Undergraduate Majors
Integrative Studies
The Bachelor of Integrative Studies is a degree that provides maximum freedom for students who wish to take a multidisciplinary, individualized approach to the design of an educational program while maintaining a focus on career and professional goals. The Integrative Studies major has a General concentration, and a Two Minors concentration. These concentrations may have the most appeal for students near the end of their academic careers (senior-level students) who are re-evaluating their academic and career choices. It is a program in which the student undertakes the responsibility for the research and design of their program, in consultation with an advisor. The Integrative Studies-General concentration allows students to choose a minimum of 30 credit hours from interrelated programs that support their career aspirations. The Integrative Studies-Two Minors concentration allows students to complete two university-recognized minors and/or certificates. A minimum of two academic departments in which to select courses are chosen and a rationale for the ways in which these courses support the student's career goals is developed.
Paralegal Studies
Approved by the American Bar Association, Kent State University’s Kent Campus offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Paralegal Studies. Students also have the option to minor in Paralegal Studies in conjunction with a four-year baccalaureate degree (Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science). The interdisciplinary Paralegal Studies program is housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, and combines a liberal arts background with legal specialty courses to provide the graduate with analytical skills, the ability to conduct legal research, knowledge of the legal system, communication skills, and practical hands-on-experience.
RELIGION STUDIES
The Religion Studies major provides students the opportunity to study religion by means of a diversity of academic disciplinary approaches in relation to religious thought and practice evident in the diversity of religions and religious phenomena in the world. The curriculum prepares students for critical inquiry in religion with advanced course work drawn from a variety of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences and the arts. Students begin with a core of Classics courses, in order to understand the cultural context within which the traditions of Second-Temple Judaism, Rabbinic Judaism, and early Christianities arose. The required courses REL 11020 Introduction to World Religions and 21021 Comparative Religion form an introduction to the content of classical world religions, including major Eastern traditions and Islam, and to the study of religion as an academic discipline. Upper division courses examine the Classical and Western traditions in greater depth, explore the reception of and discourse about Western traditions within Medieval and modern societies, or take a comparative approach to the examination of Religion as a human phenomenon. The program emphasizes critical thinking skills and provides a liberal arts education especially well-suited for anyone interested in pursuing a humanities’ pathways to graduate professional education in business, education, law and religion, as well as graduate work in religion studies and related disciplines.