Open menu button Close menu button
Close
Quick Links
Close

Interdisciplinary Programs

female student on campus
Students in group walking
Prev Next

Each of our Interdisciplinary programs was developed for interrelationships between fields of knowledge and each pulls together professors from across the campus. Some programs are for undergraduates and some for graduate students. You can major in them for your degree or combine them with others for a double major. Others are minors or certificates that must be combined with a discipline. Check them out. They will make you stand out as someone with strong interests, expertise, and signal that you are ready for the latest approaches to solve the challenges of today’s world and workplace.

Interdisciplinary Programs

Interdisciplinary Certificate Program

Interdisciplinary Minors

Bachelor of Arts in African and African Diaspora Studies

Director: Maria Rice Bellamy
Department of Director: English
Phone: 718.982.3662
Location: 2S-204
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in African and African Diaspora Studies

The AADS program offers a baccalaureate degree in African and African Diaspora Studies. The program, established in 1976, has an interdisciplinary curriculum that examines the following: the interplay of culture, history, socioeconomic, and political forces shaping the experiences of the people of sub-Saharan Africa and its diaspora; the roles that Africans and their descendants have played in the creation of the United States and other New World projects; Africa’s historic relationship with the Mediterranean and Atlantic Worlds; and the ideas and experiences of race in the U.S. and the world and how they change over time and space.  Coursework includes the study of history, literature, sociology, religion, geography, politics, and the arts. The program’s rigorous curriculum has prepared our graduates for success in many challenging careers and professional degrees programs in such fields as education, law, law enforcement, business, and the arts. The program’s philosophy is best articulated through its course offerings and its faculty research and publications.

Bachelor of Arts in American Studies

Director: Michael Batson
Faculty Profile
Department of Director: History and CORE 100
Phone: 718.982.2877
Location: 2N-210
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in American Studies

The American Studies program at the College of Staten Island is designed to give students a comprehensive understanding of U.S. culture and society. The courses allow exploration of the diversity of American experience from a variety of perspectives and disciplines. American Studies courses draw on the talents of Americanists in many academic departments, while emphasizing history, literature, the arts, politics, and geography. Students build expertise in a rich range of subject matter, methods, and types of materials. The program encourages students to explore courses on relevant topics no matter where they may be found in the College Catalog. Students at the College of Staten Island may pursue a major or minor in American Studies. Whichever they choose, they will find American Studies an enlightening and enriching experience that will help them understand this country, as well as its place in the world. If they have already taken college courses in U.S. literature or history, they will find that they have already completed a portion of the program's requirements. Whether selected as a major or minor, the American Studies program will provide a solid foundation for graduate study in the liberal arts or professional programs. American Studies courses will help enrich and broaden the college experience.

Bachelor of Arts in International Studies

Director: Roshen Hendrickson
Department of Director: Political Science and Global Affairs
Phone: 718.982.2899
Location: 2N-234
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in International Studies

International Studies program provides students with global awareness and perspectives. Whether majoring or minoring in the program, they explore developing a solid understanding of our dynamic, interdependent world of increasingly permeable borders. Students can take courses in areas such as political science, economics, geography, history, and languages. They select a regional focus for their study and are encouraged to study abroad. By the time they graduate, they have the knowledge, tools, and skills for international careers in the public and private sectors, including government service, communications and journalism, banking and business, and travel and tourism. The International Studies BA is an interdisciplinary major with a predominantly social science emphasis—history, political science, economics— that allows for a measure of geopolitical specialization. Students choose courses from the categories of economics, politics, and geography, or culture and society. They also select classes that focus on a geographical area: Africa/Middle East, Asia, Caribbean/Latin America, or Europe. Study Abroad: International Studies majors are strongly urged to plan and schedule a semester of study abroad in their junior or senior year through the Center for Global Engagement. Internship: International Studies majors are urged to plan and schedule an internship with an international organization.

