ACADEMIC
PROGRAM APPROVAL
CHECKLIST
This form is a routing document for
the approval of new and revised academic programs. Page 2 will serve as an attachment to the
Faculty Senate agenda. Proposing
department should complete form, attach as a cover page and forward to the college
dean. Documentation should include copy of curriculum as it is to appear in the
Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog.
Proposals must arrive to the Undergraduate/Graduate Committee by
November in order to reach the Faculty Senate by March 1. Proposals received after this date cannot be
implemented the following year nor included in the catalog for that year.
1.
Proposed change leads to the degree of
( ) Bachelor of Arts (
) Master of Arts ( ) Doctor of Philosophy
( ) Bachelor of Science ( ) Master of
Science (X ) Other __New Concentration_in Sociology____
2.
( ) New major/curriculum Title
to be entered in record of students who select this program
(
) New minor Title to be entered in record of students
who select this program
(
) Change from provisional to permanent status.
3.
( ) Revision of existing: (
) major ( ) minor (
) concentration
Present title
Records
System Program Code
( ) Add/delete required courses/credit hours
(X ) Add concentration Title
Emergency and Environmental Management
( ) Delete concentration Title
4.
( ) Deletion of
existing/disestablish: ( )
major ( ) minor (
) other _______________________________
Title Code______________________
5.
( ) Policy
Change____________________________________________________________________________________
Title/Department
ROUTING AND APPROVALS: (Please do
not remove supporting documentation.)
Department Chairperson Date
Dean of College Date
Chairperson, College Curriculum
Committee___________________________________Date_____________________
Chairperson, Senate Com. on UG or GR
Studies Date
Chairperson, Senate Coordinating
Com. Date
Secretary, Faculty Senate Date
Date of Senate Resolution Date
to be Effective
Registrar Program
Code Date
Vice Provost for Academic Programs
& Planning Date
Provost Date
Board of Trustee Notification Date
a.
Rationale for creation, revision, or
deletion:
Career Opportunities in Sociology
The Department of Sociology and
Criminal Justice has a long tradition of providing students not only with a
scholarly understanding of the theoretical and research knowledge in the two
programs but also with opportunities to obtain career-oriented experience
through internships and/or concentrations.
In the Sociology program, there are currently four concentrations: Social Welfare; Health Care; Law and Society;
and Data Analysis. In addition to the
three courses required of all Sociology majors, each concentration consists of
required courses within Sociology, recommended electives within Sociology, and
recommended related work electives outside of the department, and a practicum
which consists of an internship and seminar.
Faculty members serve as Coordinators for each of the concentration
areas, with the responsibility of advising all students who declare a
concentration in his/her area of expertise, and developing and monitoring
internship placements in the community.
Of the approximately 250 current Sociology majors, almost one-third have
declared a concentration in one of these areas.
A new concentration in “Emergency and
Environmental Management” is being proposed to provide an additional
opportunity for Sociology majors (as well as students from other social and
environmental science disciplines) to obtain knowledge as well as future career
experience in two rapidly growing fields in both the public and private
sectors -- Emergency Management and Environmental
Management. Because of the national and
international prominence of the Disaster Research Center, there already exists
the ability to place students in interesting internships and to assist them in
finding employment following their graduation.
The Coordinator for this new concentration will be a Core Faculty member
of the Disaster Research Center.
Attractiveness of the Concentration
An undergraduate concentration in
Emergency and Environmental Management is proposed to build on one of the three
primary areas of expertise identified in 1998 bye the faculty in the Department
of Sociology and Criminal Justice—Disaster Research. Since the relocation of the Disaster Research
Center to the University of Delaware in 1985, both graduate and undergraduate
students have been exposed to theoretical and methodological approaches in the
disaster area, through both coursework and research training. While the department’s graduate program has
emphasized this area for many years, the department how has a large enough
number of faculty with expertise in the disaster field to also offer an
undergraduate concentration in this area.
