Multidisciplinary

The following programs are all in the College of Letters and Science .

American Studies

John Blakeman Coordinator
Department of Political Science
Room 484, Collins Classroom Center
Phone: 715-346-2688
Email: jblakema@uwsp.edu
Visit the College of Letters and Science website at www.uwsp.edu/cols

Academic Standards for American Studies Major

To graduate with a major in American Studies you must have a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in all courses required for the major, including transfer courses, regardless of any declaration of academic bankruptcy. See the Grade-related Policies section in the catalog for the policy on repeating courses.

Test-Out and Credit-by-Exam Policy for American Studies Major

You may test-out and/or receive credit-by-exam for all General Education Program requirement (GEP) courses. To test-out but not receive credit for all other courses in the major, please consult with the American studies coordinator. You may take an exam for credit or test-out only once.

Collaborative Degree Program - American Studies

The American Studies major is part of the Collaborative Degree Program where students may attend evening/online classes at any of several campuses. For more information call 715-346-4243.

Biochemistry

Karin Bodensteiner, Chair of Biology Department
Room 167A, Trainer Natural Resources Building
Phone: 715-346-3994
Email: biology@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/biology

Jason D’Acchioli, Chair of Chemistry Department
Room D129A, Science Building
Phone: 715-346-2888
Email: chemistry@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/chemistry

Biology faculty: S Alger, B Barringer, T Barta, R Bell, K Bodensteiner, J Bray, D Caporale, L Dresang, A Driver, D Graf, J Hardy, C Hartleb, J Hubbard, T Huspeni, A Impullitti, L Lee, S Pimm Lyon, S Majernik, S Orlofske, K Prahl, M Rogge, R Rosenfield, N Shefferly, J Sipiorski, K Slemmons, M Steury, Q Sun, P Whitaker, C Yahnke, P Zani.

Chemistry faculty: R Badger, N Bowling, L Cole, T Corcoran, K Czerwinski, J D’Acchioli, D Haagenson, A Jonsson, J Lawrence, G Lueck, K McGarry, J Mondloch, N Murphy, R Ottosen, S Riha, GJ Shulfer, D Snyder, B Speetzen, E Speetzen, D Szpunar, R Tanke, A Timerman, P Workman.

Definition: Biochemistry combines knowledge of biology and chemistry to explain life processes in terms of molecular structure and chemical reactions within living cells.

This multidisciplinary major has a chemistry-based curriculum coupled with a significant biology component. The role of a biochemist is to work for understanding of organismal function and diversity in the principles and concepts of chemistry and physics, as well as in the structure, mechanisms and chemical processes that are common to all organisms. The biochemistry major links biological sciences like molecular biology and genetics to physical sciences like chemistry and physics. In addition, the biochemistry major combines the multidisciplinary foundation inherent to biochemistry with all the advantages of a liberal arts education.

Notes for Biochemistry:

Please read all the NOTES under the biology AND chemistry sections of this catalog. All items under both sections apply to the biochemistry major.
The biochemistry major is the same regardless of the college from which you graduate. If you have a single major (biochemistry), you will graduate from the College of Letters and Science. If you are in education, you may graduate from either the College of Letters and Science or from the College of Professional Studies. If you have a double major, such as biochemistry and natural resources, you may graduate from the College of Letters and Science or the College of Natural Resources.
Courses in biology and chemistry are open to all students who meet the prerequisites.
Communication in the Major is satisfied by earning credit in BIOL 490 and in the 200 and 300-level chemistry courses that are listed as core requirements. The physics and math courses are not part of the Communication in the Major.
Capstone Experience is satisfied by earning credit in BIOL 490 (the designation “seminar in molecular biology” is preferred).

Academic Standards and Policies for Biochemistry Major

Admittance and status as a biochemistry major depends on the following factors:

To be admitted, retained, and approved for graduation as a biochemistry major, you must

apply for acceptance into the major through the Department of Chemistry office no later than the first semester of your junior year.
maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.50 for all courses taken within the major and regardless of a declaration of academic bankruptcy, (including UWSP and transferred credits that are accepted into the major).

