GS 4010 Global Society: Structures and Stakeholders (4 Credits)

This course provides students with an introduction to the major actors, structures, and issues in contemporary global society. Moving beyond a state-centric view of the global landscape, the course considers the values, interests, and ideas of a variety of stakeholders—including businesses, corporations, institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and grass-roots initiatives—in order to assess some of the ways in which these actors both compete and cooperate for opportunities and resources. Students will apply relevant concepts to their own personal and professional experiences so as to gain a better understanding of how global issues and actors at a variety of levels impact their work and how their work constitutes an important part of global society.

GS 4020 Culture, Identity, and Power (4 Credits)

In a rapidly globalizing world, culture and identity are increasingly recognized as having profound implications for professional success across a range of industries and practices. An understanding and appreciation of difference are central to effective professional interactions and progress. This course presents approaches for thinking about intersecting dynamics of culture, identity, and power in professional environments, and for mitigating cultural and identity-based conflict in the workplace and beyond.

GS 4030 Working Internationally (4 Credits)

Working Internationally is designed for those looking to broaden their personal and professional pursuits in global settings, whether at-home or abroad. This course covers both qualitative and practical considerations. Students will explore the benefits and challenges of working internationally with a focus on cross-cultural communication and management. Through a combination of lectures, case studies, assignments, and group discussions students will develop skills and strategies for building successful relationships with people from different cultural backgrounds. Additionally, the logistical nuances of working abroad will be addressed. Upon completion of the course, students will have a better understanding of how to navigate cultural differences, explore international opportunities, and work effectively in a global environment.

GS 4040 Managing Across Cultures (4 Credits)

This course addresses the impact of culture on management and organizational processes as well as provides students with approaches to engaging effectively in globalized organizational and multicultural contexts. Additionally, the course enables students to distinguish between differences in diversity and culture. They will analyze the impact of global issues and events on the management process in different times and places and evaluate managerial practices in different cultures and institutional environments. The impact of cultural intelligence in organizational citizenship and performance is also addressed. The course will aim to provide opportunities for the practical implementation of the concepts covered.

GS 4050 Diversity and Organizational Structure (4 Credits)

A company is only as good as its culture. It is not only the responsibility of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) leader to create an inclusive and diverse culture. People managers and employees play a vital role in DEI's success. This course helps students understand ways to make their organizations more engaging and dynamic by discussing the different processes that impact thought and interaction between people. Students will also consider how to bring advocates of DEI together in their organizations. They will analyze and apply best DEI practices from a variety of perspectives by learning the essential pillars of a strong DEI plan. They will also learn critical definitions, apply interventions that override errors in judgment and decision making, dissect inclusion and belonging among work groups and think through the change management and communication aspects of DEI.

GS 4060 Cultural Memory: Perspectives, Voices, and Implications (4 Credits)

Increasingly, the ability to engage effectively with stakeholders from a variety of socio-economic, generational, gender, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds is a prerequisite skill for succeeding in the workplace today. This requires an understanding of the diverse memories, experiences, and perspectives of everyone involved. The culturally infused meanings attached to impactful historical events profoundly influence how people imagine the world and their role in it. This course focuses on the impact of cultural memory on identity and how our perceptions of the past and the caricatures it creates profoundly impact how we see the world today. In this course, students will gain an understanding of how history is constructed, contested, and incorporated into our everyday interactions. They will learn to identify their own biases and better understand the perspectives of others to strategize for increased personal and organizational success.

GS 4130 Gender and Social Justice: Sex and Power in Global Perspective (4 Credits)

This course provides students with a critical understanding of gender and sexuality in relation to social and institutional processes, particularly as they impact professional interactions and conduct. Issues such as inequalities in the labor force, low wage work and poverty, work/family conflict, and domestic work will be addressed. The course will take an intersectional approach to analyzing gender and sexuality in the workplace and beyond.