We believe that a concentration in
the area of the management of natural technological, environmental and
purposive (i.e., terrorism) disasters will be particularly attractive to
undergraduates at this time for two specific reasons. First, since the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, there has been increasing
national concern about local, as well as national, capabilities of preparing
for and response to catastrophic events of many types, This concern superseded the mandate of the
Federal Emergency Management Agency—which had been the nation’s primary federal
agency that dealt with disaster issues (including assistance to and training of
local and state emergency management personnel)—leading to the recent
establishment of a new, multi-agency Department of Homeland Security. This concentration will demonstrate the
University of Delaware’s responsiveness to the important national interest by
providing students interested in rapid onset disasters (e.g., earthquakes, technological
accidents, and terrorist activities) with broad exposure to the social science
literature on the management of such events including preparation for, response
to, mitigation of, and recovery from them.
Students with this interest would likely pursue a career in emergency or
risk managements, either in the public or private sector.
Second, during the past 30 years,
there has been increasing national and global attention to environmental
problems and their societal impacts.
During this period, policies directed toward the regulation of natural
resources, pollution of the physical environment, and assessments of the
effects of production activities on human and environmental health have become
the focus of major social debates in countries around the world. The United States, having some of the
strictest and most far-reaching environmental laws and policies, has still
sustained major environmental disasters—those that do or could result from
human pollution of the natural and built environments over time. These polluting and destructive outcomes
result from human activities that were (and are) expected to result in
progress, a better standard of living, and a higher quality of life. However, environmental disasters (i.e. the
toxic pollution of Love Canal in New York or the lead smelter pollution of East
Dallas neighborhoods) have created situations that require management solutions
that are, in some ways, similar to those of rapid onset disasters and different
in others. Students with an interest in
environmental degradation and disasters could pursue careers as risk managers
in the private sector or in regulatory governmental positions, as well as
advocates for environmental groups.
In either case, this concentration
will also provide a formal mechanism to integrate the Disaster Research Center
with the undergraduate teaching functions of the Department of Sociology and
Criminal Justice, a major departmental goal.
The Quarantelli Resource Collection at DRC has substantial holds,
(books, articles, “gray” literature, governmental documents, emergency
management plans, and research data sets) which would be available to
undergraduate students to improve their exposure to and grasp of emergency and
environmental management issues.
Moreover, to the extent that an
internship is an important way to gain employment, this concentration will
provide an opportunity for students to develop a first-hand understanding of
and experience with management practices and issues associated with different
types of disasters. An internship, under
the supervision of a faculty member, will be required of all students who
select to concentrate their Sociology coursework in this area.
b.
Summary of program:
Students selecting this
concentration are required to take seven Sociology courses in addition to the
three courses required of all Sociology majors (SOCI 201, 301, 312). The minimum grade accepted in all courses
completed for the major is a C-.
Required Courses for the
Concentration
Students must take at least two of
the following three courses:
SOCI
325 --
Disaster and Society
SOCI
324 --
Issues in Emergency Management (which has been submitted for approval
this year)
SOCI
470 --
Environmental Sociology
The four faculty members who will be
teaching these courses have developed a two-year rotational schedule to insure
that these courses are offered on a regular basis without impacted other course
needs of the department. J. Davidson,
Associate Chair of Sociology who handles course assignments, approved this
schedule.
Recommended Electives Within the
Major
Students in the concentration will
be required to select their remaining courses in the major with the guidance
and agreement of the area Coordinator.
The following courses are intended to provide the student with
additional sociological principles and knowledge that will be useful in
furthering her/his understanding of the societal dynamics involved in EEM as
well as in program areas that are relevant to social and organizational issues
associated with this concentration.
