Undergraduate Programs

PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

Given the diverse disciplinary and interdisciplinary interests of Mines students, the Culture, Creativity, and Communication (CCC) program provides a flexible, interdisciplinary range of options so students can follow particular passions bolstered by distinctive, signature experiences. Program Director: Paula Farca pfarca@mines.edu    Testimonial The Culture, Creativity, Communication Minor and Program (CCC) help students stand out, adding unique distinction to their engineering degree and giving them a competitive edge. The CCC Minor bolsters advanced critical thinking, creative problem solving, and vital oral and written communication skills. Statements from CCC Students: “The CCC minor has given me the opportunity to flex my creative muscles in a way unlike any of my engineering classes. I have engaged with my classmates in deep discussion about the themes and craft of stories and spent every moment appreciating the art in the world around us. My communication skills have improved, my creativity has improved, and most importantly, I feel balanced in my life. Augmenting an engineering degree with a humanities minor sets me apart professionally and gives me a much-needed outlet for expressing myself.” (Allyson Cameron) “The CCC minor was a welcome change of pace for my Mines career. When everything you see on a day to day basis is math and algorithms, it can get a little drab. Taking the time away from purely analytical courses to focus on the arts really helped me de-stress and discover new passions.” (Aidan Naughton) “I feel as though my experience with the CCC program has fundamentally changed my time spent at Colorado School of Mines. Being able to explore and refine my interests outside of engineering has been fulfilling and transformative in ways I never expected, and I doubt that it would have been possible without the attentiveness of the department’s faculty.” (Paul Comeau)

MINOR DESCRIPTION

The Culture, Creativity, Communication minor elevates student capacity for empathy, contextual understanding, intellectual versatility, creative cognition, and expressive clarity. This minor is designed for students who feel a passion for culture and the arts, and who yearn to explore diverse fields of literary studies, creative writing, and communication studies.

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Students in the Culture, Creativity, Communication minor must complete 18 hours of coursework (3 courses beyond what is required). Students will take courses below as part of a pathway in Literature and Creative Writing, a pathway in Communication Studies, or an intellectually coherent pathway in both.

MIDLEVEL COURSES

HASS 303 Workshop Foundations: The Art and Craft of Creative Writing HASS 300 Creative Writing: Fiction (to be called Intermediate Short Fiction Writing Workshop) HASS 301 Creative Writing: Poetry (to be called Intermediate Poetry Writing Workshop) HASS 305 American Literature: Colonial Period to the Present HASS 307 Explorations in Comparative Literature HASS 309 Literature and Society HASS 320 Ethics HASS 323 Introduction to Science Communication

400-LEVEL COURSES (MINIMUM OF TWO):

HASS 400 Advanced Short Fiction Writing Workshop

HASS 401 Creative Writing: Poetry II (to be called Advanced Poetry Writing Workshop)

HASS 404 Women, Literature, and Society

HASS 406 Literature of War and Remembrance

HASS 407 Science in Literature

HASS 408 Life Stories

HASS 409 Shakespearean Drama

HASS 410 20th-Century Literature

HASS 411 Literatures of the African World

HASS 412 Literature and the Environment

HASS 415 Mass Media Studies

HASS 416 Film Studies

HASS 418 Narrating the Nation

HASS 419 Environmental Communication

HASS 423 Advanced Science Communication

HASS 425 Intercultural Communication

HASS 426 Scientific Controversies

HASS 4xx Risk Communication

HASS 433 Shakespeare and the Scientific Revolution

HASS 4xx Science, Democracy, and the Environment

MINOR IN ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY STUDIES

As environmental challenges mount across the world, governmental agencies, policy makers, industry, and others will look to engineers and scientists to develop innovative solutions to meet these pressing demands. The Environment and Sustainability Studies Minor provides political, social, cultural, economic, and historical perspectives on modern environmental challenges and equips students with the critical and analytical tools required to address contemporary environmental challenges. The curriculum further encourages students to transcend disciplinary boundaries by providing opportunities to integrate and synthesize the many strands of knowledge that bear on environmental issues.  When combined with their technical, engineering, and/or scientific degrees, graduates will have added marketable skills, which can also be translated into environmental careers, or post-graduate programs. The Minor in Environment and Sustainability Studies requires 18 hours of coursework:

• 15 credit hours of Humanities & Social Science (H&SS) electives, and
• 3 credit hours of restricted environmental science and engineering electives*

*Faculty involved in the Environment and Sustainability Studies Minor will work with colleagues across campus to identify upper-division electives in environmental science and engineering that can fulfill this requirement. Students may also include up to 3 credit hours of Independent Study, with the approval of the ESS Director.