GS 4140 Contemporary Racial and Ethnic Relations (4 Credits)

This course provides students with ways of assessing the effects of race and ethnicity in professional settings. Topics addressed will include forms of prejudice and discrimination, manifestations of privilege and inequality, and the intersection of race and ethnicity with other markers of identity. Students will analyze social and institutional practices that foster inclusivity and the implications of such practices on workplace equity and social justice.

GS 4150 Global Trade: The Intersection of Main Street and the World (4 Credits)

Trade is often characterized in terms of economic flows—the exchange of goods and services across borders and the electronic transfer of funds worldwide, as well as associated taxes, tariffs, labor, and production costs in different parts of the world. Yet trade also involves the exchange of ideas, cultures, languages, and people, all of which have profound implications for doing business worldwide. This course addresses trade in its different manifestations and explores the impact of trade on work in a variety of contexts. Students will approach trade from a holistic perspective to analyze its connections to globalization and their own work environments.

GS 4160 Politics and Social Media (4 Credits)

As social media becomes an increasingly prevalent means of distributing information, advertising products and services, and communicating with stakeholders, questions arise regarding the politics and ethics that inform its use. What are the potential consequences of using platforms such as Twitter to disseminate political ideologies? How has the use of LinkedIn affected workplace politics and changed the ways in which professionals network? Does professional success require the use of social media, or does its presence in certain contexts do more harm than good? This course will address these questions and others while providing students with lenses through which to view the intersection of social media and politics in the workplace and beyond.

GS 4200 Globalization and Global Citizenship (4 Credits)

Over the past century the world has witnessed unprecedented developments in communication, technology, and mobility. These have enabled the rapid exchange of money, people, materials, ideas, and cultures across national borders. With these changes have come questions about the roles and responsibilities of individuals, companies, and organizations within this increasingly complex and interconnected global society. Globalization is often used as a buzzword for this ever-evolving context, although its meaning is sometimes unclear. This course clarifies the nature of globalization by introducing students to fundamental concepts of global citizenship, focusing in particular on relationships between the local and the global, and on the necessity of developing a cosmopolitan perspective in order to be more successful in an increasingly globalizing workplace.

GS 4210 The Force of Faith: Religion in the Global Workplace (4 Credits)

This course examines the role of religion in the global workplace, addressing issues involved in working with clients, stakeholders, and employees from diverse religious backgrounds with the aim of increasing students’ awareness of their own attitudes toward religious beliefs and professional responsibilities. Students will develop an understanding of the ways in which different religious beliefs impact conceptions of professional communication and conduct, in addition to exploring relationships between religious faiths and business ethics.

GS 4303 Community Engaged Learning in Practice (4 Credits)

This community engaged learning course provides students with an opportunity to apply knowledge and skills gained through their Global Community Engagement coursework to a real-world issue or problem. Students will learn best practices for engaging with communities both global and local, and will develop skills necessary to work effectively in diverse contexts. Equipped with an academic foundation, students will have significant latitude to sketch out a project of their choosing, with the professor’s approval.

GS 4701 Topics in Global Community Engagement (4 Credits)

The content of this course varies each time it is offered. Specific course content is detailed on quarterly schedule. Depending on the subject matter, students may be required to have completed prerequisite courses.

GS 4800 The Puerto Rican Paradox: Challenges and Opportunities in Uncertain Times (4 Credits)

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a tropical paradise boasting vibrant communities, rich cultures, and abundant natural resources. Once coined a “natural jewelry box” by the BBC, Puerto Rico offers sparkling turquoise waters, bioluminescent bays, lush mountainous terrain, and colorful colonial architecture. It is also plagued by a debilitating debt crisis, political corruption, and a crumbling infrastructure, which, particularly in the aftermath of hurricanes Irma and Maria, have caused many residents to flee the island in search of better opportunities and more stable living conditions. In this course, students will examine the paradox that is Puerto Rico. Drawing from literature on culture, history, power, and politics, students will research a topic of their choosing, with the professor’s approval. They will then work with local communities in Puerto Rico on a project of mutual interest and importance, culminating in an approach or proposal for addressing the issue(s) at hand. Students will be required to spend 5 days on-site in Puerto Rico, plus any necessary travel time. This course will give students broad exposure to the history and culture of Puerto Rico, in addition to a nuanced understanding of a specific industry, issue, or problem. It will additionally highlight the power, privilege, and oppression that exists in our own backyards on this U.S. Commonwealth island.

