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

Chris Yahnke, Chair of Biology Department
Room 167A, Trainer Natural Resources Building
Phone: 715-346-2455
Email: biology@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/biology

Paul Hladky, 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, A Davis, L Dresang, V Freire, E Gasque, C Hartleb, J Hubbard, T Huspeni, E Judziewicz, M Rogge, R Rosenfield, D Sandhu, R Schmitz, S Sepsenwol, E Singsaas, J Sipiorski, K Slemmons, Q Sun, C Yahnke, P Zani.

Chemistry faculty: D Albert, R Badger, N Bowling, J Buth, L Cole, K Czerwinski, J D’Acchioli, J Droske, P Hladky, A Jonsson, J Lawrence, G Lueck, C Schiaffo, V Schiaffo, GJ Shulfer, D Snyder, E Speetzen, R Tanke, A Timerman, E Todd, K Wawrzaszek, S Wright, M Zach.

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 mulitdisciplinary 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 . BIOL 490 with the designation “seminar in molecular biology” is preferred.

Academic Standards and Policies for Biochemistry Major

To be admitted, retained, and approved for graduation as a biochemistry major, you must have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.50 for all courses taken within the major, including collateral courses and regardless of a declaration of academic bankruptcy. If you are a transfer student, you meet this requirement by having at least a 2.50 GPA in the total major (UW-Stevens Point and transfer credits).

No more than 6 credits of D work in biology, chemistry, and biochemistry courses will be counted toward the completion of the biochemistry major. All grades of D or F are used to compute the cumulative GPA in the major. If a course is repeated, the last grade is the grade used in the GPA calculation. Courses with grades of D or F may be repeated only with the consent of the chair of the Biology or Chemistry Departments and only if a seat is available after the regular registration period.

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

Individually Planned Major (IPM)

Mark Balhorn, Coordinator
Room 441, Collins Classroom Center
Phone: 715-346-4335
Email: mbalhorn@uwsp.edu

The individually planned major is for you if you are one of the few students who cannot meet your educational objectives through an existing academic program. It gives you an opportunity to design your own major using unique combinations of existing offerings that will be coherent and challenging. You must propose your program prior to completing 75 credits, including all transfer credits, to be sure the courses you need are available and can be integrated into your major. The individually planned major is not intended to permit you to package courses that you have already completed.

For the individually planned major, you must:

Have a minimum grade point average of 2.75 before you enter the program.
Meet the requirements for the bachelor’s degree you choose. You will graduate in the college housing the greatest number of credits in your major.
Have a minimum grade point average of 3.00 to graduate, regardless of academic bankruptcy, in all courses in your individually planned major.
Communication in the Major is satisfied by taking six credits of the designated courses in both or either of the two major curricular areas that compose the IPM. For example, if you are pursuing an IPM for which the major curricular areas are Art and History, you must take six of the credits designated for an Art major or the six designated for a History major. Or you could take three credits in each.
Capstone Experience is satisfied by taking a Capstone Experience that is approved for a major in either of the two major curricular areas that compose the IPM.

You must decide to begin an individually planned major no later than the completion of 75 credits. This requirement can be waived in some cases.

You will have to develop a proposal for your major by consulting with the IPM Coordinator and advisers from the departments where you will be doing the work. The proposal must include a title, a statement of the objectives of the program, and a list of specific courses.

The program must be approved by the IPM Coordinator and the IPM committee (made up of advisers from the four Colleges and specific disciplinary advisers appropriate to your topic).

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 .

Small City Analysis

Edward J. Miller and Robert P. Wolensky, Coordinators
Room 451 and Room 332, Collins Classroom Center
Phone 715-346-3130, 346-2708
Email: emiller@uwsp.edu OR rwolensk@uwsp.edu
Web: www.uwsp.edu/cols-ap/smallCity/Pages/default.aspx

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

Courses

American Studies

Cooperative Education

Library Resources

Research

RSCH 798 - Graduate Research

Women’s and Gender Studies