COURSES

PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The GPS Minor (18 credit hours) prepares engineers and scientists with the knowledge and experience they need to tackle complex global issues and become leaders in their professional and personal lives, within their own countries and in the global community. Drawing primarily from the social sciences, our classes link theories with real-world problems, while enhancing students’ analytical and communication skills.  Courses provide the political, social, and historical contexts to better understand world regions, particularly ones with significant natural resource endowments. Topics include war, trade, energy, corruption, and religion. Fitting the Mines’ mission, our courses bring a stronger focus to natural resources and energy issues than similar programs at other universities. Program Director: Kathleen Hancock

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

REQUIRED COURSE: 3 CREDIT HOURS MINIMUM

AT LEAST one of the following courses

• 460 Geopolitics of Natural Resources
• 344 International Relations

ELECTIVES

The remaining  6 to 15 credit hours (depending on how many courses you take from the required list) must come from the following courses. AT LEAST one must be a 400-level class.  Students may also use Study Abroad Programs to meet some elective requirements; contact the Director for more information.

REGIONAL FOCUS

• 337 Asia: Politics & Society
• 339 Middle East: Politics & Society
• 341 Africa: Politics & Society
• 411 Literatures of the African World
• 437 Asian Development
• 439 Middle East Development
• 441 African Development
• 442 Natural Resources & War in Africa
• 456 Power and Politics in Eurasia

GLOBAL FOCUS

• 307 Explorations in Comparative Literature
• 375 Engineering Cultures (EGGN)
• 431 Religion & Security
• 448 Global Environmental Issues
• 452 Corruption and Development
• 475 Engineering Cultures in the Developing World (EGGN)
• 490 Energy and Society

POLITICS AND POLICY FOCUS

• 486 Science and Technology Policy
• 488 Water Politics and Policy
• 491 Energy Politics
• 492 Energy & Security Policy

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

HASS offers some foreign language courses that may be substituted for up to two of the electives.

PROGRAM EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES

The Music, Engineering and Recording Arts Minor (MERA) is 18-credit designed for students interested in the crossover field between music and related technical skills.  Technical emphasis within this minor creates an opportunity for students to experience and understand the impact of their specific majors upon both music as an art form and music as an industry.  Students will explore, study and research the refinements and developments that technology has created in the field of recording, production, performance, sound reinforcement and product design, as well as the interplay between the arts and technology. The discovery of the connections between current music and sound engineering practices is stressed.  The final outcome is a skilled and informed studio musician/ technician in present day studio conditions. Interim Program Director: Jonathan Cullison

MINOR REQUIREMENTS

Students desiring a Music Technology Minor (MTM) must complete 18 hours of courses, as follows: 1.  Four required music courses (12 credit-hours):

• HASS 324 Audio/Acoustical Engineering and Science
• HASS 327 Music Technology
• HASS 315 Music Traditions of the Western World
• HASS 330 Music Technology Capstone

2.  One 400 level required course (3 credit hours):

• HASS 429 – Real World Recording Seminar (Preq.  HASS 315, HASS 327 or permission of instructor)

3.  Three additional credit-hours:

1. HASS 326 Music Theory (3 credit-hours)
2. Performance Enhancement (total of 3 credit-hours):
   1. Participation in 2 semesters of any LIMU ensemble (1 credit each) (Choir/Orchestra/Band/Jazz Band)
   2. Participation in 1 semester of LIMU 189A – Individual Music Instruction (1 credit hour)

Individualized minors are available to students who want to earn a HASS minor, but whose interests do not align with “established” curricula. Many students who intend to pursue careers in medicine or law will design a course of study that helps them prepare for the MCAT or LSAT. Other students take coursework from semesters abroad and combine them with relevant classes from Mines. Whatever the context and content, students work with the Program Director to develop a coherent sequence of courses that will enable them to achieve their academic goals. With the Director, each student will develop a statement/rationale for the sequence of courses selected.

As with all minors, students must complete 18 credit hours of coursework. At least ½ of the classes must be completed at Mines (vs. transferred in). No more than one course at the 200-level is permitted, and at least one course must be at the 400-level.

Example: Pre-law (course choices depend on focus, e.g., patent, environmental, etc.)

HASS202 Technical Communication
HASS220 Introduction to Philosophy
HASS317 Acting, Locution, & Public Performance
HASS320 Ethics
HASS366 Divided States of America
HASS425 Intercultural Communications
HASS468 Environmental Justice
HASS483 Intellectual Property for Engineers & Artists
HASS485 Constitutional Law and Politics
HASS486 Science and Technology Policy
HASS487 Environmental Politics and Policy
HASS488 Water Politics and Policy
HASS491 Energy Politics
EBGN 434 Property Rights and Natural Resources
EBGN474 Inventing Patenting and Licensing
EDNS430 Corporate Social Responsibility
PEGN430 Environmental Law and Sustainability
CEEN492 Environmental Law
MNGN335 Communities and Natural Resource Development

Program Director: Professor Sandy Woodson (swoodson@mines.edu)