Online Professional Studies Courses

The course will examine issues of leadership, tenacity and accountability through several important military leaders and engagements such as George Washington at Valley Forge; Lt. Gen Harold Moore and the battle of Ia Drang Valley; General Anthony McAuliff at the siege of Bastogne; and examine their leadership through the lens of Jim Collins’ classic, From Good to Great.
Prerequisite: General Professional Studies Major.

Professional success requires adaptation, change, lifelong learning, and the management of multiple demands. This course examines texts by ancient, medieval, and modern philosophers of relevance to the following questions: What is a successful human life? What roles do work, study, and leisure play within such a life? How does such a life balance the rival demands among a person’s various roles (e.g., personal, professional, and social)? What beliefs, attitudes, practices, and institutions facilitate successful living?
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

This course examines the environmental and health consequences of societal decisions like the widespread use of pesticides, fossil fuels, single-use plastic, and a car-centered built environment. How can we best tackle the two biggest environmental challenges: climate change and toxic contamination of humans and ecosystems? Are we always doomed to make decisions that fix one problem while creating a hydra-head of unintended consequences? Or can we learn to make decisions for the long term that promote human health, resilient communities, and a sustainable environment?
Prerequisite: General Professional Studies Major.

Graphic Design Essentials: The creation of visually dynamic publications and presentations is essential to many jobs in today’s career landscape. This class will focus on building quality print and digital publications using professional software. We will explore design theory and industry-wide best practices. When finished, you will have multiple items for your portfolio.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

A study of logic in its application to the solution of real-world problems. Students will learn to identify inferential patterns in natural language, break arguments down into their most basic components, and use techniques of formal and informal reasoning to critically evaluate the logical structures of concrete arguments. The skills of argument evaluation will then be applied to problem cases in each student’s field of professional interest.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

Developing A Moral Compass for Ethical Decision-Making Through Critical Thought and Art Analysis: How do we develop inner strength and moral fortitude as we navigate through life? In this course we will discover what is human about the humanities by searching for the inner truth and beauty apparent in creation represented by humankind and nature. Through the study of aesthetics, we will gain a heightened sensitivity to our sensory experiences, which will guide us to reflective thought. Learning a structure for the analysis of works of art will not only prepare us to understand the depth and profundity of human expression in works of art, but also help us to develop a moral compass by preparing us to become critical thinkers capable of informed ethical decision-making.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

Intercultural and Multicultural Engagement: Exploring Communities and Their Literary/Cultural Texts: This course allows students to interact with diverse groups of people in order to learn more about local communities, different cultural spaces, diverse faiths and places of worship, changing neighborhoods, and local histories. We will cultivate skills for communicating across cultural boundaries and will study recent multicultural literary, academic, and cultural texts that challenge us to engage with a variety of social and cultural perspectives. In addition to reading narratives online and in print, students will have the opportunity to arrange their own visits to different sites of cultural interest in their local areas (e.g., houses of worship, community centers, neighborhoods, business districts, festivals, museums, performance centers, etc.) as part of our efforts to study communities, their stories, and the diverse cultural texts that illuminate their identities.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

This course will address the growing need for quantitative, scientific, and financial literacy in both the social sciences and civic life. Students will examine the use and misuse of quantitative information in the scientific literature, popular press and public policy. The course will emphasize the scope and limitations of the quantitative methods as well as the insights they can and cannot provide. Additionally students will apply general quantitative reasoning skills in tasks aimed at promoting general scientific and financial literacy.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

Political Tribalism: in this course students will examine political parties, factions and special interest groups, as well as racial, gender and other forms of bias, by focusing on the tribal dynamics of groups, both in political and social life. Students will work to design new strategies to avoid or curb tribal tendencies and be trained to understand opportunities for finding common ground and working beyond the narrow identities associated with groups.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

This course will teach students the skills of careful reading, attentiveness, writing, and dialogue via Benedictine lectio divina. We will read deeply from texts in the Benedictine Wisdom tradition, including the Bible, the Rule, and works by Hildegard, Bernard, Merton, and the Tibhirine monks, all while considering timeless and timely topics, such as listening, discernment, obedience, humility, discipline, free will, attentiveness, work-life balance, the virtue of silence, hospitality, and dialogue, etc. Writing intensive. Counts in fulfilment of IDS requirement.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

The course will focus on the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues that enable individuals and groups to flourish. We will explore positive psychology by learning about the research and application of this research with special emphasis on topics such as happiness, empathy, compassion, optimism, resilience, flow, forgiveness, gratitude, and generosity. Upon completion of the course students will be able to apply their learning to enhance personal functioning.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

Sociocultural Aspects of Language: Examines how factors such as ethnicity, gender, and social class affect the use of language in personal, professional, and public spaces. Considers the impact of social, cultural, and political factors on language use in linguistically diverse communities.
Prerequisite: Major in General Professional Studies.

Interdisciplinary seminar focused on various religious and philosophical traditions, including one or more Catholic or Benedictine hallmark(s). Students with 30 or more credit hours earned.