New program: three in one

Interdisciplinary focus melds majors together

By BETH DOUGLASS, News Writer

Published: January 9, 2008

Cory Deppe, a junior, has a strong interest in social welfare programs. He has volunteered and interned at shelters, relief groups and other nonprofit organizations around Seattle.

Likeminded students may volunteer with AmeriCorps or a similar organization for a few years after college before looking for employment with a nonprofit group, Deppe said.

Since none of SPU's degrees cover the range of business, political and theological knowledge necessary to gain a job at such an organization, Deppe was planning to design his own major.

"Interdisciplinary study allows us to work for political activism," he said.

Kathleen Braden, professor of geography, is helping to create a new global development studies major at SPU, aimed at students who want to work at nonprofit organizations. She hopes to see this major fully approved and available to students by the start of next school year.

"We're hoping students will help us see things in new ways through this major," Braden said.

Before the global development studies major can be submitted for university approval, its requirements must be agreed upon by all three participating departments. The current plan has been approved by the business and political science departments. Braden is planning to meet with the School of Theology on Jan. 29 to make any revisions needed.

After this, the final plan will be submitted to Bruce Congdon, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Jeffery Van Duzer, Dean of the School of Business, as well as to Student Academic Services. From there, it will go to SPU's Undergraduate Policies and Evaluation Committee (UPEC). The committee may offer suggestions and revisions before approving the final plan. If UPEC approves the global development studies major this year, it could be launched as soon as next fall.

At first glance, this new program seems fairly similar to the political science major, Braden said. Students with a degree in political science often enter fields such as governmental service or international affairs, she said.

What sets global development studies apart from the political science major is its courses on nonprofit business and social enterprise, Braden said.

"It teaches students to really know their way around a business plan," Braden said. This is an advantage for students looking for an entry-level position at a nonprofit group, she said.

Conversations with former students had led Braden to realize that a political science degree was not adequately preparing students to work for a humanitarian group. A familiarity with the business aspect of nonprofit work was obviously missing. A firm grasp of theology and a bit of medical knowledge would have also been helpful, she said.

The global development studies major was created to incorporate all these areas of subject matter into one program. Core requirements would include classes from the business, political science, and theology departments, she said.

Additional competency classes would allow students to choose from a variety of classes in global politics, cross-cultural understanding, regional exploration, theology and applied learning, Braden said.

Most of these classes would be carefully selected from existing courses, and taught by existing staff, Braden said. Braden herself would teach a new global development introduction class, and Kathleen Stetz, professor of nursing, would teach a new course on global health issues, she said.

Another aspect of the program, still being finalized is the required internship, which could be completed either in the United States or overseas, Braden said.

This program will make students competitive in the job market, Braden said. The program's internship portion and its training in how to conceptualize a business plan will put global development studies graduates ahead of their peers because nonprofit CEOs want employees with global knowledge and writing skills, Braden said.

An initial fear was that this new program would simply steal prospective political science majors, Braden said. An informal survey found only about 20 percent of students interested in global development studies to be intended political science majors. Of the remaining 80 percent, many were undeclared in their major, or coming from international business, communications, economics or other majors, Braden said.

Many Christians feel compelled to serve those less fortunate, but don't have the basic economic understanding that is so essential for private and nonprofit groups, Deppe said. That is what makes the global development studies major so practical, he said.

"It's a beautiful thing, being at a Christian university, because I feel like our faith compels us," Deppe said.

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