspectives to identify and explore social issues and problems. Students are guided through the process of building interdisciplinary perspectives to maximize cognitive skills, critical thinking, and problem solving skills.

ISS 4308. Human-Centered Design for Social Innovation (3). Prerequisite: ISS 3241. This course provides an experience-based introduction to the human-centered design process applied to social innovation and impact. In partnership with a local organization, teams of students collaborate with organizational/community stakeholders to frame a design challenge for the semester; study the problem through primary and secondary research; identify and consider existing approaches/solution; and ideate innovate approaches, prototype, and test/validate those potential solutions and iterate. The teams conclude the semester by presenting the most promising ideas to the organization.

ISS 4312. Leading Social Enterprise and Innovation (3). Pre/corequisite: ISS 3241 is recommended but not required. This course provides a framework for students to apply Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship theory and methods toward a social/environmental problem they are interested in. Through the course, students: work to better understand the problem, stakeholder perspectives, and the effective and ineffective ways the problem is currently being addressed; frame a design challenge, identify existing innovative models that can inspire their own, ideate potential approaches to the problem, and develop a sustainable and scalable social impact model that systemically addresses the problem (or an aspect of it); prototype the model; create and present a plan for it implementation via a hybrid social enterprise.

ISS 4159. Perspectives on Race, Ethnicity, and Inequality (3). This course provides multidisciplinary perspectives of race and racism in the United States. The course delves deeper in major forms of systemic racism: economic inequality, political representation, mass incarceration, and media depictions. Exploration of race and racism includes discussions of Blacks, Whites, Latinx, Asians, Native Americans, Middle Easterners, and multiracials.

ISS 4164. Intersections, Power, and Policy (3). Prerequisite: PUP 3002 recommended. This course provides the theoretical study of race, class, and gender from across social science disciplines and the methodological tools for the evaluation of public policy. It further develops student skills in the critical evaluation of public policy and exposes students to diverse contemporary public policies ranging from congressional legislation to executive orders in Florida as well as nationally.

ISS 4905r. Directed Individual Study (1–3). May be repeated to a maximum of six semester hours.

ISS 4906r. Directed Individual Study (3). May be repeated to a maximum of six semester hours.

ISS 4907r. Honors in the Major Research (1–6). In this course, students accepted into the Honors in the Major program complete an original research or creative project in their major area of study. This course must be repeated at least twice to complete a minimum of six (6) credit hours total, but may be repeated up to a maximum of twelve credit hours in total.

ISS 4931r. Special Topics (1–3). May be repeated with permission of the Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Social Science to a maximum of eighteen semester hours.

ISS 4935. Advanced Public Policy Seminar (3). (S/U grade only.) This seminar is an application of critical policy dialogue. The seminar is highly participatory and students address policy analysis in various policy areas in a cross-disciplinary environment. The seminar is available to students participating in the Public Policy Certificate program as Interdisciplinary Social Science majors only.

ISS 4944r. Internship (3–6). In this internship, students earn academic credit through a variety of employment situations related to their academic interest. Students engage in active analysis and critical reflection of academic and professional experiences under faculty supervision. May be repeated to a maximum of six (6) credit hours.

For listings relating to graduate coursework, consult the Graduate Bulletin.