Majors & Minors (Undergraduate)

Humanistic Studies Minor

The goal of a Humanistic Studies minor is to offer students the opportunity to reflect deeply on the themes and issues they encounter within a specialization.

MICA’s Humanistic Studies Department offers undergraduate students the opportunity to complete a minor in one of the five specializations:

Students choose a Humanistic Studies minor so that they can take more courses on subjects they love and work one-on-one with a faculty advisor on a senior-year thesis. Graduates come away from the program with the satisfaction of having completed a capstone project that speaks to the skills they have advanced and the knowledge they have gained throughout their studies in the liberal arts at MICA.

To fulfill the minor requirements, students should:

  1. Meet with the HMST Minors Program Coordinator (Paul Jaskunas, Bunting 405) to discuss the degree plan and the requirements, and to have a minor declaration form signed. Students will also need to meet with the coordinator once a semester throughout their time at MICA to ensure they are on track to complete all requirements prior to graduation.
  2. Complete HMST 101 and at least five additional courses (with a minimum GPA of 3.0) in the chosen field of study. The HMST Minors Program Coordinator can help identify applicable courses. Note: Minors have the same required course of study in Humanistic Studies as all students at MICA, along with two additional humanistic studies electives.
  3. Complete a Minor Thesis by the end of the last semester in attendance at MICA.

Requirements of the Thesis

The goal of the minor thesis is to offer students the opportunity to reflect deeply on the themes and issues they encountered while engaged with a concentrated field of study in the Humanistic Studies department. The thesis, as a written record of that reflection, should follow these general parameters:

  • Minimum 20 pages, maximum 45 pages. The minimum for a creative writing thesis is 30 pages; at least 20 pages should be original work in fiction, poetry, nonfiction, dramatic writing, or some combination thereof, and at least 10 pages must include analytical writing concerning the genre(s) represented in the thesis.

Students may forward any questions about the Humanistic Studies Minors Program to Paul Jaskunas at pjaskunas@mica.edu