Praxis

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 1011	Introduction to Microeconomics	3
   Econ 1021	Introduction to Macroeconomics	3
   Phil 100G	Logic and Critical Analysis	3
   Undergraduate research experience		3
   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 1011	Introduction to Statistics	3
   Math 2200	Elementary Probability and Statistics	3
   Math 3200	Elementary to Intermediate Statistics and Data Analysis	3
   Pol Sci 363	Quantitative Political Methodology	3
   Psych 300	Introduction to Psychological Statistics	3

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.

Director

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.