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy/Political Science

Director: Mark White
Department of Director: Philosophy
Phone: 718.982.2900
Location: 2N-224B
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy/Political Science

Bachelor of Arts in Science, Letters and Society (SLS)

Director: Nuria Morgado
Department of Director: World Languages and Literatures
Phone: 718.982.3700
Location:  2S-105
Office Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30pm-4:30pm or by appointment
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in Science, Letters and Society (SLS)

Student Advisor: Michelle Borowski  
Phone: 718.982.4173
Location: 3S-208D

Science, Letters, and Society (SLS)  A prestigious program for high-ranking students, the Science, Letters, and Society (SLS) major is an interdisciplinary program that provides a challenging liberal arts education.   The overarching goal of the SLS major is to nurture well-educated individuals who will demonstrate a mastery of content knowledge and related skills in the natural sciences and mathematics, the humanities, and the social sciences.  SLS is the required major for students who wish to obtain certification as teachers of Early Childhood Education (birth through grade two) and Childhood Education (grades one – six).  For those students who are not planning a career in Education, the SLS degree is excellent preparation for further study at the graduate level.  A minimum GPA of 3.0 is required for admission to and continuation in the SLS program. 

Bachelor of Arts in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Director: Catherine J. Lavender
Department of Director: History
Phone: 718.982.2869
Location: 2N-203
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Arts in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary program that draws on anthropological, artistic, economic, historical, literary, psychological, and sociological perspectives to explore women’s lives and the significance of gender and sexuality in contemporary and past societies, both in the United States and across the globe. The program’s courses encourage students to explore the many ways in which gender shapes their lives. Courses in history, the social sciences, and the arts foster different critical approaches and expose students to different kinds of content, as they consider the importance of masculinities, femininities, and sexualities in shaping issues of power and value in cultures, here and abroad. While their content is diverse, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGS) courses all emphasize critical thinking and the development of research and writing skills. With their interdisciplinary liberal arts training, students who major or minor in WGS prepare for careers in teaching, public advocacy, business, and industry; WGS also serves as excellent preparation for study at the graduate and professional level.

Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Director: Sebastien Poget
Department of Director: Chemistry
Phone: 718.982.4183
Location: 6S-233
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Informatics

Director: Soon Chun
Department of Director: Marketing
Phone: 718.982.2931
Location: 3N-210

Director: Zhanyang Zhang
Department of Director: Computer Science
Phone: 718.982.3175
Location: 1N-206

Webpage Link: Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Informatics
Catalog Link: Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and Informatics

Master of Arts in History

Coordinator: Natalie L. Kimball  
Department of Coordinator: History  
Phone: 718.982.2917  
Location: 2N-215C  
Catalog Link: Master of Arts in History

The Department of History at the College of Staten Island offers Bachelor and Master of Arts Degrees in History and a graduate certificate in Public History. Our faculty of specialists train students in specific skills related to our discipline and provide geographic, thematic, and chronological coverage of the past from a global perspective. Our mission is to reinforce the general education objectives of critical thinking, reading, writing, and communication skills. As a community of scholars committed to free inquiry and critical thinking, we aim to help students gain a sophisticated knowledge of history and the professional skills of historians. Our graduates work in a number of history-related careers as teachers, museum curators, archival specialists, lawyers, and journalists, among others.

Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS)

Director: Roslyn Bologh
Department of Director: Sociology/Anthropology
Phone: 718.982.3776
Location:  4S-208
Catalog Link: Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS)

The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program is designed to provide students with the opportunity to study modern Western society and culture through an intensive interdisciplinary examination of their origins and through comparison with other societies and cultures. The major focus of the curriculum is on the social sciences and humanities with attention paid to the development and impact of scientific thought and technological developments. Many of our graduates use the Master’s in Liberal Studies to advance professionally and financially in their current jobs. Some of our alumni have successfully been accepted to PhD programs in the areas of geography, anthropology, history, and philosophy, and also include public school and college teachers specializing in social studies, literature, philosophy, and world culture. The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies satisfies NYSED’s degree requirement for professional certification.

Master of Science in Neuroscience

Director: Greg Phillips
Department of Director: Neuroscience
Phone: 718.982.3953
Location: 6S-229
Catalog Link: Master of Science in Neuroscience

The Center for Developmental Neuroscience Master’s Program offers interdisciplinary education with courses in all areas of modern neuroscience at the molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral/cognitive levels. The program also offers students cutting-edge research opportunities. In addition to coursework and research, students participate in seminars, retreats, career events and scientific meetings. Faculty in the center conduct basic and clinical research in the areas of neurodevelopmental disorders, neurodegeneration and repair.

