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Praxis

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The Praxis program provides an exciting opportunity to combine the analytical reading, writing and thinking skills of a liberal arts education with the marketable skills required in the 21st century to take students into career paths of their own design.

Eligibility Requirements: The Praxis program is only offered to students in Arts & Sciences. Students may apply after completing the first semester of their first year. Students must fill out an online application for the program and be accepted to enroll in Praxis courses. Applicants are accepted on a rolling basis throughout the first semester of their junior year if they have maintained a 3.0 grade-point average or higher. After the first semester of junior year, it becomes difficult to complete all Praxis program requirements before graduation.

Faculty: The Arts & Sciences faculty from a wide variety of backgrounds have helped to develop the Praxis program and are eager to teach, monitor and mentor the Praxis students. In addition, leaders in business, nonprofit organizations and government — many of whom discovered the foundation for their success in liberal arts studies — will be lecturers in the signature Praxis courses.

Focused Workforce Curriculum: The Praxis program does more than provide students with the foundation of a liberal arts education: the curriculum is designed specifically to provide students with many additional tools essential for their future in the world of work. In addition to being exposed to the specialized content of a particular field, Praxis students will be acquiring the expertise essential for their first jobs as well as for careers that may not yet exist:

  • Analysis of multiple perspectives essential to the increasing globalization of our world
  • Critical thinking
  • Familiarity with quantitative analysis and methods
  • Outstanding writing and speaking skills
  • Foreign language literacy and culture
  • Team and group work expertise and psychology
  • Essential skills in traditional and emerging technology

Internships: The Praxis experience culminates in an internship that is normally taken at the end of the junior year. This allows students to synthesize the tools and theories they have learned and use them in the workplace. Locations for internships may include national and international sites.

Community: The success of our students is central to our program. The academic advisers and all Praxis faculty members assist students with tailoring their education to their own interests and goals. In particular, each student is assigned a faculty mentor who closely monitors that student's progress. The faculty, the staff and all of the Praxis students form a supportive community that stimulates and encourages the highest standards of excellence in the students' studies and in their chosen careers.

The Program

  1. Leadership and group experience (3 units) (fall of sophomore year)
    Required: Praxis 201 Leaders in Context
  2. Information technology skills (2 units) (fall of sophomore year)
    Required: Praxis 207 Fluency in Sociotechnology
  3. Communication skills, both written and oral (3 units) (spring of sophomore year)
    Required: Praxis 285 Communication that Works
  4. Analytic and problem-solving skills (3 units)
    Required: One of the following:
    Course List
    Code Title Units
    Econ 1011Introduction to Microeconomics3
    Econ 1021Introduction to Macroeconomics3
    Phil 100GLogic and Critical Analysis3
    Undergraduate research experience3
    An analytic or problem-solving course (by petition)3
  5. Quantitative skills (3 units)
    Required: A course in statistics (select one from below):
    Course List
    Code Title Units
    Math 1011Introduction to Statistics3
    Math 2200Elementary Probability and Statistics3
    Math 3200Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis3
    Pol Sci 363Quantitative Political Methodology3
    Psych 300Introduction to Psychological Statistics3
  6. International perspective or experience (3 units)
    Required:
    The study of any language through the 300 level
    or
    Study abroad
    or
    One course in international economics or economic development (must be at the 300 level or higher)
  7. Internship (3 units) 
    By allowing students to put into practice the skills and knowledge learned through the Praxis curriculum, the Praxis internship is conducted with the mentorship of a sponsoring Praxis faculty member and usually occurs by the end of the junior year. Students should contact the Praxis internship coordinator and have a faculty mentor in place before beginning the internship. It is not possible to fulfill the internship portion of the Praxis program with an internship that occurred before completing the majority of Praxis requirements. The internship should consist of 135 hours.
    Upon completion of the internship experience, there are two options available for students to fulfill the Praxis internship requirement. In conjunction with the approval of the faculty sponsor, the student submits a 10-page paper exploring the relevant issues and questions set by the sponsoring faculty. Depending on the topic, the nature of the internship, and the discretion of the sponsoring faculty, a daily journal may be submitted in lieu of the 10-page paper. For full details of the requirements of this internship, contact Dean Joy Kiefer. This step is required for completion of the Praxis program.
Contact:Dean Joy Kiefer
Email:praxis@wustl.edu
Website:https://artsci.wustl.edu/praxis

