Integrative Studies

An integrative studies major gives Salem students the opportunity to pursue an interdisciplinary program of study that is not typically offered as part of the college curriculum. In this major, you can design a coherent program that combines existing resources in the curriculum to create an interdisciplinary study of a specific area of interest.

This program of study helps students develop critical thinking, analytical, and communication skills that will prepare them to either continue their education in post-baccalaureate programs or enter professions as diverse as law, medicine, education, and business.

The experience of each integrative studies student is unique because they design their academic experience along with their faculty advisor. Students are able to explore upper-level course material in at least two academic disciplines and identify connections between those disciplines. Recent examples of self-designed programs include:

• Integrative Studies Plan in Sociology and Teaching, Schools, and Society with the Advocacy Concentration
• Integrative Studies Plan in Psychological Science and Teaching, Schools, and Society
• Humanism and Religious Thought Throughout the Middle Ages
• Psychology and Human Communication

• The beauty of the integrative studies major is that students can integrate health-focused coursework into any program they design.
• They might pull from courses in Public Health, Health Advocacy, or Health Humanities, for example, to design a coherent curriculum.