These courses currently include:
SOCI
204 --
Urban Communities
SOCI
209 --
Social Problems
SOCI
311 --
Sociology and Health Care
SOCI
322 --
Crowds, Cults, and Revolutions
SOCI
323 --
Sociology of Risk
SOCI
327 --
Sociology of Organizations
SOCI
331 --
World Population: Profiles and
Trends
SOCI
341 --
Welfare and Society
SOCI
361 --
Racial Inequality
Recommended Related Work Electives
All Sociology majors are required to
take five additional 3-credit courses outside of the major that are considered
“related” to the major. Related work
electives for students in this concentration would be determined between the
student and the area Coordinator. These
courses are intended to broaden the student’s knowledge of this area from other
disciplinary perspectives. The following
courses are recommended, but the student is not limited solely to these
courses:
ANSC
270 --
Bioitechnology: Science and
Socio-Economic Issues
ANTH
101 --
Introduction to Social and Cultural Anthropology (Group C option)
COMM
245 --
Mass Communication and Culture
(Group C option)
COMM
256 --
Principles of Communication Theory
GEOG
203 --
Introduction to Cultural Geography
(Group A option)
GEOG
235 --
Conservation of Natural Resources (Group C option)
GEOG
236 --
Conservation: Global Issues
GEOG
310 --
Social Geography
GEOG
320 --
Water and Society
GEOG
449 --
Environment and Society
GEOL
112 --
Earth Resources and Public Policy
POSC
220 -- Introduction to Public
Policy (Group C option)
POSC
240 --
Introduction to International Relations
(Group C option)
POSC
303 --
Public Administration
POSC 311 --
Introduction to Politics in Developing Countries (Group B option)
POSC 350 --
Politics and the Environment
POSC 456 --
Disasters and Politics
During the Summer, 2004, the Chairs
of the above departments were contacted concerning the appropriateness of
specific courses for inclusion as “recommended related work electives” for this
concentration. With some suggestions and
approval from these Chairs, the above listing was compiled.
Practicum
All students who elect a
concentration in the Sociology program are required to complete a four-credit
practicum on a pass/fail basis. Students
in this concentration will enroll in SOCI326—Practicum in Emergency and
Environmental Management, which incorporates an internship placement with a
seminar. Students will be expected to
carry out specified functions within their placement organizations (under the
supervision of an organizational supervisor and after agreement with the area
Coordinator, to attend scheduled class meetings to discuss organizational
experiences and to complete written assignments as specified in the course
syllabus. It is the responsibility of
the area Coordinator to assist and approve of internship placements in
appropriate public and private organizations and agencies.
PLEASE
NOTE: This
concentration was approved both by the Undergraduate Policy Committee in the
Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice as well as by the CAS Faculty
Senate in Fall, 2003. The University
Senate committee did not approve the new concentration for two reasons:
(1)
One of the courses listed as an option Required Course
(Issues in Emergency Management) had not yet been submitted for approval. That course (proposed as SOCI 324) has been
submitted this year for formal adoption.
(2) The Faculty Senate committee requested
that all of the courses listed as “recommended related work electives” be approved by the Chairs of those
departments. This step has now been
taken and the courses listed reflect the input and approval of those Chairs.
AUTHORIZED
DEGREE TITLES
Please check
the appropriate degree:
( ) Bachelor
of Applied Science
(X ) Bachelor of Arts
( ) Bachelor
of Arts in Educational Studies
( ) Bachelor
of Arts in Liberal Studies
( ) Bachelor
of Chemical Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Civil Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Computer Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Electrical Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Environmental Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Fine Arts
( ) Bachelor
of Liberal Studies
( ) Bachelor
of Mechanical Engineering
( ) Bachelor
of Music
( ) Bachelor
of Science
( ) Bachelor
of Science in Accounting
( ) Bachelor
of Science in Agriculture
( ) Bachelor
of Science in Business Administration
( ) Bachelor
of Science in Education
( ) Bachelor
of Science in Nursing
( ) Master of Applied Sciences
( ) Master
of Arts
( ) Master
of Arts in Liberal Studies
( ) Master
of Business Administration
( ) Master
of Chemical Engineering
( ) Master
of Civil Engineering
( ) Master
of Education
( ) Master
of Electrical Engineering
( ) Master
of Environmental and Energy Policy
( ) Master
of Fine Arts
( ) Master
of Instruction
( ) Master
of Marine Policy
( ) Master
of Materials Science and Engineering
( ) Master
of Mechanical Engineering
( ) Master
of Music
( ) Master
of Physical Therapy
( ) Master
of Public Administration
( ) Master
of Science
( ) Master
of Science in Nursing
( ) Doctor
of Education
( ) Doctor
of Philosophy
This document will be retained
permanently in the Faculty Senate Office.
Revised