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Integrative Studies

Build your degree based on your interdisciplinary interests, passions, and career goals.

Design Your Own Major

Randolph’s integrative studies major challenges students to integrate insights and methods from three academic disciplines to answer a pressing question or tackle a thorny problem that requires knowledge and skill from multiple areas of study.

As the world’s challenges grow more and more complex, integrative thinkers are required.

The structure of this flexible degree will guide students as they integrate multiple aspects of their college experience into an educational pathway that is both individually tailored and also developed in the company of fellow students and professors with similarly cross-disciplinary interests.

Degrees offered

Bachelor of Arts Degree in Integrative Studies

Related

The Randolph Experience

Faculty Mentorship

Professor Kaija Mortensen advises a student at Randolph College

From your first day on campus, you will work closely with your faculty advisor to identify and shape your academic interests and vision into your own personal Randolph Plan.

Together, you will create an experience that allows you to develop your skills, challenge yourself, explore your interests and achieve your goals.

This includes both curricular and co-curricular experiences.

A Community of Scholars

Small Classes

Randolph classes are full of engagement and interaction. Students get the full attention of their professors and develop camaraderie with their classmates.

The Honor Code

Randolph students live by our Honor Code and act with the highest integrity in both academic and social life.

Intercultural Competence

All Randolph students learn global citizenship with the capability to accurately understand and adapt to cultural differences and find commonality.

Study Abroad

Randolph maintains partnerships with study abroad programs in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and  Japan, for full-year or semester-only experiences.

In addition, you can enroll in a foreign university or study abroad in an approved program coordinated by another U.S. institution.

Randolph also offers several unique international and cultural experience programs.

American Culture Program
Study abroad at home! This unique road trip program explores the diverse cultures of the United States.

Off-Campus Seminars
Randolph professors lead 2-week study seminars across a range of academic disciplines and in countries around the globe either during winter break, spring break, or the summer. Recent destinations include Iceland, China, Cuba, and Rome, Italy.

Students raise the Randolph College banner in Portugal.

Study Abroad

Opportunities for study elsewhere, such as in the Washington Semester Programs at the American University in Washington, D.C., as well as study-abroad programs, are available.

Intercultural Competence

All Randolph students learn global citizenship with the capability to accurately understand and adapt to cultural differences and find commonality.

Internships

Randolph students put classroom learning into practice by participating in internships.

With help from the Career Development Center, political science majors have experienced government at work during internships in the congressional offices, federal and state offices, political campaigns, advocacy groups, social service agencies, and more. ing with social service agencies.

Recent internships include the Department of Veterans Affairs, Moms Demand Action, CASA, U.S. State Department, SAWAU.S. House of Representatives, and more.

Opportunities for Experience

An emphasis on “learning by doing” is one reason Randolph students graduate with skills that prepare them for life and work.

Summer Research Program

Spend the summer working closely with a professor and focused on a specific aspect of comparative thought.

Randolph’s intensive eight-week Summer Research Program enables students to work with professors on a research of their own design; live in a residence hall on campus, participate in on-campus summer events, attend special seminars with guest speakers; and share the progress and results of their research.

Learn more about the Summer Research Program.

Students test samples in virology class.

Symposium of Artists and Scholars

Student presents at the Symposium for Artists and Scholars

Modeled after a traditional academic conference, the SAS brings together students of all disciplines to share the results and highlights of the best work being produced at the College –  oral presentations, readings of creative works, performances, exhibitions of student artwork, and poster presentations.

Learn more about the Symposium of Artists and Scholars.

Study Abroad

Randolph maintains partnerships with study abroad programs in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and  Japan, for full-year or semester-only experiences.

In addition, you can enroll in a foreign university or study abroad in an approved program coordinated by another U.S. institution.

Randolph also offers several unique international and cultural experience programs.

American Culture Program
Study abroad at home! This unique road trip program explores the diverse cultures of the United States.

Off-Campus Seminars
Randolph professors lead 2-week study seminars across a range of academic disciplines and in countries around the globe either during winter break, spring break, or the summer. Recent destinations include Iceland, China, Cuba, and Rome, Italy.

