Interdisciplinary Minors

African and African American Studies

African and African American Studies

The minor in African and African American Studies, in concert with the core curriculum, covers past and current economic, social and political inequalities, along with past and current structures and ideologies of oppression (especially racism and white supremacy). The minor will also enhance respect for the dignity of others by focusing on the literatures, music and art of Africa and African Americans.

You'll also gain a greater understanding of the diversity of human cultures in a global community, see and seek to respond to all in that community with justice and solidarity, protect human dignity, work for peace and freedom, and respect the integrity of creation.

Business analytics

Business analytics

The Mount’s business analytics minor is a great complement to many majors and is open to all students. In the program, you’ll study how data plays a role in decision making, as well as how to design, organize and implement database systems. You’ll also have the option to choose from a variety of topics, including how data can help operations and supply chain functions, ecommerce and econometrics, or other courses in data science, cybersecurity, forensic accounting or marketing analytics.

Pair the minor with a cybersecurity major and work for a government agency keeping our country safe from data breaches, an accounting degree and help your organization make better financial decisions, or a computer science major and become a computer systems analyst.

Creative writing

Creative writing

The Mount’s creative writing minor is a great complement to many majors and is open to all students. In the program, you’ll develop your talents in a variety of narrative forms, including poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. You’ll have the opportunity to attend readings and lectures by visiting authors, participate in regional and national writing conferences, share your work in poetry and prose readings on- and off-campus, present your work at the Mount’s annual SPARC Festival, or join the staff of the Mount's award-winning literary and arts magazine, Lighted Corners.

With a creative writing minor from the Mount, you’ll be well positioned to go on to graduate programs in creative writing or English at such institutions as Johns Hopkins University, UCLA, Notre Dame University of Maryland, or expand your creativity and improve your writing skills for a career in a different field of study.

Cyber Criminology

Cyber Criminology

As everyday life becomes more connected with the internet and technology, the opportunities for illegitimate behavior have increased as well. Through the Mount's cyber criminology minor, you’ll think intellectually and morally about how seemingly innocent activities on social media specifically and the internet in general may lead to crimes such as identity theft, stalking, cyberbullying, fraud, academic cheating or human trafficking.

In focusing on the behavioral and technical components of cyberspace, you’ll become well-skilled in the analytical and ethical issues associated with cybercrime, along with understanding the types of offenders, theoretical explanations and the reaction of the criminal justice system to cybercrimes. You’ll work to solve real-world issues and dilemmas that our society faces in an environment they already navigate daily, but perhaps seldom pause to think critically about.

Pair the minor with a major in criminal justice to help keep children safe from online predators, an accounting degree, working to stop financial fraud, or with the pre-law program to focus on policy as it relates to cyberspace.

Environmental studies

Environmental studies

The environmental studies minor combines classroom academics along with an experiential component such as an internship, and allows you to choose either the environmental science or environmental values and policy track. Pair the minor with a health sciences degree and join an agency working toward improving water and air quality, or with a political science degree and shape environmental legislative policy.

Gender studies

Gender studies

The Mount’s gender studies minor is a great complement to many majors. In the program, you’ll use the sociology of gender as a lens to examine courses in English, communication, history and political science. Through critical readings and open discussions, you’ll learn about current and past societal attitudes on sex and gender, how gender intersects cultural, economic, racial, religious and sexual ideologies, and the ways gender drives both change and fluidity.

Pair the minor with a political science major and work with local government in community relations, a psychology degree to pursue a career in women’s advocacy, or a sociology major and work to bring equality to the workplace.

Latin American studies

Latin American studies

The Mount’s Latin American studies minor can be a great complement to many majors. This interdisciplinary program will introduce you to Latin American culture, language, politics and society, as well as provide an understanding of how its foreign policies, economics and international relations are woven into the global system. You’ll also study fields such as modern languages, political science, literature, sociology, economics, history and fine arts.

Pair the minor with an international studies major and work on improving public policy in Latin America, a Spanish degree to pursue a career as a translator for a government agency, or an environmental studies major, helping protect and conserve the region’s biodiversity.

Legal studies

Legal studies

The Mount’s legal studies minor can be a great complement to many majors. Whether you’re considering law school or beginning your career after graduation, a legal studies minor will prepare you for work in government, politics, social policy or private industry.

While in the program, you’ll gain skills in critical reading, writing, analytical problem solving, oral communication and listening, general research, and task organization and management – skills required for law school and the legal profession according to the American Bar Association.

Pair the minor with a criminal justice major and support your community in law enforcement, a political science degree and begin your career as paralegal, or a sociology major, working in case management for a local government agency.

Please note, students also must take four electives, no more than two of which can be in the same department.