Concentrations

A concentration is a program of study taken in addition to a major. The purpose of a concentration, which includes an internship, is to help a student explore specific career possibilities within the framework of a liberal arts education. Six to eight units are normally required for a concentration, including all course work and the internship. See also the concentrations affiliated with Institutes: environmental sciences, environmental studies, professional management and public service (described in the preceding section).

Environmental Science
Environmental Studies

See Institute for the Study of the Environment.

Human Services

Albion�s human services concentration is designed to allow students to explore their interest in various human service careers, as well as to prepare them for entry-level positions upon graduation and/or for graduate school in human services disciplines. Students interested in the helping professions are expected to learn about underrepresented populations, administration and public policy, ethics and practice. Human services promote physical and mental health through prevention, outreach, community efforts and organizing social institutions. Although health and human services workers will primarily be employed in applied settings, they may also have opportunities to conduct research that promotes physical and mental health.

Students who have completed the human services concentration may pursue entry level jobs right out of college, or they may go on to graduate school to earn any number of degrees, including an M.B.A., M.S.W., M.P.H. (public health) or a Ph.D. Careers in human services include: counseling, legal aid and advocacy, social justice, marriage and family therapy, social work, child and family studies, health and wellness, community health, health care organizational management, policy development, community service, and pastoral counseling.

Requirements--A total of eight units is required for the concentration.

1. Introduction to Human Services (HUSV 101), one unit.

2. In consultation with the concentration adviser, students must take a core of four units, each focusing on a different area of competence. These areas include client populations, health, organizational structures and public policy, and diversity in human services. A student may not take more than two core courses in their major field.

Client Populations: Courses in client populations will help students understand the varied needs of individuals based on a client�s personal characteristics.

Sociology of Childhood (Anthropology and Sociology 222)
Comparative Families (Anthropology and Sociology 350)
Intimate Violence (Anthropology and Sociology 360)
Interpersonal and Family Communication (Communication Studies 202)
Developmental Psychology (Psychology 251)
Abnormal Psychology (Psychology 265)
Psychology of Adolescence (Psychology 353)
Introduction to Counseling (Psychology 380)

Health: Courses in the health area will inform students about issues in health care today, from individual body systems to global challenges in the health care industry.

Healing, Health, and Society (Anthropology and Sociology 353)
Health Economics (Economics and Management 375)
Biomedical Ethics (Philosophy 308)
Anatomy and Kinesiology (Physical Education 211)
Health Psychology (Psychology 230)
Death and Dying in World Religions (Religious Studies 313)

Organizational Structures and Public Policy: Courses in organizational structures and public policy will help prepare students for management and policy issues relevant to human services organizations.

Small Group and Organizational Communication (Communication Studies 203)
Managing People and Organizations (Economics and Management 259)
Human Resource Management (Economics and Management 355)
Management (Economics and Management 359)
Negotiation and Dispute Resolution (Economics and Management 376)
Leadership Ethics (Philosophy 302)
Ethics and Public Policy (Philosophy 304)
Urban Politics and Policy (Political Science 308)
Industrial and Organizational Psychology (Psychology 246)

Diversity in Human Services: Courses in diversity in human services will expose students to issues of underrepresented groups.

Sociology of Sex and Gender (Anthropology and Sociology 333)
Race and Ethnicity (Anthropology and Sociology 345)
Social Stratification (Anthropology and Sociology 370)
Introduction to Ethnic Studies (Ethnic Studies 103)
Ethics (Philosophy 201)
Social Philosophy (Philosophy 202)
Contemporary Moral Problems (Philosophy 206)
Christian Ethics (Religious Studies 242)
Liberation Theology (Religious Studies 270)
Introduction to Women�s Studies (Women�s and Gender Studies 106)

3. Students must take a minimum of two units of supplemental courses that add depth to the internship experience. Typically, these two courses will come from the lists above. Students should select courses that complement and amplify a student�s special interests, especially in relation to their internship. Other courses not on the list above may be approved by the director of the human services concentration if the student provides ample justification.

4. All students must complete a one-unit internship approved by the human services director. This requirement may be satisfied by either the psychology practicum or an appropriate internship that is arranged through the student�s major department. The following represent possible internship sponsors: private social agencies, family-related agencies, public health offices, community health centers, institutions serving children and teenagers, churches and church-related institutions, crisis intervention agencies, state and local governments, and community organizations.

Admission--Admission to the human services concentration is based on a genuine interest in exploring one or more of the human services areas and evidence of academic ability. Students must apply for admission to the concentration and are encouraged to do so during their sophomore year. Students should contact the director of the human services concentration for an application form.

Law, Justice, and Society

Law is one of the most significant expressions of a society's social and political development. We live in a period of widespread public interest in law that arises from a concern with problems of social justice, social control and social deviance. The traditional academic disciplines have increasingly focused on such issues as the nature and origin of law, law-making and law-breaking, rights and obligations, and freedom and responsibility. These are matters of increasing concern to teachers, social workers, business executives, doctors and public servants whose professional responsibilities demand knowledge of the relationship of law to their own fields.

The goals of this interdisciplinary concentration are to affirm the intellectual importance of the study of law and society, and to provide a framework whereby faculty and students may explore different approaches to law by using the resources of one or more disciplines. The curriculum is designed to equip students with the knowledge to understand legal institutions, practices and ideas, and also to grasp their relationship to larger social, economic and political forces. The concentration in law, justice, and society should be seen within the context of an undergraduate liberal education. That is, it is not a preprofessional program, but is designed for interested students, whatever their future career orientation. Neither the American Bar Association (ABA) nor the American Association of Law Schools (AALS) recommends a specific course of pre-law studies. Instead, both recommend a broad-based undergraduate program of study that encourages the acquisition of critical reading, writing and analytical skills--i.e., a liberal arts education.

