Bachelor of Arts in General Studies

The Bachelor of Arts in General Studies is an individualized program of study designed for the student who is seeking an interdisciplinary degree allowing the student to take courses across the curriculum without regard to subject designation.  The degree gives the student the opportunity to craft a curriculum of study for academic degrees the University does not offer.  For example, the student interested in Southwestern studies might use the degree to incorporate courses in Southwestern literature, history of the American West, comparative politics, and and anthropology into a coherent course of study, or the student could use the degree to craft a curriculum in political studies or music. There is no minor field in the General Studies major.

The General Studies student must fulfill the requirements for a Bachelor of Arts degree.  The general studies common core gives all students fundamental knowledge of skills necessary to competently express themselves, think creatively, solve problems, and understand the nature and function of people and the environment.  In addition to the core requirements for the B. A. degree, General Study majors are required to take Communication 3304 (Critical Reasoning), English 3312 (Advanced Composition), and General Studies 4100 (Senior Assessment). 

Other requirements for the degree are:  (1)  a minimum of 120 semester credit hours; (2) a cumulative grade point average of 2.0; (3) a minimum of thirty-six advanced semester credit hours must be completed, including at least fifteen semester credit hours in residence at Sul Ross State University; (4) a minimum of thirty semester credit hours must be completed in residence; and (5) at least twenty-four semester credit hours of the last thirty presented for a degree must be in residence.

For further information regarding the Bachelor of Arts degree in General Studies, please contact Ms. Carol Greer in the Office of the College of Arts and Sciences at 432-837-8368 or at cgreer@sulross.edu.

Master of Arts in Liberal Arts

The Master of Arts in Liberal Arts is an interdisciplinary curriculum structured to allow the student to design a graduate degree to meet the student's unique and individual interests.  The student chooses three academic disciplines to incorporate into the course of study.   Two of the academic disciplines must be in the College of Arts and Sciences.  One of the academic disciplines may be in a department not in the College of Arts and Sciences.  The student may take no more than eighteen semester-credit-hours in any one discipline and may have no fewer hours than six semester-credit-hours in any of the three disciplines.  The academic discipline with the greatest number of semester-credit-hours must be a discipline from within the College of Arts and Sciences. The semester credit hours in the degree must total thirty-six.  Academic disciplines within the College of Arts and Sciences which may be used in the degree are Art, Biology, Communication, English, Geology, History, Linguistics, Mathematics, Music, Political Science, Psychology, Public Administration, Sociology, Spanish, and Theater. The student must have the consent of the department chair to include an academic discipline in the student's curriculum.

Although the degree is a non-thesis degree, the student must complete a capstone project integrating the three disciplines.   The capstone project is designed to meet the student's particular interests, and, therefore, the range of projects is considerable.  Liberal Arts 5101 (Prospectus for Master's Project) and Liberal Art 5301 (Master's Project) are also required as part of the project process.  Recent projects include:

Under the Stasi by Marilyne Crill-Dieckert of College Station.  Marilyn integrated English, Theater, and Music into an original musical composition bringing to our social consciousness the "...pervasiveness of the dehumanization demonstrated by the Soviets during their occupation of East Germany following the Second World War." 

Permian Pulse by Grant Griffen of Gonzales.  Grant integrated Art, Geology, and Natural Resource Management into a public art project that transformed pumpjacks in an oil field into a spectacular display of light.  For Grant this was an opportunity "...to bring beauty to a blighted place and draw attention to a new technology."

Communicative Language Teaching Approach for Spanish by Dacil Gutierrez from Ojinaga, Mexico.  Dacil integrated Spanish, Linguistics, and English to develop a communicative approach for the teaching of a second language.  Dacil demonstrated "...that the communicative approach is an efficacious technique to use with students for the positive development of a second language."

A Wolf's Tale by J. Chris Perkins of Alpine.  Chris integrated Music, Theatre, and Education into the world of a playwright by composing an original work of children's musical theater.   One of Chris's objectives was to "bring awareness to bias, stereotyping, and racism/prejudice." 

Conversation and Sustainable Use of Water Resources of the Rio Grande Basin:  Community Outreach and Education by Christopher P. Hillen of  San Marcos.   Chris integrated Communication, Geology, and Natural Resource Management into the development of a two-part rainwater harvesting workshop held in the spring of 2012 in anticipation of summer rains.  The project was "...an effort to draw attention to the water issues facing the Big Bend region of Texas [through] a multi-faceted social marketing campaign aimed at promoting water conservation in [the Big Bend] area."

Petra's Sueno by Olivia Gallegos of Alpine.  Olivia integrated History, Art, and Theatre to develop the costuming for Tia Cuca, a curandera, in Rupert Reyes's Petra's Sueno.  Olivia based the costuming upon her research of renown Mexican curandera, Teresa Urrea.  Olivia noted that she researched "...some actual pictures of the actual Teresa Urrea" and  based "...Tia Cuca's costume...on the actual Teresa Urrea." 

For more information about the Master of Arts in Liberal Arts, contact Carol Greer in the offices of the College of Arts and Sciences at 432-837-8368 or cgreer@sulross.edu.

