1. Interdisciplinary Studies Curriculum Plan
NAME: Jessica Aston EMAIL: Jap0014@auburn.edu STUDENT # 902454446
#MUST COMPLETE A HISTORY SEQUENCE OR A LITERATURE SEQUENCE This option is effective FALL 2013
STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO MEET WITH THEIR IDSC ADVISOR PRIOR TO REGISTRATION EACH SEMESTER!!
120 HOURS
CORECURRICULUM (41-42HRS) HOURS IDSCSupporting Coursework*(9HRS) HOURS
HUMANITIES (18 HRS) REQUIRED IDSC CORE
ENGL 1100 COMP I 3 A Tran IDSC2190 Intro. to Interdisciplinary Studies 3
ENGL 1120 COMP II 3 B Tran IDSC4980/4930 Interdisciplinary Capstone 3
CORE LITERATURE ENGL 2260 3 ADVANCED WRITTEN COMMUNICATION 3
CORE LIT OR CORE HUMANITY PHIL1020 3 Tran ENGL 3040
COMM 1000 (must have C or better) 3 Tran
CORE FINE ARTS MUSI 2730 3 Tran
SOCIAL SCIENCE(12 HRS) FREE ELECTIVES/ MINOR COURSEWORK (0-29)** 24
CORE HISTORY HIST 1010 3 HORT 2040 ORGANIC GARDENING 3
CORE HIST/ CORE SOCIAL SCIENCE HIST1020 3 HORT 4250 INTER FRUIT & VEG PROD 3
CORE SOCIAL SCIENCE SOCY1000 3 Trans MATH 1000 INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA 3 Trans
CORE SOCIAL SCIENCE ECON2030 3 Trans PHED 1710BEGINNING KAYAKING 2
COMP 1000 PERSONAL COMPUTER APP 2
ECON2020 MICROECONOMICS 3 Trans
MATH & SCIENCE(11-12 HRS)
CORE MATH MATH1120 3 Trans
CORE SCIENCE I SCHM1010 4
CORE SCIENCE II GEOL1100 4
Total Electives 16
Special Notations:
*Courses in this section must be completed
with a grade of C or better (or S when applicable)
** Maximum PHED credit toward graduation is 4 hours; no credit for
repeated course work;
FOR ADVISOR USE ONLY:
Sequence: (Circle one) Literature History Core hours:
SLO 1: SLO 7: COMM 1000 IDSC supporting coursework :
SLO 2: SLO 8: Major hours:
SLO 3: SLO 9: In-major supporting coursework:
SLO 4: SLO 10: Free Electives/Minor Coursework:
SLO 5: SLO 11: Total Hours:
SLO 6: Total Transient hours:

2. Student Name:
JESSICA ASTON
COMMUNICATION
CURRICULUM PLAN
EMPHASIS COURSE SUITE Course Hours
CMJN 2100 CONCEPTS IN COMMUNICATIONS AND JOURNALISM 3 B
CMJN3600 FOUNDATIONS OF RHETORIC AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE 3
MDIA 3300 FOUNDATION OF MASS COMMUNICATION 3
PRCM 3080 INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
PRCM 3280 SOCIAL MEDIA AND PUBLIC RELATIONS 3
PRCM 4020 STYLE AND DESIGN IN PUBLIC RELATIONS MESSAGE 3
total 18
Supporting Courses*
CMJN 3350 VISUAL COMMUNICATION 3
JRNL 1100 JOURNALISM FUNDAMENTALS 3
****Communication is an 18 hour minor
total 6
.
Signature of Departmental Representative for Emphasis (include date) Date
Name and Contact Information for Departmental Representative
* These should include prerequisites and other courses required for the student to complete the major courses in the
Emphasis.
Note – Total coursework for the degree must equal at least 120 hours. The major coursework must have a total of 45 hours of
approved coursework. If a student elects to have two areas of emphasis they must have at least 21 hours of coursework in one
emphasis (the majority of which is from one college or school) and up to 24 hours in the other (the majority of which is from the
second college or school) for a total of 45 hours
Note – A cumulative gpa of 2.0 is required for graduation. This gpa includes all work in the emphasis.
Last updated 1-27-15

3. Student Name:
JESSICA ASTON
PHILANTHROPY AND NON
PROFIT
CURRICULUM PLAN
EMPHASIS COURSE SUITE Course Hours
CADS 2700 INTRODUCTION TO NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 3
CADS 3700 GENDER, WEALTH AND PHILANTHROPY 3
CADS 4910 PRACTICUM IN PHILANTHROPHY AND NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS 3
HUSC2000 HUNGER:CAUSES,CONSEQUENCES, AND RESPONSES 3
CADS 2000 GLOBAL CONSUMER CULTURE 3
Total 15
Supporting Courses *
total
.
Signature of Departmental Representative for Emphasis (include date) Date
Name and Contact Information for Departmental Representative
* These should include prerequisites and other courses required for the student to complete the major courses in the emphasis.
Note – Total coursework for the degree must equal at least 120 hours. The major coursework must have a total of 45 hours of approved
coursework. If a student elects to have two areas of emphasis they must have at least 21 hours of coursework in one emphasis (the majority
of which is from one college or school) and up to 24 hours in the other (the majority of which is from the second college or school) for a total of
45 hours.
Note – A cumulative gpa of 2.0 is required for graduation. This gpa includes all work in the emphasis.
Last updated 1-27-15