Requirements -- The law, justice, and society concentration will be satisfied by the completion of six units of study, as follows:

1. LWJS 101, Introduction to Law, Justice, and Society (one unit). All students must take this gateway course for the concentration, unless exempted by the director of the concentration.

2. Four units, drawn from an approved list of courses, to be chosen in consultation with the director of the concentration. No more than two of the courses can be from the student's major. The approved courses include:

History of Sociological Thought (Anthropology and Sociology 212)
Race and Ethnicity (Anthropology and Sociology 345)
Studies in Free Speech (Communication Studies 301)
Labor Law, Unions and Management (Economics and Management 353)
The Problem of Race in American Literature (English 360)
Literary Theory (English 363)
History of Women in the U.S., 1877-Present (History 240)
Slave Societies of the Americas (History 300)
Logic and Critical Reasoning (Philosophy 107)
Ethics (Philosophy 201)
Social Philosophy (Philosophy 202)
Contemporary Moral Philosophy (Philosophy 206)
Philosophical Issues in the Law (Philosophy 335)
American Political Development (Political Science 312)
Introduction to American Constitutional Law (Political Science 323)
Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (Political Science 324)
Christian Ethics (Religion 242)
Feminist Theory (WGS 360)

3. A program-related internship (one unit), to be approved by the director of the concentration.

Admission--The law, justice, and society concentration is open to all students, regardless of academic major. However, because of the nature of the requirements, students are advised to apply no later than the second semester of their sophomore year. For more information and an application form, contact William Rose (Political Science), director of the concentration.

Mass Communication

This concentration is designed to supplement a chosen academic major by providing course work which focuses on issues and choices in selected mass communication areas.

Requirements -- The concentration consists of six units of credit contracted between the candidate and the director of the concentration: one required course, a one-unit internship and four units of electives. The following courses are required in the concentration:

1. Communication Studies 205, Mass Communication (one unit).

2. A writing course from the following list: English 203, 205, 207, 308, 310.

3. Internship (one or two units). Students are required to take one unit of internship but may receive credit for a two-unit internship. If a one-unit internship is selected, students may choose a directed study or another elective to fulfill the six-unit requirement. Special work experience or practicum credit may be used as internship credit with permission. All internships are taken on a credit/no credit basis and must be registered through Albion College. Tuition is charged.

A limited number of internships in a variety of mass media organizations are available to qualified students. Once accepted into the program, students should begin to plan for the internship. All students who apply for internships or practicums are expected to have a cumulative grade point average of 2.7.

4. At least three additional units from the following list of electives. With the director of the mass communication concentration, students will choose courses from the following electives to best fulfill their designated areas
of interest:

Anthropology and Sociology
366 Anthropology of Mass Culture

Art and Art History
241 Beginning Photography
341 Advanced Photography

Communication Studies
306 Public Relations
311 Environmental Communication
312 Minority Images in American Media
325 Visual Communication
351 Persuasion
301 Studies in Free Speech
365 Media Theory

English
203 Advanced Expository Writing
205 Introductory Creative Writing
207 News and Feature Writing
307, 308 Advanced News and Feature Writing
309, 310 News Editing I
321 Advanced Creative Writing

Other courses may be used for the concentration as they are offered.

Admission -- All concentrations are individually designed; therefore, students must be accepted into the program, and must contact Margaret Young (Communication Studies), the director of the mass communication concentration, by the end of their sophomore year.

Neuroscience

Albion's neuroscience concentration was designed for students who are interested in the neural underpinnings of behavior and cognition. The core courses, Neuroscience I and Neuroscience II, provide students with a multi-disciplinary, multi-divisional introduction to the study of the mind/brain that spans all levels of current neuroscientific research. The four electives allow students to pursue lines of inquiry they find especially attractive in the core courses, and a major research project or internship allows them the choice of a theoretical or practical test of their developing skills. This approach to neuroscience provides Albion students with the knowledge, insight and research skills necessary for success in graduate study or careers in the life sciences.

Curriculum -- The neuroscience concentration consists of three components.
1. Three courses required of all students in the program:

Neuroscience I (covers basic systems, behavioral and cognitive neuroscience) (NEUR 241, with prerequisite Psychology 101)
Neuroscience II (covers molecular and cellular neuroscience) (NEUR 242, with prerequisites Neuroscience 241 and Biology 195)
Chemistry 121

2. Four of the following courses, selected from at least two different departments:

Biology
301 Cell Biology
314 Comparative Anatomy
317 Genetics
324 Developmental Biology
341 General Physiology
362 Molecular Biology
366 Endocrinology
368 Behavioral Ecology

Philosophy
306 Neuroscience and Ethics
315 Epistemology
381/401 Philosophy of Mind

Psychology
243/343 Psychology of Perception
245/345 Psychology of Learning and Memory
348 Physiological Psychology
378 Cognitive Psychology
390 Neuropsychopharmacology

3. A major research project or internship.

Admission -- The neuroscience concentration is open to all students, regardless of academic major. However, because many of the courses have prerequisites, students who elect the neuroscience concentration are typically majors in biology, chemistry or psychology. Students must be accepted into the program, and thus should contact one of the faculty members listed below for application information. Students are advised to apply by the end of their sophomore year.

For more information, please contact any one of the following faculty members: Barbara Keyes (Psychology), Ruth Schmitter (Biology), W. Jeffrey Wilson (Psychology).

Professional Management

See Carl A. Gerstacker Liberal Arts Institute for Professional Management.

Public Policy and Service

See Gerald R. Ford Institute for Public Policy and Service.