ATLANTA — This academic year, Agnes Scott College introduces four new minors, each designed to enhance the real world application of students’ liberal arts education.
The new minors, environmental and sustainability studies, film and media studies, organizational management and public health, can help students bridge their majors with careers in the corporate world, healthcare industry or any other kind of organization.
Environmental and Sustainability Studies
It’s invaluable for students—both in their personal and professional lives—to better understand how scientific and societal human factors affect earth’s ecology, said Lock Rogers, an assistant professor of biology.
“These courses aren’t limited to students within the minor,” Rogers said. “I think all Agnes Scott students could benefit from educating themselves about their own—and society’s—impact on the environment.”
The minor allows students to combine their concern about the future of the environment with their major by offering courses in many subject areas at Agnes Scott. While the minor’s core courses include Introduction to Environmental and Sustainability Studies and Environmental Biology (also known as ecology), students may choose from several elective courses to guide their own studies.
The minor also provides opportunities for students to become extensively involved with the college’s sustainability efforts and provide leadership to campus sustainability and environmental groups, as well as leading to internships with local environmental organizations such as National Wildlife Federation, the Georgia Conservancy and Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
Public Health
Agnes Scott’s new public health minor is one of a small but growing number of undergraduate public health programs offered at liberal arts colleges in the country. Qualified students interested in pursuing a public health profession may take electives at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, where courses count toward the Agnes Scott B.A. as well as the Rollins Master of Public Health (M.P.H.).
The minor provides students with a broad introduction to public health and helps them understand biological, behavioral, economic, political, social and humanistic approaches to health through scientific inquiry.
“The public health minor epitomizes the essence of the Agnes Scott mission: interdisciplinary, socially committed education that includes the global world and our participation in it as consumers, professionals and citizens,” said Martha Rees, professor of anthropology and co-director of the Public Health Program along with co-director Harry Wistrand, professor of biology.
Agnes Scott’s public health minor requires a minimum of six courses—three core courses and three electives. The minor includes courses from the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and mathematics to educate students broadly about various approaches to public health.
Public health students may be eligible to participate in research projects and internships with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, the American Cancer Society and The Carter Center. International internships in public health will also be available to students who pursue an M.P.H.
Film and Media Studies
The film and media studies minor was created due to popular demand and a synergy of film courses sprinkled throughout different departments on campus, said Willie Tolliver, associate professor of English and co-director of the film studies minor along with Juan Chattah, assistant professor of music.
“It’s a truly interdisciplinary course,” Tolliver said. Film courses are offered in English, history, music, science, religious studies, women’s studies and foreign language.
A film and media studies minor could enhance any communications-related degree and enrich a student’s understanding of film as art and a communications medium, Tolliver said. Learning to interpret the language of film is similar to deciphering the meaning of a poem or a novel and could be helpful both personally and professionally, he added.
The minor has only two required core courses, Intro to Film and Film History. Students can choose the remaining three courses to best fit their interests or goals.
Organizational Management
For a student majoring in art who has aspirations of becoming the curator of a museum some day, a minor in organizational management might be the way to go.
“These courses can help students transition into the work world and make them more savvy organizational participants,” said Tom Will, assistant professor of economics and organizational management.
The OM minor gives students a foundation in accounting, economics and organizational management—skills that can help students in many majors make the leap into careers with a business component such as starting a business or managing a non-profit. In addition to general business knowledge, courses teach students strong communication, leadership and critical-thinking skills.
Core courses include Introduction to Economics, Introduction to Management, Financial Accounting and Strategic Management.
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Agnes Scott College educates women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times. Students are drawn to Agnes Scott by its excellent academic reputation, exceptional faculty, and metropolitan Atlanta location – offering myriad cultural and experiential learning opportunities. A diverse and growing residential community of scholars, this highly selective liberal arts and sciences college is known for its dynamic and challenging intellectual community. Encouraging students to engage the wider world through study abroad and presenting its curriculum with international context, Agnes Scott College delivers on its promise: The World for Women.