  

 

McNair-Tafoya Symposium

The McNair-Tafoya Symposium is held annually to recognize excellence in undergraduate research.  The symposium, a joint endeavor of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program, provides undergraduate students an opportunity to present original research to a convocation of the College of Arts and Sciences and the university community.  Symposium participants are not limited to participants in the McNair program.   The student research is blind-juried, and selected students are asked to present their research formally to the convocation.   Afterwards, all the student researchers present their work in a poster session.  

The symposium is named in honor and memory of Dr. Jesus Tafoya, Associate Professor of Spanish, who passed away October 6, 2008.  Dr. Tafoya devotedly served as a McNair mentor from the beginning of the McNair Scholars Program at the university.  Dr. Tafoya, who was from Juarez and El Paso, received his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico.  His poetry and his research fully manifested his love of the Spanish language, the Southwest Borderlands, Mexico, his family, and his students.   

The following research was chosen for oral presentation in the 2012 symposium:

Media Bias and the Highest Glass Ceiling:  Is Negative Press Coverage to Blame for Hillary Clinton's Unsuccessful Presidential Campaign? by Johnathon P. Cruz, Political Science.  Dr. Amy Moreland, Assistant Professor Political Science, Faculty Mentor.

The People's Poets of Texas:  Literature Born Within the Singer/Songwriter Tradition of the Lasty Forty Years  by Phyllis Dunham, English.  Dr. Laura Payne Butler, Associate Professor of English, Faculty Mentor.

The Mystery of Invention:  What Writers Reveal About the Craft of Creation by Angela Greenroy, English.  Dr. Laura Payne Butler, Associate Professor of English, Faculty Mentor.

Roots of an Empathic Management Theory:  Death's Role in Cultivating Empathy by Robert LeBlanc, Psychology.  Dr. Jay Downing, Professor of Psychology, Faculty Mentor.

The 2013 McNair-Tafoya Symposium is scheduled for Wednesday, October 23.

 

Dr. Jesus Tafoya...                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

International Travel in the College of Arts and Sciences

The College maintains an international travel program providing students the opportunity to earn academic credit while traveling abroad.  In May, 2012, Sul Ross students traveled to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France.  In 2011, students traveled to Ireland, and in 2010, students traveled to Italy and Greece.   The College is preparing its first travel experience outside of Europe or Mexico for May, 2014, an excursion to Australia and New Zealand.  For information about the Australia/New Zealand trip contact Dr. Estehr Rumsey at 432-837-8218 or at erumsey@sulross.edu.

In 2013 the College is offering two international travel opportunities.  From Saturday, March 9 through Sunday, March 17, Prof. Dona Roman, Professor of Theatre, will be taking Sul Ross students to Britain for a British theatre experience.  In May, Dr. Esther Rumsey, Professor of Communication, and Dr. Filemon Zamora, Assistant Professor of Spanish, are taking students to Spain.  For information about the British Theatre and Literature tour contact Prof. Roman (droman@sulross.edu); for information regarding the Spain:  Land of Many Cultures tour, contact Dr. Esther Rumsey (erumsey@sulross.edu).

 

 

 

Arts and Sciences Spring Lecture

    

Dr. Jay Downing, Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences...

 

 Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Lawrence Hall 300

3:30 p.m.

From a Burr Under the Saddle to a Flower in the Desert:

Anti-Authoritarianism in Political Psychology and Higher Education     

Dr. Jay Downing, Professor of Psychology        

                In Spring, 2007, the Dean of the College initiated the Arts and Sciences Spring Lecture to recognize and honor the professional contributions of a senior faculty member  to the academic and intellectual life and vitality of the university and to recognize the academic performance and research accomplishments during the past year of all the faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences.   The honored faculty member addresses a convocation of faculty, students, and staff from the college on a topic of the faculty member’s choosing.  

                Dr. Jay Downing, Professor of Psychology and Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences will present the 2013 lecture.  Dr. Downing joined the Sul Ross faculty in 1992.   Dr. Downing holds bachelor of science degrees in Psychology and Marketing from Indiana State University and the Master of Arts  and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Social Psychology from the University of Colorado.  Dr. Downing received a Fulbright Scholarship for the 2002-2003 academic year and received an appointment to the University of Rijeka in Croatia.  He returned to Rijeka to teach each summer from 2004 through 2008.

 

Previous Lectures

2007

Dr. Wayne Sheehan, Professor of History

The Boosters Go To War

 

2008

Dr. David Rohr, Professor of Geology

A Snail’s Eye View of Alaska

 

2009

Dr. Nelson Sager, Professor of English

Frankly, Mr. Poet, I Don’t Give A Rhyme!

 

2010

Dr. James Zech, Professor of Biology

A Michigan Yankee in Sul Ross’s Court

 

2011

Prof. Carol Fairlie, Professor of Art

Painting Myself in a Corner

 

2012

Dr. Kristofer Jorgenson, Professor of Math

Mathematics:  The Crown of Creation-Folding to the Sun