The Global Resource Systems undergraduate major employs a truly interdisciplinary and systemic approach to understanding complex global resource issues. Students develop a core set of technical competencies in a resource area selected from the majors, minors and certificates offered by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students choose a world region in which to specialize, develop competency in a relevant world language, and participate in a significant cross-cultural internship experience. They carry out a senior project related to their resource specialization within the context of the world region. The undergraduate experience culminates with a senior capstone course, where students work with real-world clients to address global resource challenges.
Multidisciplinary themes are developed in the context of the physical, biological and socio-economic factors affecting global resource systems. In this context, resource systems include natural, food and agricultural, environmental, cultural and human, political and institutional, financial and built, public health and social resources. Graduates of this program have transnational leadership skills and are successful integrators of various specializations on a team. They are skilled in applying a systemic perspective and developing solutions to complex global resource systems problems using innovativeness and creativity. Future professionals communicate effectively and demonstrate environmental awareness, exhibit an ethical perspective, and display clear analysis of how cultural diversity impacts work both here and abroad. They also recognize opportunities for learning after graduation.
A degree in Global Resource Systems opens the door to employment opportunities in the many businesses and organizations that require globally competent employees.
Student Learning Outcomes
Upon graduation, students should be able to:
Understand sustainable global resource systems by summarizing factors of biological, physical, and social resources in global systems and predicting the consequences of the utilization and distribution of global resources and their systems; develop an attitude of curiosity to continue lifelong learning.
Apply global competency skills by recognizing diverse cultures, reflecting on the value of cultures on global resource systems, and employing skills needed to work in different cultures.
Design ethical and innovative solutions to global challenges by using information literacy skills to define global challenges and creating sustainable solutions to global challenges.
Use communication and leadership skills by communicating effectively with diverse audiences using written, oral, visual, and electronic skills and participating effectively as leaders in teams and organizations.
Curriculum in Global Resource Systems
Administered by a supervisory committee in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Students choose a region of the world to develop an expertise; they choose a language to learn and develop proficiency through the intermediate level; they choose and possess an area of technical expertise by completing an additional major, minor or certificate program offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; they complete a required internship in an international setting; and they select and complete a senior research project with faculty mentoring.
Total Degree Requirement: 129 cr.
Only 65 cr. from a two-year institution may apply which may include up to 16 technical cr.; 9 P-NP cr. of free electives; 2.00 minimum GPA.
International Perspective: 3 cr.
| 3 cr. from approved list | 3 | |
U.S. Diversity: 3 cr.
| 3 cr. from approved list | 3 | |
Communications Proficiency:
English composition (6 credits with a grade of C or higher; see courses below.) | ||
Speech fundamentals (3 credits with a grade of C or higher; see courses below.) | ||
Communication/Library: 13 cr.
| ENGL 150 | Critical Thinking and Communication | 3 |
| ENGL 250 | Written, Oral, Visual, and Electronic Composition | 3 |
| SP CM 212 | Fundamentals of Public Speaking | 3 |
| or AGEDS 311 | Presentation and Sales Strategies for Agricultural Audiences | |
| ENGL 302 | Business Communication | 3 |
| or ENGL 309 | Proposal and Report Writing | |
| or ENGL 314 | Technical Communication | |
| LIB 160 | Introduction to College Level Research | 1 |
| Total Credits | 13 | |
Humanities and Social Sciences: 6 cr.
| ECON 101 | Principles of Microeconomics | 3 |
| or ECON 102 | Principles of Macroeconomics | |
| Plus three credit hours from approved humanities list | 3 | |
| Total Credits | 6 | |
Ethics: 3 cr.
| 3 cr. from approved list | 3 | |
Life Sciences: 7 cr.
| BIOL 211 & 211L | Principles of Biology I and Principles of Biology Laboratory I | 4 |
| or BIOL 212 & 212L | Principles of Biology II and Principles of Biology Laboratory II | |
| Plus 3 cr. from approved life sciences list at 300-level or higher | 3 | |
Mathematical Sciences: 6 cr.
| MATH 140 | College Algebra (or higher; except Math 195, 196) | 3 |
| STAT 101 | Principles of Statistics | 3-4 |
| or STAT 104 | Introduction to Statistics | |
| Total Credits | 6-7 | |
Global Competency: 15-31 cr.
16 cr. of 100 and 200 level of a single WLC language; 15 cr. in global competency courses from an approved list with up to 3 cr. may be earned from a travel course.
Physical Sciences: 8 cr.
| One of the following: | 5 | |
| College Chemistry and Laboratory in College Chemistry | ||
| General Chemistry I and Laboratory in General Chemistry I | ||
| One course from the following: | 3 | |
| Introduction to Soil Science | ||
| Soil Conservation and Land Use | ||
| Introduction to Weather and Climate | ||
| Environmental Geology: Earth in Crisis | ||
| Water Resources of the World | ||
| Total Credits | 8 | |
Global Resource Systems: 23 cr.
| GLOBE 110 | Orientation | 1 |
| 3 credits of GLOBE 211 | 3 | |
| Issues in Global Resource Systems (Each offering is 1 cr., must be repeated for 3 cr.) | ||
| GLOBE 201 | Introduction to Global Resource Systems | 3 |
| GLOBE 320 | Global Resource Systems Internship Preparation | 1 |
| GLOBE 303 | Agricultural, Food and Natural Global Resource Systems | 3 |
| GLOBE 304 | Socio-Economic Global Resource Systems | 3 |
| GLOBE 401 | Senior Project | 3 |
| GLOBE 402 | Responses to Global Resource System Challenges | 3 |
| One of the following: | 3-6 | |
| Internship - Global | ||
| Internship - United States | ||
| Total Credits | 23-26 | |
Technical Concentration: 15-18 cr.
Satisfied by any of the majors, minors or certificates offered through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Electives:
Sufficient coursework to ensure a total of not less than 129 credits
Global Resource Systems, B.S.
| Freshman | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GLOBE 110 | 1 | GLOBE 201 | 3 |
| MATH 140 | 3 | ECON 101 | 3 |
| ENGL 150 | 3 | ENGL 250 | 3 |
| LIB 160 | 1 | CHEM 163 | 4 |
| BIOL 211 | 3 | CHEM 163L | 1 |
| BIOL 211L | 1 | STAT 104 | 3 |
| Humanities | 3 | ||
| 15 | 17 | ||
| Sophomore | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GLOBE 303 | 3 | GLOBE 304 | 3 |
| Language 101 | 4 | Language 102 | 4 |
| GLOBE 211 | 1 | GLOBE 211 | 1 |
| Global Politics or Global Culture | 3 | AGEDS 311 or SP CM 212 | 3 |
| Technical Area | 3 | AGRON 182, 206, 282, GEOL 101, or GEOL 160 | 3 |
| Elective | 3 | Technical Area | 3 |
| 17 | 17 | ||
| Junior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GLOBE 211 | 1 | GLOBE 320 | 1 |
| Language 201 | 4 | Language 202 | 4 |
| ENGL 309 | 3 | Global History or Global Culture | 3 |
| Global Culture | 3 | AGRON 342 (or Other CALS Approved Ethics) | 3 |
| US Diversity | 3 | Technical Area | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 17 | 17 | ||
| Senior | |||
| Fall | Credits | Spring | Credits |
| GLOBE 321 | 3 | GLOBE 402 | 3 |
| GLOBE 401 | 3 | Global Culture | 3 |
| International Perspectives | 3 | 300 Level or Higher Life Science | 3 |
| Global Competency | 3 | Technical Area | 3 |
| Technical Area | 3 | General Elective | 2 |
| 15 | 14 | ||