Integrative Studies

Jessen-Marshall (chairperson), and members of other departments.

Policy on Waivers

One INST course may be waived for participation in an approved off-campus study program (not an internship and not in summer) for a quarter or a semester, and two INST courses may be waived for full-academic-year participation. In addition to any waived courses, courses in approved off-campus study programs may be used as substitutes for INST courses according to the Policy on Substitutions below. Please see the INST Department Chairperson for approval. Regardless of the number of quarters spent in off-campus study, only one of the composition and literature courses may be waived or substituted and only one of the two required natural sciences may be waived.

Policy on Substitutions

Of the ten required Integrative Studies courses, up to three may be completed with substitutions from other academic areas. The conditions under which substitutions may be made are:

Substitutions are restricted to those that appear on the approved list below.
Courses on the approved list that were transferred from other institutions do not count as part of the three substitutions permitted.
A substitution may be made for either INST 270 or INST 300, but not both. (There are no approved substitutions for INST 100/105/11 0.)
A substitution may be made for one of the two required INST natural science courses (INST 340/350/360/400/410), but not both. There currently is no approved substitution for INST 410.
Substitute courses taken in an off-campus study program must be approved by the chairperson of the Integrative Studies Department.
To register for a substitution, select the section with the # sign (example: RELG 100-#1).

Transfer students need to keep in mind that the INST residency requirement must be fulfilled as well.

The Integrative Studies Program explores the complexities of human nature throughout the student’s years of study at Otterbein. In doing so, the program builds self‑knowledge as well as knowledge of the diversity of cultures, traditions, and points of view in the world. At each level in the program, the frame within which individuals see themselves widens and becomes both more complex and more inclusive. As a result, students going through the Integrative Studies Program gain a broad, general knowledge of the world in which they live. The Program, because of its multidisciplinary nature, may enrich student’s graduate study or careers. It also provides Otterbein graduates with the basis for lifelong learning, which in turn may help them adjust to change and complexity, learn new fields, and shift careers. Most important, however, the Integrative Studies Program prepares graduates to become informed citizens in a democracy and to live their lives in family, community, country, and world.

The Integrative Studies Program will help you to:

Understand human nature and the many facets of our being more fully.
Think critically and creatively.
Communicate your thoughts accurately and effectively in writing and speaking.
Develop competencies in a broad range of disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences.
Make integrative connections across disciplines, helping you to engage complex problems with interdisciplinary knowledge.
Identify your beliefs and extend your knowledge of ethical and spiritual issues to create a broader understanding and tolerance.
Know how to access and evaluate information, resources, and technology and apply them in the appropriate context.

To reach the above goals, students take a core of 50 quarter hours, met through 10 requirements, from the list of Integrative Studies courses below. At some points in the program, all students take the same required course; at other points, students choose from among several options. Courses in the program explore the theme of human nature from a variety of disciplinary perspectives, ask students to think critically and to use oral and written communication skills, and encourage students to integrate classroom learning with learning from experience, discussion, performances, lectures, films, and/or service work. The requirements are designed to be taken in a sequence: freshmen take three courses at the 1 00 level, sophomores take two or three courses at the 200 level, and juniors generally take three courses and seniors two courses at the 300 and 400 level. Students must take the freshman and sophomore level requirements before enrolling in the junior and senior level requirements. Each requirement builds on the one before it, and as students move through the sequence of ten courses, they are encouraged to make connections between and among their Integrative Studies courses, to connect their Integrative Studies courses to their majors courses, and to see the interconnectedness of all knowledge.

Thus, students and advisers must plan schedules carefully, working to coordinate the developmental sequences of both Integrative Studies and the major. Some flexibility is added through the Integrative Studies Policy on Substitutions described in this section.

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