Special Programs
The Center for Regional Planning and Development offers students the opportunity to work with faculty to gain experience solving real-world problems in regional development. Areas of focus include administration, business, the environment and education. The Center provides southeastern Ohio communities with low-cost solutions, and serves as a laboratory for students to apply to real-world problems what they have learned in the classroom.
Directed Study* permits students, under special circumstances, to enroll in an existing course at an alternative time to the class schedule. This requires a course contract with a cooperating faculty member and approval by the Provost. The contract specifies required meeting times, readings, writing assignments, studio, or laboratory work. Only students who have earned 60 credit hours are eligible to take courses by directed study. Students may register for directed study courses through the fourth week of the semester. Additional fees may apply.
*Adult undergraduate degree completers should consult the MAP Guidebook.
First-Year Seminar The First-Year Seminar course provides entering first-year students with a common academic experience during their first semester. Muskingum’s primary purpose is to develop the “whole person”; in keeping with this mission the course offers an extended orientation to the institutional environment and is designed to create a successful transition to the academic expectations and campus life of the institution. The course, which is required of all first-time, first-year students, includes a significant advising component and introduces students to academic and student services resources.
Interdisciplinary Majors draw on offerings in various departments. Students may elect an already established interdisciplinary major in American Studies, Animal Studies, Athletics Communication, Conservation Science, Criminal Justice, Child and Family Studies, Digital Media Design, Environmental Science, Humanities, International Affairs, International Business, Journalism, Molecular Biology, Neuroscience, Public Administration, or Sport and Fitness Science, or may construct a self-designed interdisciplinary major in an area not currently available in the curriculum.
Internships and Career Field Experiences encourage students to apply and extend their learning in real-world contexts. In recent years, Muskingum interns have earned academic credit while learning through experience in law and legislators’ offices, radio and television stations, hospitals, mental health institutions, businesses, and field research sites. These experiences are sponsored by individual academic departments. The Office of Career Services also assists students seeking internships that complement their personal learning goals. The goals, expectations and specific learning requirements are carefully specified in advance to assure good rapport among University staff, the students, and the various cooperating agencies.
Students may initiate internship proposals, but all internships must meet the same minimum standards and be approved by the department chair or program coordinator, supervising professor, and Provost’s Office prior to the beginning of the experience or within two weeks of the beginning of the experience. To be eligible for an Internship, a student must have achieved junior standing (60 hours) prior to the internship and must have at least a 2.5 cumulative GPA. A minimum of 40 work hours combined with readings and written projects or papers is required for each semester hour of credit. Internships are graded S/U. Refer to the departmental listing or website for more details about credit, or speak with the department chair. A maximum of 16 hours of internship, including fieldwork in student teaching, may be applied toward graduation and a maximum of 6 hours may be earned in any one semester or summer session. To be eligible for a Career Field Experience, a student must have earned a minimum of 28 credit hours prior to the beginning of the experience and must have at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. A minimum of 40 work hours combined with readings and written projects or papers is required for each semester hour of credit, with a maximum of 2 credits allowed per experience.