Director

Joy Kiefer
Associate Dean
PhD, Washington University
(College of Arts & Sciences)

The Praxis program is not a major program. It is designed for students entering their sophomore year, and it is available by application only. Students must apply online. First-year students may apply to the program after their first semester, and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis through the first semester of their junior year.

The Praxis program is not a minor program. It is designed for students entering their sophomore year, and it is available by application only. Students must apply online. First-year students may apply to the program after their first semester, and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis through the first semester of their junior year.

Visit online course listings to view semester offerings for L62 Praxis.


L62 Praxis 201 Leaders in Context

In this course we explore leadership both theoretically and practically. Focus is on understanding the concept of culture and how the cultural context informs a leader's style and effectiveness. This course also is designed to help students develop insights about leadership practice through readings, discussions, conversations with leaders, and group projects based on fieldwork. Students examine a wide variety of leaders and leadership styles in order to better understand how leaders mobilize followers within the constraints of their particular settings. Students also analyze the creation of institutional identity within organizations and corporate culture and explore effective leadership practices within these settings, as well as analyzing some cross-cultural examples of leadership. This course is limited only to students enrolled in the Praxis program.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S


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L62 Praxis 207 Fluency in Sociotechnology

This course analyzes the fundamentals of technology and how that technology affects communication and processes. Students can expect to learn effective strategies for communicating through various platforms and the importance of content delivery in the proper context. Students will also interact with real-world practitioners through a series of guest speakers in addition to the weekly classroom discussion. The semester will culminate in a team-based project that puts students in contact with real nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis area. The students are tasked with applying the information learned in class to real workplace scenarios. This course is limited only to students enrolled in the Praxis program.

Credit 2 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC EN: S


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L62 Praxis 285 Communication that Works

This course focuses on the communication forms and skills essential to contemporary living and working. Various forms of writing for different audiences and purposes: business letters, memorandums, proposals, reports, press releases, speeches as well as public speaking are practiced and critiqued. The use of technology common in public speaking is practiced and critiqued. The use of technology common in public presentations is expected. Course reading is supplemented with viewing and listening. Final grade is based on combination of quizzes, writing assignments and demonstration of speaking skills. This course is limited only to students enrolled in the Praxis program.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM BU: HUM EN: H


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L62 Praxis 286 Entrepreneurship and the Liberal Arts

It is a little-known truth that more entrepreneurs come out of Arts & Sciences than any other college. This course begins by exploring why this is so, examining in particular the creative and innovative qualities developed in liberal arts that are crucial to the success of the entrepreneur. We then move on to examine entrepreneurs in action, hearing from those in the field and reading of others, learning how the liberal arts proved instrumental in various ways to their development and ultimate success as entrepreneurs.

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: HUM Arch: HUM Art: HUM EN: H


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L62 Praxis 367 Positive Psychology: The Science of Happiness

Reviews the relatively recent development in the field known as "Positive Psychology." Topics may include: happiness and life-satisfaction, positive self-esteem, creativity, caring relationships, love (passionate and otherwise), empathy, optimism, ambition, moral character development, attachment, compassion, forgiveness, helping, work ethics, and successful aging. Designed to take a sampling of those aspects of psychology that emphasize the positive side of human nature. Prerequisites: Psych 100B, junior or senior standing.
Same as L33 Psych 367

Credit 3 units. A&S IQ: SSC Arch: SSC Art: SSC BU: BA EN: S


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