University of Dayton
AC-3: Undergraduate Program

International studies is a multidisciplinary major designed to meet the needs of students seeking the broadly based international perspective required for successful careers in education, government, international business, law, national and homeland security, humanitarian relief, and social entrepreneurship. The curriculum includes a core of required courses, a concentration, a foreign language requirement, an international and/or cross-cultural experiential component, and a senior capstone seminar. The experiential component may be satisfied through study abroad, internship, language immersion, service, or work experience.

Environmental issues such as climate change, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity are inherently global. International studies majors in the global environmental sustainability concentration are able to combine studies in history, economics and politics with science courses to devise solutions to challenges in the relationships between humans and our planet.

The Sustainability Program at the University of Dayton provides students an understanding and appreciation of the interdisciplinary aspects of sustainability, energy and the environment. The goal of the program and the Hanley Sustainability Institute is to equip students with tools to implement sustainability in their careers. The bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees are designed to be part of a double major. Students eyeing environmental protection careers could double major in environmental biology and sustainability. A double major in history or sociology and sustainability could suit future urban planners. Students pursuing nonprofit careers, especially combating food deserts, could benefit from a philosophy-sustainability double major. Sustainability majors will be marketable for engineering, architecture, agriculture, data analysis, education, facilities management and public administration, among others.

The University of Dayton established the nation’s first undergraduate human rights studies program in 1998. More than one hundred students have graduated from the program and pursued careers as human rights advocates and academics or humanitarian professionals in legal, governmental and nonprofit sectors.

Housed in the Department of Political Science, the Human Rights Studies Program offers the B.A. in Human Rights Studies, an interdisciplinary pre-professional degree firmly grounded in traditional liberal arts. Students, faculty, and staff participating in the program enter into it guided by their fundamental commitment to respect and promote the dignity of each human person.

The Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights Studies, is intended to produce intellectually adept students capable of performing rigorous research and conducting high quality analysis of critical questions in the area of human rights. It is equally intended to produce thoughtful and transformational servant-leaders who will apply the knowledge and skills obtained in the program to contemporary human rights issues and situations both domestically and internationally.

This interdisciplinary program prepares distinctive graduates who intend to pursue advanced study and training in the field of human rights, or careers in human rights advocacy and humanitarian assistance.

The Sustainability, Energy and the Environment (SEE) interdisciplinary minor at the University of Dayton is driven by an engaged group of faculty, staff, students, and community partners focused on undergraduate sustainability education. Working together in the classroom, on research projects, through service and community events, the SEE Minor seeks to provide interested, engaged students with a deep appreciation of the complexity and the inherent multidisciplinary nature of our study, understanding and discussions of sustainability, energy and the environment.

The SEE Minor students and faculty also work closely with the first-year SEE Integrated Learning-Living Community (SEE ILLC) and student-lead sustainability organizations throughout the year to offer co-curricular events and service learning opportunities, not only for our SEE Minor students, but also as a way to engage the greater UD community in learning and discussions of sustainability, energy and the environment.

This minor is open to all majors in the School of Engineering, except Global Manufacturing Systems Engineering Technology (GMT). The program provides a concentration in sustainable manufacturing that will complement the student's major field of study. Students take courses in Energy, Materials, Plastics, and Sustainable Manufacturing, covering topics such as sustainability, design for the environment, laws and regulations, industrial ecology, and recyclability.

The Minor in Human Rights provides students an opportunity to address issues related to human rights from various disciplinary approaches. The universal nature of human rights issues may directly relate to a major, while in other cases will provide an opportunity for broadening one's exposure to these important topics.