Students raise the Randolph College banner in Portugal.

Symposium of Artists and Scholars

Student presents at the Symposium for Artists and Scholars

Modeled after a traditional academic conference, the SAS brings together students of all disciplines to share the results and highlights of the best work being produced at the College –  oral presentations, readings of creative works, performances, exhibitions of student artwork, and poster presentations.

Learn more about the Symposium of Artists and Scholars.

Feature with Slider (left)

Ranulphus Collegii alumni mundum critico et creativo exercebit

Randolphus Collegium bonas artes componet cum programmatione institutionis innovative ad contextum praebendum progressui intellectuali et curriculo praeparationis.

A Randolph Collegio institutio graduatos parabit ut in complexu mundi loca capiant.

Alumni Collegii Ranulphi participes erunt actuosae suae educationis. Cum investigationibus et facultatibus ductus eruditionem coniungentes, discipuli ad suum personale et intellectuale incrementum conferent.

Feature with Slider (right)

Ranulphus alumni in Collegio honeste vivet et laborabit

Ranulphus Collegium consulto ac facto suum Honoris Codicis et Honoris System in programmata paedagogica et communitaria incorporabit.

Valores in hoc codice inhaerentes essentiales facti sunt in aetate digitali. Collegio conservationi et utendi sui Codicis Honori committitur, quae in communitate vivit fundamento studentium et vitae integritatis petram praebet.

Alumni Ranulphi Collegium scientiam disciplinarum acquirent quae honorem et integritatem in studiis humanis illustrant. Vitam experientur in communitate honorata, dum discunt quaestiones latas sociales ad resolvendum. Demum agnoscentur indeclinabilem operam academicae et personae integritati.

Photo Flip

Randolphus Collegium discipulos praeparat ad mundum criticum et creativo confligendum, honeste vivendum et operandum, vitam abundanter experiendam.

Outcomes

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Wanda WildCat ’12, biology major
Mascot and Icon, Randolph College, Lyncbburg, Virginia

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Opportunities

Top Ranked Professors

Randolph College’s faculty are consistently recognized as among the best in the nation. The Princeton Review ranked the College in #12 for most accessible professors in the 2023 edition of its flagship college guide, The Best 388 Colleges.  

Randolph has been ranked in the top 20 for most accessible professors for six consecutive years.

Faculty

Kaija Mortensen

Associate Professor of Comparative Philosophy

Read More... Kaija Mortensen

Teresa Angell
Cello Instructor

Leigh Berkeley
Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor

J. Mark Campbell
Trumpet Instructor

Kevin Chiarizzio
Trombone and Low Brass Instructor

Jacob Dishman
Staff Accompanist

Christopher Fosnaugh
Percussion and Drumset Instructor

Kyle Greaney
Clarinet and Saxophone Instructor

Hermina Hendricks
Senior Lecturer in Music

Alycia Hugo
Flute Instructor

Hope Maddox
Costume Shop Supervisor

Nora Moore
Voice Instructor

Kathryn Munson
Adjunct Instructor of Dance

Bill Parrish
Oboe Instructor

Kay Rooney
Violin and Viola Instructor

Rafael Scarfullery
Guitar Instructor

Curtis Smith
Piano and Organ Instructor; College Organist

Current Season

Wildcat Weekend Arts Showcase
September 17, 2022

Fall Music Showcase
October 6, 2022

The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus
by Christopher Marlowe
October 26-30, 2022

Candlelight Concert
December 8, 2022

Performing Arts Cabaret
February 23-25, 2023

Winter Music Showcase
March 4, 2023

A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L’Engle
Adapted by Morgan Gould
May 5-7, 2023

Spring Concert
May 6, 2023

Only at Randolph

Randolph students can take advantage of unique programs which give them a more enriching education than can be found anywhere else.

TAKE2

Two courses per half-mester means you get to focus in and dig deep into your coursework while still having time for the rest of the college experience. Two classes. Seven weeks. Repeat.