When you apply for the biochemistry major, you are conditionally admitted with an “intended” status, BIOL 130 , BIOL 160 , and CHEM 105 and CHEM 106 or CHEM 117 must be completed within three semesters of application to the major.
Initial advising for intended majors will be conducted through the COLS Advising Center. After a minimum of 45 credits have been earned, the introductory biology courses (BIOL 130 , BIOL 160 ) and general chemistry courses (CHEM 105 and CHEM 106 or CHEM 117 ) have been completed, and the minimum biochemistry major GPA has been met, the status will be changed to “accepted” and a Biology or Chemistry faculty adviser will be assigned.
Accepted students with a GPA in the biochemistry major of less than 2.50 are changed to “provisional” and are allowed two semesters in which to reach the minimum GPA or be dropped from the major. If you are dropped from the major, you may reapply only once.
No more than six credits of D work in any courses in the major will be counted toward the completion of the biochemistry major. All grades of D or F in required core, collateral, and elective courses are used to compute the cumulative GPA in the major. If you repeat a course, the last grade earned is the grade used in your GPA calculation. Courses with grades of D or F may be repeated (only if a seat is available after the regular registration period) only with approval of the appropriate department chair and your adviser.
In special cases, you can replace a D in CHEM 117 with a subsequent grade in CHEM 106 if you first get authorization from the Chemistry department chair.

For all biochemistry majors listed below, the Communication in the Major is satisfied by 200- and 300-level courses that make up the Chemistry core listed. The Capstone Experience is satisfied by BIOL 490.

Test-Out and Credit-by-Exam Policy

The credit-by-exam and Advanced Placement (AP) exam policies of the Biology Department pertain to biology courses. The credit-by-exam policies of the Chemistry Department apply to chemistry courses. You may take a test-out exam only once.

Environmental Studies

John Coletta, Co-coordinator
Room 216, Collins Classroom Center
Phone: 715-346-4749
Email: jcoletta@uwsp.edu

Neil Prendergast, Co-coordinator
Room 473, Collins Classroom Center
Phone : 715-346-2805
Email : nprender@uwsp.edu

Natural Science

David Ozsvath, Coordinator
Room D-332, Science Building
Phone: 715-346-2287
Email: dozsvath@uwsp.edu

The Natural Science major is designed only for students who intend to teach secondary or middle school. If you at some point decide not to teach or do not qualify to teach, you must choose a new major. Depending on the array of courses taken, switching to either a Biology major or Biogeoscience option of the Geoscience major might allow you to apply the greatest number of accumulated science credits towards a degree.

The Natural Science major consists of a foundation of introductory courses from all areas of science, a minor in one science discipline, a concentration of at least 14 credits in a second science discipline. Note that the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI) requires at least 15 credits in a subject area to be certified to teach that subject.

NOTE: See individual departments (Biology , Chemistry , Geography and Geology , Physics and Astronomy ) for course combination restrictions.

Academic Standards for Natural Science

To be approved for graduation, you must have a minimum overall grade point average of 2.75 in all courses included in your natural science major or minor, regardless of any declaration of academic bankruptcy.
In addition, you must meet the minimum GPA required for the minor that goes with the natural science option you are pursuing. See descriptions of the minors in the earth science , biology , chemistry , or physics sections of this catalog.
See the Grade-related Policies section of this catalog for the policy on repeating courses.
For all Natural Science majors, the Communication in the Major is satisfied by EDUC 337 and EDUC 390 .
For all Natural Science majors, the Capstone Experience is satisfied by BIED 400 .

Women’s and Gender Studies

Rebecca Stephens, Coordinator
Room 445 CCC
Phone: 715-346-4331
Email: restephe@uwsp.edu

Definition: Women’s and gender studies emphasizes the multidisciplinary study of issues in gender, women’s studies, and sexuality with attention to methodological and/or theoretical approaches.

Credit-by-Exam Policy for Women’s and Gender Studies

Credit-by-exam is available for WGS 105 , WGS 300 . To arrange for an exam, contact the coordinator. For WGS 300 , you may test-out only for a topic that has been offered within one year of the test-out attempt. Exams will include objective and essay questions. Course credit is given for scores equal to or greater than 80 percent of the total points on the exam. You may take the exam only once.

Programs

Major

Minor