Law, Policy & The Public Sector

The Anthropology & Sociology major (BA) takes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of anthropology and sociology, two fields that share a methodological, theoretical, and historical heritage. Sociology examines social organization, stratification, and interactions, while anthropology focuses on cultural values/practices, beliefs, and shared meaning-making. Both enrich our capacity to critically analyze the social and cultural conditions of human life. 

Our major prepares students for work with culturally and socially diverse peoples in likewise diverse careers.  Our alumni frequently go on to graduate school and/or pursue careers in social work, criminal justice, development, law, medicine, nursing, veterinary school, counseling, library work, creative writing, or service organizations such as the Peace Corps. No matter what path you choose, the knowledge you gain from studying human and cultural conditions in anthropology and sociology will benefit you for the rest of your life.

The study of communication is at least as old as written language itself. The first "scholar" of communication is also the first named historical author, the ancient Mesopotamian priestess, princess, and poet Enheduanna. As a vibrant component of a liberal arts education—since the inclusion of "rhetoric" in the trivium of subjects establishing classical Greek education—the study of communication has changed over the centuries. Today, students engage communicative inquiry as a method of developing the portable skills that will serve them in their collegiate studies and beyond. Through examining the collaborative construction and negotiation of meaning, between self and others, as it occurs within cultural contexts, students who earn a major in Communication will be able to construct effective messages in oral and written forms, as well as engage in collaborative work as interdependent group members, while adjusting their communicative strategies to account for various audiences, contexts, and diverse organizations and cultures in which they will advocate.

Students of communication also have the opportunity to take their skills and put them into use immediately, as part of their every-day lives, but also in more applied and specialized contexts, such as working for the student newspaper or engaging in intercollegiate debate tournaments with the award-winning Howling Yotes.

The Criminology major offers a distinctly liberal arts approach to understanding crime, its causes, and our responses to it from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Students study crime data and trends, how criminal justice systems function, and theories of crime and punishment. Beyond the shared core courses, students will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of criminological topics across various disciplines. The strong analytical, research, and communication skills students develop in this major will prepare them for both graduate school as well as careers in a diverse range of fields, including law, advocacy, criminal justice, social service, and public policy.

The College of Idaho offers a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in: 

• Elementary Teaching, which is designed for students who wish to earn teacher certification for elementary grades K-8; and
• Secondary Teaching programs in Biology, English Language Arts, History, Mathematics, and Music, which are designed for students who wish to earn teacher certification for secondary grades 6-12 in these areas.

Our four-year teaching certification program emphasizes preparing educators for Idaho schools. It encompasses undergraduate study toward completion of a BA degree and an internship semester of student teaching to complete remaining licensure requirements.

The College of Idaho has a proud tradition of producing quality educators. Our graduates have gone on to successful careers in teaching and school administration, earning countless awards, grants, and recognition for their outstanding work as educators in Idaho and around the world. Education majors may also go on to earn graduate and doctoral degrees and teach at the college level.

Ours is an age when both non-human and human well-being depend on reframing conventional questions and developing ourselves as agents of intellectual change. Through the Environmental Studies major, we seek to understand the complex and influential interactions between the conceptual and the material aspects of human-environment relations. Students majoring in Environmental Studies and planning to go on to professional or graduate school are advised to pursue a minor, specialization or double major in an accompanying, complementary field of study, such as conservation biology, geography and geoscience, history, law, philosophy, international political economy, or political economy.

Environmental Studies prepares skilled critical thinkers who are ready to provide leadership in a variety of career fields. Education, public policy, resource management, public health, public administration, international development, non-profit work, and the sciences are popular choices for our graduates. Many alumni also go on to graduate school to study environmental law and policy, economics, environmental literature, plant and animal biology, and other related sciences.

You will find history isn't contained simply in the pages of a textbook at The College of Idaho. Our engaging faculty breathe life into the events that have shaped human history, and you will find plenty of opportunities to interact with history first-hand from visiting historically significant sites overseas to performing in-depth historical research. Our History majors graduate with a knowledge of historical methodology and research, as well as a foundation in the histories of at least four regions of the world. The study of history is rewarding for students with any program of study but is particularly suited to students pursuing careers in business, law, teaching, health sciences, media, or the arts and humanities, where an understanding of human experience is particularly valuable.

International Affairs investigates the political, economic, and social relations between countries and within countries. As an interdisciplinary program of study, course topics span political philosophy, political economy, comparative studies, economic development, international law, history, geography, and regional studies. It cultivates transferable skills in research, analysis, data interpretation, evidenced-based argumentation, policy evaluation, collective decision-making, cultural awareness, and global literacy. Developing future leaders aiming to contribute to the international community, an International Affairs Major helps prepare students for post-graduate professional activity in fields such as public service, law, public policy, diplomacy, political activism, journalism, economic development, international education, non-government organizations, and internationally-oriented careers in the private sector.

The Philosophy major invites and provokes students to examine themselves and the world in more comprehensive ways, as well as to look at the most fundamental aspects of human reasoning, discourse, and experience. In addition to the methodological and historical core of the program, majors have the flexibility to pursue their interests in ethics, religion, science, mind, and the environment, among other areas. The major culminates in a senior project, in which students have the opportunity to work closely with faculty on a topic of their interest.

The Philosophy major prepares students for a range of professional pursuits and can also serve as an excellent complement to other majors at the College. Recent graduates have gone on to graduate school in a variety of fields, medical school, law school, the non-profit sector, teaching, and more.

Political economy involves analyzing and explaining the ways in which government affects the allocation of scarce resources in society through public policies and the ways the economic system affects the policies created by government. In this program, students are required to develop critical reasoning skills while recognizing the importance of economic, political, and philosophical principles in the process of developing a better understanding of how Western and non-Western societies interact with each other and provide for their material well-being. 

Political economy is an excellent field for students interested in how society organizes itself through government, the market, and non-governmental actors. It is a fine complement for programs that are affected by political economic forces both domestically and globally.

A Political Economy major helps prepare students for post-graduate professional activity in fields such as public service, law, public policy, diplomacy, political activism, journalism, economic development, education, non-government organizations, and a variety of careers in the private sector.

A Spanish major develops student proficiency in the language and an understanding of cultures in Spanish-speaking societies. Students develop advanced language skills in speaking, understanding, writing, and reading, and learn about the history, literature, and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. Understanding Spanish language and Spanish-speaking cultures offers students many professional opportunities in today’s global society. Many students choose to double major with Spanish and another discipline, because a Spanish major helps to prepare students for success in a variety of career fields and future endeavors: graduate studies, education, diplomacy, business, social work, public service, law, journalism, and health and mental health professions.