Communication, Liberal Arts, Social Sciences

Minors

The CLASS Department offers a number of minors. The minimum required for all minors is 18 credit hours. Additional requirements are listed under each minor.

Restriction: If a student takes more than one minor in the CLASS Department, only six (6) credit hours of one minor may be applied towards another minor.

~ NMT Academic Course Catalog ~

Minor in Hispanic Studies, Minor in History, Minor in Literature, Minor in Philosophy, Minor in Technical Communication, Minor in Science, Technology, and Society, Minor in Music, Minor in Secondary Education, Minor in Creative Thinking and Practice

Minor in Hispanic Studies

The following courses are required:

One of the following sequences (6 credit hours)

SPAN 1110: Elementary Spanish I (3 cr) & SPAN 1120: Elementary Spanish II (3 cr)

SPAN 1110N: Spanish for Native Speakers I (3 cr) & SPAN 1120N: Spanish for Native Speakers II (3 cr)

Additional (12 credit hours)

Minor in History

The following courses are required:

Any one of the 1000 level sequence (6 credit hours)

HIST 1110: American History I (3 cr) & HIST 1120: American History II (3 cr)

HIST 1130: World History I (3 cr) & HIST 1140: World History II (3 cr)

HIST 1150: Western Civilization 5000 BC - 1500 AD (3 cr) & HIST 1160: Western Civilization 1500 AD - Present (3 cr)

HIST 1194: Europe in the 19th Century, 1815 - 1914 (3 cr) & HIST 1195: Europe in the 20th Century, 1914 - 2000 (3 cr)

Additional (12 credit hours):

Four additional (12 credit hours) in history courses*

Six (6 credit hours) may be taken in art history or music surveys.

*Students taking the history minor are strongly encouraged to take the 12 additional credit hours from as wide a variety of topics as possible.

Minor in Literature

The following courses are required:

Any six (18 credit hours) courses

Minor in Philosophy

The following courses are required:

Foundation course (3 credit hours)

Intermediate courses (6 credit hours)

Additional courses (9 credit hours)

Why Philosophy?

Philosophy provides a practical set of skills for critical reasoning, empathetic understanding, and reflective practice. A concentrated education in philosophy is useful in everyday life for problem solving, communication, and persuasion, as well as in professional careers such as teaching, medicine, law, computer science, management, publishing, sales, criminal justice, public relations, and public policy. Students of philosophy score among the highest on graduate school entrance exams, such as the LSAT and the GRE. Learn more about philosophy.

Minor in Technical Communication

The following courses are required:

Required courses (9 credit hours

TCOM 1130: Visual Communication and Graphic Design (3 CR).
TCOM 2110: Technical Editing (3 cr).
TCOM 2120: Branding and Social Media (3 cr).

Additional (9 credit hours)

Minor in Science, Technology, and Society

The following courses are required:

Core course (3 credit hours)

Intermediate courses (6 credit hours)

Additional credit hours (9 credit hours)

Minor in Music

The following courses are required:

Performance courses (8 credit hours)

Additional courses (10 credit hours)

An additional ten (10) credits in MUSC or music‐related Humanities courses approved by the minor advisor.

Students may fulfill three (3) of these credits by taking a language course in German (GERM) or French (FREN).

Suggested minor tracks

Suggested tracks in the Minor in Music:

Voice ‐ MUSC 331, 332
Chamber Choir Strings ‐ MUSC 351,352 Chamber Orchestra
Brass and Woodwinds ‐ MUSC 389 Beginning Band

Minor in Secondary Education

The following courses are required:

Program details

The Minor in Secondary Education is minor intended for students pursuing a bachelor’s degree who have an interest in a teaching career upon graduation.

This minor will allow current undergraduate students to become certified teachers for grades 7-12 in New Mexico schools.

The program is accredited by New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) and includes 5 classes along with supervised field experiences in local secondary schools.

Program Requirements

Program requirements:

Current student at NMT.
Ability to pass background checks.

Course Requirements

The program is accredited by New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) and includes 5 classes along with supervised field experiences in local secondary schools. Requirements for the UMSE are:

EDUC 340, Concepts in Education, 3 cr, 3 cl hrs
EDUC 341, Matching Teaching Strategies to Student Learning, 3 cr, 2.5 cl hrs, 0.5 field observations (grades 7-12)
EDUC 401, Effective Reading for Diverse Learners, 3 cr, 2.5 cl hrs, 0.5 field observations (grades 7-12)
EDUC 403 Methods and Practices in Teaching, 3 cr, 2.5 cl hrs, 0.5 field observations (grades 7-12)
EDUC 405, Assessments and Measurement, 3 cr, 3 cl hrs
EDUC 413 Student Teaching (Secondary), 9 cr
EDUC 414 Student Teaching Seminar, 3 cr

Contact information:

Minor in Creative Thinking and Practice

The following courses are required:

Core course (3 credits)

Elective courses (14 credits)*

Area 6: Fine and Creative Arts.

Area 4: Social Sciences

Area 5: Humanities in which the student completes a creative project.**

Courses in Fine Arts and Music Performance (limit of 2 credit hours).

* All elective courses must be approved by the student’s minor advisor.

**Creative assignments from courses in Area 4 Social Sciences and Area 5 Humanities must be verified by the course instructors.

Capstone (1 credit)

HUMN 491: Directed Study - Special Topics on Creativity and Creative Practice

The Special Topics (Creativity and Creative Practice) capstone course challenges students to synthesize their creative thinking and practice in one of these two options:

(a) an interdisciplinary collaborative project that solves a complex, even a wicked artistic, cultural, and/or STEM problem.

(b) an online portfolio of individual creative works that demonstrates the student’s transferable skills as interdisciplinary and/or multidisciplinary creative thinkers and applied creativity practitioners.

Competencies

The minor in Creative Thinking and Practice allows students the opportunity to develop their creative skills and employ their technical knowledge to develop inventive, multidisciplinary designs, technologies, and products. Students from diverse backgrounds and disciplines learn how to understand different viewpoints, collaborate in interdisciplinary contexts, and address new and complex problems. Graduates will be agile, transdisciplinary thinkers ready for challenging careers in any field, including science, technology, film, and software industries.

The minor in Creative Thinking and Practice develops these core competencies:

Combine the mindset, tools, and methods of creativity, ingenuity, and playfulness with technical know-how.
Ability to identify problems, come up with new perspectives and ideas, adapt to ever-changing challenges and environments, and to find original solutions to complex, multidisciplinary, and “wicked” (1) problems.
Embrace the creative value of discipline and constraints.
Understand the interrelationships between art, design, ethics, science, technology, and society.
Identify and develop creative solutions for new and complex problems in collaborative interdisciplinary environments.

(1) Rittel, H. W., & Webber, M. M. (1973). “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning Policy sciences,” 4(2), 155-169.