Learn More
The Liberal Arts Advantage

Randolph graduates learn to think critically, solve problems and work well with others. They are prepared to succeed in all aspects of life.

Learn More
The Randolph Plan

Randolph students work with faculty mentors to explore a broad range of disciplines as they chart their academic path.

Learn More
Money for Your Research

The Randolph Innovative Student Experience (RISE) program provides every student a $2,000 grant to fund research, creative work, experiential learning or other scholarly pursuits.

Learn More

Department News

The Power of Voice: Randolph grad opens up about challenges of overcoming stuttering

Coffey has made it his mission to raise awareness and start conversations about stuttering.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Natalie Clark ’23, ’24 MACSL

Clark studied media and culture at Randolph before enrolling in the Master of Arts in Coaching and Sport Leadership program. 

Read More

Meet the graduates: Sam Hey ’24

Hey began working as an EMT for Campbell County Public Services last week.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Jenna Rozenboom ’24

Rozenboom is working as a family services specialist in child welfare for Roanoke County Social Services.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Tristian Palmer ’24

Next fall, Palmer will start Ball State University's master’s program in biomechanics. 

Read More

The Power of Voice: Randolph grad opens up about challenges of overcoming stuttering

Coffey has made it his mission to raise awareness and start conversations about stuttering.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Natalie Clark ’23, ’24 MACSL

Clark studied media and culture at Randolph before enrolling in the Master of Arts in Coaching and Sport Leadership program. 

Read More

Meet the graduates: Sam Hey ’24

Hey began working as an EMT for Campbell County Public Services last week.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Jenna Rozenboom ’24

Rozenboom is working as a family services specialist in child welfare for Roanoke County Social Services.

Read More

Meet the graduates: Tristian Palmer ’24

Next fall, Palmer will start Ball State University's master’s program in biomechanics. 

Read More
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Kaija Mortensen

Associate Professor of Comparative Philosophy

Credentials:B.A. Colorado College, Philosophy
Ph.D., University of California-Santa Cruz, Philosophy
Associated Departments:Comparative Philosophy, Integrative Studies
Office:Psychology 307
Phone:4349478535
Email:kmortensen@randolphcollege.edu
Website:http://www.kaijamortensen.com/

News Headlines

My first course as an undergraduate was Philosophy of Mind. As we read the work of philosophers from Aristotle to Daniel Dennett, I was fascinated by the ways our collective inquiry mirrored our subject matter as we used both our introspective experience and collaborative analysis to draw conclusions about the nature of the mind. I marveled at the skillful way my professors orchestrated class discussion. I was impressed by the pleasure my classmates took in listening to and challenging one another and the course texts. Over time, I realized that I wanted to spend my life doing these things, thinking in concert with other minds.

I teach a variety of courses, including Knowledge and Reality, Philosophy of Mind, History of Modern Philosophy, Practical Reasoning, and Logic. I am convinced that dialogue is the central activity of philosophy. Participation in such dialogue regardless of one’s role as a student or teacher requires learning (1) how to charitably understand the ideas of others, (2) how to critique ideas in ways that contribute productively to an overall investigation, and (3) how to enter one’s own voice (in writing and speaking) into an ongoing conversation articulately and on point. I help my students strengthen their skills in each of these areas and hope that, as a result, they leave my class with an increased understanding of the relationship between themselves as knowers and the things they claim to know.

My current research questions the ways theories of knowledge and theories of mind inform how philosophers (should) do philosophy and the ways expertise is developed (both in philosophy students and professional philosophers). I am also interested in Experimental Philosophy, a new field that uses the methods of social science to answer philosophical questions, and what it can teach us about the discipline of philosophy.

My philosophical interests also include peer disagreement; the relationships among philosophical, scientific, spiritual, and aesthetic ways of knowing; and the historical origins of current philosophical debates about intuition.

As you may have inferred from my emphasis on dialogue in my description of philosophy above, my second love is theatre, followed closely by the other performing, literary, and visual arts.

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