4. Student Name:
JESSICA ASTON
ADULT EDUCATION
CURRICULUM PLAN
EMPHASIS COURSE SUITE Course Hours
ADED 4600 NATURE OF ADULT EDUCATION 3
ADED 4050 METHODS OF TEACHING IN ADULT EDUCATION 3
ADED 4010 RESOUCES IN ADULT EDUCATION 3
ADED 4650 TEACHING THE DISADVANTAGED ADULT 3
ADED 4910 PRACTICUM 3
total 15
Supporting Courses *
total
.
Signature of Departmental Representative for Emphasis (include date) Date
Name and Contact Information for Departmental Representative
* These should include prerequisites and other courses required for the student to complete the major courses in the emphasis.
Note – Total coursework for the degree must equal at least 120 hours. The major coursework must have a total of 45 hours of approved
coursework. If a student elects to have two areas of emphasis they must have at least 21 hours of coursework in one emphasis (the majority
of which is from one college or school) and up to 24 hours in the other (the majority of which is from the second college or school) for a total of
45 hours.
Note – A cumulative gpa of 2.0 is required for graduation. This gpa includes all work in the emphasis.
Last updated 1-27-15

5. Jessica Aston Application Essay IDSC TR 11 a.m.
Ever sinceI was a child I'vehad a passion for writing and communication.I enjoyed public speaking,rhetoric,
almostany kind of technical writing.I excelled in my English classes through out grammar school,and I was ableto
graduate early and with honors.In high school I submitted essays to competitions. I even won an award from
Holland and Knightmy freshman year.
However, once I started collegemy interests started to broaden. My firsttwo years of collegeI attended Southern
Union State Community College. I became interested in Austrian economics and joined the Mises Institute where I
attended many lectures and events. I enjoyed school,especially my economics classes,and I even made it on the
Dean's listbefore transferringto Auburn University.My firstsemester atAuburn I majored in agricultural
economics.I had an established interestin economics,and I was curious aboutthe economics involved with the
agricultureindustry.Then I took animal sciences.In spiteof my efforts, I failed animal sciences.I liked the class.
The labs were fun and interactive;we went to various livestock units owned by the University.Almost every week
our lab included a new and excitingactivity.However, I struggled to pass the courseso I decided to study
horticultureinstead.I took organic gardeningand vegetable production classes,and I did well in them. Finally,I
started to perform better at Auburn after a rough firstyear transitioning,butI was still unsureaboutwhat I
wanted to do with my career.
I sought help from Auburn's Career Services, and 300 survey questions later I met with my career counselor.then I
realized a career in public relationswas rightfor me. Once I took all the questionnaires and met with my counselor,
the path to my career seemed much clearer,and I became enthusiastic aboutschool.I changed my major again,
this time to the college of communication and journalism,to startstudyingpublic relations.I started takingmore
communication,writingand journalismclasses;joined PRSSA and PRCA; got an internship as a journalist;and even
started hostingand managingevents at local venues.I did well in my major's classes and feltcontent with my
studies,but I want to learn other skillsand concepts for my career, not justPR.
My ideal career within PR would be in crisismanagement; comingup with a plan for businesses or individualswho
need to be prepared for potential problems that would affect their reputation and image. Not only would I need to
learn PR, but how to teach people to apply their crisisplan to their specific problem.The skills on howto teach
adults would be especially vital if I were to do crisis mangement as third party agency instead of for a specific
entity. With a career in PR and crisismangement, it is importantto know humanities.Any kind of career in PR
invovles respondingto the public and takingtheir interests into consideration.Itis importantto understand
consumer culture, and have an understandingof the gobal community to better communicate with the publics.As
far as what industry I want to do crisismangement in,I have an interest in working for a non-profitor in the music
industry.My ideal job would be working for for a record lablesuch as Soulection,HW&W Recordings and Lucky
Me. My other choicewould be working for a non-profitthat I feel strongly about such as my aunt's dog rescue,
Music City Mutts, based out of Nasville.I was recently offerered a position as a writer at KollossusRecords for the
summer, and I plan to apply for an internship atBigHouse, a non-profit in Opelika,next semester. That is why an
interdisciplary studies degreewould be perfect for me. I need to study adulteducation, communication and
philanthropy.
This is why I sawInterdisciplinary studies as another,better option. I could still study public relations,butI would
be ableto choose courses from colleges that included more of the specific skillsI wantto develop for my career.
An interdisciplinary approach isa perfect way for me to get the education I want. Taking courses fromdifferent
colleges within the University is an ideal courseof action to personalizea curriculumplan and attain a better grasp
on integratingskillsand insightfromdifferent disciplines. I hopeto earn a degree in IDSC becauseI cannot gain
the education I need with simply a degree in public relations.