GS 4901 Capstone Project (4 Credits)

The Capstone Project provides students the opportunity to research a topic, problem, or issue within their field of study, and work individually with a Capstone advisor. Similar in weight to a thesis, but more flexible, this final project will synthesize and apply core concepts acquired from the program. The student will select an appropriate Capstone advisor who is knowledgeable in the field of study to work closely with and whom can guide the research project. Evaluation will be focused on the quality and professionalism of applied research and writing; critical and creative thinking; problem-solving skills; knowledge of research design, method, and implementation; and contribution to the field and topic of study. Please see the Capstone Guidelines for additional details. Prerequisites: A Capstone Proposal that has been approved by both the Capstone Advisor and the Academic Director, acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

GS 4902 Capstone Seminar (4 Credits)

The Capstone Seminar is a graduate seminar in which students utilize the knowledge and skills gained through the degree program to create a culminating work that critically addresses a problem in their degree field of study. The students produce a Capstone of 7000-8000 words that presents a position on a relevant problem, supports the position with professional and academic literature, analyzes and tests the proposed solution, and discusses the findings as related to the field of study. The seminar is dependent upon quality, collegial discussion, and feedback of students’ research and work products, under the facilitation of a faculty member. The course structure guides the students through the process of independent, secondary research and writing of a Capstone. No primary research is allowed. Students generate the course content through ongoing discussion and peer feedback on the Capstone process and individual topic areas under investigation. Students professionally and academically communicate through written work and oral presentation. Students must have: Acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Students must complete the Capstone Seminar in one quarter; no incomplete grades are assigned.

GS 4904 Interdisciplinary Capstone Seminar (4 Credits)

The Interdisciplinary Capstone Seminar is a graduate seminar in which students utilize the knowledge and skills gained through the degree program to create a culminating work that critically addresses a problem or issue in the degree field of study. Members of the class will include students from various UCOL programs, representing multiple topics of study. On campus offerings of this course include required online components. The student produces a paper of 7000-8000 words that presents a position on a relevant problem or issue, supports the position with professional and academic work in the field, analyzes and tests the paper position, and discusses the role of the findings within the field of study. Students professionally and academically communicate their findings through written work and oral presentations. The seminar is dependent upon active and collegial discussion and critique of student research and work under the facilitation of a faculty member, and it is governed by the quality of participation and contributions of the students. Students must have: Acceptance as a degree candidate, completion of at least 40 quarter-hours (including all core courses) with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better. Students must complete the Capstone Seminar in one quarter; no incomplete grades are assigned.

GS 4905 Graduate Social Research Methods (4 Credits)

This course provides graduate students with a basic background in the methods of research in the social sciences. In our information-rich society, organizations and institutions have become more aware of the value of research data for informing critical decisions. As leaders in their organizations, graduates should have a knowledge base that allows them to critically examine basic research in the social sciences and to understand the methods involved in generating research results. They should understand the value of research to their organizations, be able to identify opportunities to gather information through research that will benefit those organizations, and participate in the ethical design of basic studies to gather that critical information. Students will develop and write a research proposal around a specific research question informed by a review of the literature.

GS 4980 Internship (0-4 Credits)

The internship is designed to offer students a purposeful experience in a practical, industry related setting. The internship is an individualized learning experience and a training plan is created for each student in conjunction with the internship site to provide experiences related to the skills and knowledge covered in the certificate and master's programs.

GS 4991 Independent Study (1-5 Credits)

This is an advanced course for students wishing to pursue an independent course of study. The student must be accepted in a degree program, have earned a grade point average of 3.0 or better, obtained the approval of the department director, and have completed the Independent Study form and filed the form with all appropriate offices before registering for the independent study. Independent Study is offered only on a credit basis and only for degree candidates.