Here is a look at what you can expect from the coming changes to our B.A. major. The new structure will help to even better meet the goals that we have established in educating our students. As a student in Critical & Visual Studies at Pratt Institute, you will:
*Develop your intellectual literacy.
*Learn how to think logically, clearly, skeptically, critically and, above all, for your self.
*Learn to learn, that is, take in and analyze new information intelligently.
*Grasp the interconnections and dependencies of the various and diverse fields of human inquiry, artistic endeavor, and cultural, social and political practice.
*Refine your sense of ethical, social and political responsibility and of the world’s diverse cultures and communities.
*Further your appreciation of the aesthetic achievements of poetry, cinema, literature and the visual arts.
*Understand the functions of analytical and quantitative reasoning and the methods of the sciences in comprehending the natural and social worlds.
*Gain meaningful access to the historical past both for its own sake and to think creatively about the future.
*Learn how to think logically, clearly, skeptically, critically and, above all, for your self.
*Learn to learn, that is, take in and analyze new information intelligently.
*Grasp the interconnections and dependencies of the various and diverse fields of human inquiry, artistic endeavor, and cultural, social and political practice.
*Refine your sense of ethical, social and political responsibility and of the world’s diverse cultures and communities.
*Further your appreciation of the aesthetic achievements of poetry, cinema, literature and the visual arts.
*Understand the functions of analytical and quantitative reasoning and the methods of the sciences in comprehending the natural and social worlds.
*Gain meaningful access to the historical past both for its own sake and to think creatively about the future.
BA Program in Critical & Visual Studies
Department of Social Science & Cultural Studies
School of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Pratt Institute
200 Willoughby Ave.
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11205
Our New Program of Study
First
Level:
The first two years of the curriculum
will give our students a broad and solid foundation in the Liberal Arts and
Sciences, as well as allowing you to begin exploring your own individual
interests.
Semester I
The first semester immerses our students into the foundations of the Liberal Arts:
critical analysis, history, philosophy, science, and literature. Students share a common experience in the first semester that will establish a unique basis for your studies:
CST.100
First Year Seminar - 3.0 credits
CH.300
World History I - 3.0 credits
PHIL.208
or PHIL.209 History of Philosophy - 3.0 credits
ENGL.101
Introduction to Literary and Critical Studies I - 3.0 credits
MSCI.210
Science and Society - 3.0 credits
CST.190
Beyond Google I: Basic Information Literacy - 1.0 credit
Total
Credits 16.0
Semester II
Semester
Two completes the introduction to history, critical studies, literature
and writing. It allows students the flexibility to choose
electives from across the department, the school, and the institute.
To ensure a distribution of elective credits, in semesters 2, 3, and
4 students may take no more than 6 non-required credits in any one
disciplinary field of Social Science, History, Philosophy, and, Math
and Science and no more than 15 credits from any single division at
Pratt (i.e. SLAS, Art & Design, and Architecture).
ENGL.103
Introduction to Literary and Critical Studies II - 3.0 credits
CH.400
World History II - 3.0 credits
Open Elective
credits 9.0 - 3.0 credits
Total
Credits - 15.0
Semester III
In Semester Three, students take the new Symposium course and continue their
distribution of electives.
SS.225
Symposium - 3.0 credits
Open Elective
- 12.0 credits
Total
Credits - 15.0
Semester IV
In
semester 4, students participate in the guided advisement of
Moderation. They also take their required Theory and Practice course
and continue to take electives. “Moderation” provides students with the opportunity to reflect on their studies during semesters 1-3, identify their interests and begin to focus on the concentration that will structure the final two years of their program. Moderation requires students to examine their initial experiences in the program, their goals, and their interests, to evaluate their performance and their commitment to a course of study and to chart their final two years of college with the help of a faculty committee.
Theory
and Practice requirement - 3.0
SS.299
Moderation - 2.0
Open Elective
credits - 9.0
Total
Credits - 14.0
First
Level (Years 1 and 2) Total Course Credits 60
Second
Level:
In their
third and senior years, students are immersed in their guided
electives, minors, internships, and their senior project or honors
thesis. The project or thesis is undertaken with a committee chosen
from and approved by the faculty. With the help of their Moderation
advisers, students develop a course of study tailored to their
individual interests and faculty expertise.
Semester V
CST.390
Beyond Google II: Thesis and Information Research - 1.0 credit
Guided
elective - 9.0 credits
Open
elective - 6.0 credits
Total
Credits - 16.0
Semester VI
Guided
electives - 9.0 credits
Open
electives - 6.0 credits
Total
Credits - 15.0
Semester VII
Guided
elective - 3.0 credits
Open
electives - 9.0 credits
CST.440
Senior Seminar - 3.0 credits
Total
Credits - 15.0
Semester VIII
You may choice two options, either a 6 credit Senior Thesis or a 3 credit Senior Thesis
CST.480
Thesis/Senior Project* - 3.0 credits
Open
Electives - 12.0 credits
OR
CST.480 Thesis/Senior Project* - 6.0 credits
Open Electives - 9.0 credits
Total
Credits - 15.0
Second
Level (Years 3 and 4) Total Credits 61
___________
Total
Credits for Degree - 121
*Senior
projects carry 3 credits while more formal and in depth academic
thesis carries 6 credits.
If
a student undertakes a 3 credit project, then they will take 12
elective credits. If a student undertakes a 6 credit thesis, they
will take 9 credits