Autism Spectrum Disorders Advanced Certificate

Director: Kristen Gillespie-Lynch
Department of Director: Psychology
Phone: 718.982.4121
Location: 4S-103
Catalog Link: Autism Spectrum Disorders Advanced Certificate

The Advanced Certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) was developed to provide additional education and training to post-baccalaureate students to enable them to work with autistic people, as well as their families, at a heightened level of expertise. CSI's Advanced Certificate Program in ASD prepares special education teachers and other professionals to better support autistic people. It also provides entry-level students with an advantage over other applicants when seeking positions in organizations that provide educational, vocational, and life-skills support.

Because collaboration across disciplines is essential to the development of our understanding about autism, course materials cover a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodologies. By exploring a broad range of topics and perspectives, students will develop a richer knowledge of autism in order to collaborate more effectively with people on the spectrum, their families, and professionals from other disciplines as they approach their work with children, adolescents, and adults on the spectrum.​

We expect students with a bachelor’s degree in various majors/tracks to be interested in this Advanced Certificate program. We anticipate interest especially from students with backgrounds in education; psychology; behavior analysis; physical and occupational therapy; speech-language pathology; sociology; Science, Letters, and Society (SLS); and/or art therapy.   Because collaboration across disciplines is essential to the development of our understanding about autism, course materials  cover a variety of theoretical perspectives and methodologies. By exploring a broad range of topics and perspectives, students will develop a richer knowledge of autism in order to collaborate more effectively with people on the spectrum, their families and professionals from other disciplines as they approach their work with children, adolescents and adults on the spectrum.

​Disability Studies

Director:  Russell Rosen@csi.cuny.edu
Department of Director: World Languages and Literatures 
Phone: 718.982.3700
Location: 2S-117A
Catalog Link: Disability Studies

The Disability Studies minor is an interdisciplinary course of study in which students select from a variety of courses concerned with disabilities. It enhances a student's ability to understand the nature of disabilities; the meaning of disability in society; social, political, and health implications of disability; and methods of making society more inclusive to those who live with disabilities. The minor explores and critiques the historical, philosophical, political, economic, and social influences on people labeled “disabled.” At the heart of the program is the importance of actively working toward social justice and equity for people with disabilities. The student is required to take a core set of courses in the social and psychological sciences, supplemented by a choice from a list of disability-related courses. The minor may be taken in combination with any baccalaureate degree at the College of Staten Island.

East Asian Studies

Director: Jean Tsui
Department of Director: World Languages and Literatures
Phone: 718.982.3883
Location: 2S-112
Catalog Link: East Asian Studies

East  Asia plays a major role on the world stage in the 21st century. The minor in East Asian Studies affords students from different majors an opportunity to study the region in an interdisciplinary fashion by drawing upon courses in language, history, sociology, geography, philosophy, political science, psychology, literature, cinema, and cultural studies. Upon successful completion, students will have acquired a breadth of knowledge that will prepare them to confront some of the complex realities of East Asia.

Latin American, Caribbean and Latina/o Studies

Director: Ismael García Colón
Department of Director: Sociology and Anthropology
Phone: 718.982.3766
Location: 4S-237
Catalog Link: Latin American, Caribbean and Latina/o Studies

The Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o Studies minor was inaugurated in the fall of 2011, born of a collective, interdisciplinary effort between faculty in multiple programs within the humanities and social sciences. These faculty members identified the need to create a program to enhance students’ understanding of Latin American and Caribbean countries and nation states, and their diasporic populations in the United States. Breaking with the traditional boundaries between area and ethnic studies, this program considers the histories of Latin America and the Caribbean from a global perspective, and focuses on the ways these histories are involved in contemporary political, social, and cultural realities of diasporic populations.The program develops a specialization of knowledge that broadens students’ experiences with multiculturalism and bilingualism,and is committed to providing academic excellence through a variety of courses, academic exchanges, cultural events, lectures, and internships.