3 new academic programs that can change your future

Augustana will be offering three new academic programs: a film and new media major and minor, integrated health minor and disability minor. These options round out a list of over 90 areas of study you can choose from at Augustana College.

1. Film major and minor 

The rich diversity of Quad City culture and landscape inspires students studying film production to conceive and construct stories that are bold, responsible, and created with purpose.

The Augustana advantage? "Augie Film" trains future filmmakers in all aspects of the medium and supports their research through the Augie Choice financial initiative. Here, students engage in hands-on film production with state-of-the-art equipment and industry-standard processes, all while making connections with students and faculty in theatre, graphic design, multi-media journalism, communication studies, music, computer science and more.

At the senior level, students are given the choice of running their own senior film set as producer and director, or offering their new filmmaking skills to clients around the region and elsewhere in a capstone production internship.

Film graduates are prepared for a career that's wide open and expanding, whether they go on to create independent or TV and film industry masterpieces, work for a film production company, corporate, or nonprofit client, or expand their scholarly work at graduate school with a degree in film and video production, Augustana graduates are well-prepared for their career of choice.

2. Integrated health minor 

The official title of the new minor is integrative medicine and the humanities. It’ll serve the large number of Augie undergraduates pursuing pre-professional degrees in health care fields. 

The minor integrates humanities content to nurture the ethical, emotional, spiritual and social skills necessary to prepare individuals to serve as effective, caring health practitioners after graduation, while also providing opportunities through a new internship program focused on ethics and community outreach at our hospital just down the road, UnityPoint Health.

These skill sets recognize the importance of diversity in patient and provider populations and nurture practical skills that foster genuine opportunities for greater equity and inclusion in health care.

During the past decade, health care practitioners have increasingly acknowledged the importance of emotional, social and spiritual well-being to overall health, and gravitated toward holistic approaches that treat the whole person. With this minor, you will have the technical and social skills to help fill that void in health care fields.

3. Disability minor  

This new minor will help you understand disability as an example of diversity, question and evaluate popular beliefs, and learn about systems and structures of oppression impacting the disability community.

In addition to health disparities, people with disabilities experience educational, social, political and religious barriers to participation. From fighting for free and appropriate public education to combating media representations that perpetuate harmful stereotypes, people with disabilities are constantly working for their civil and human rights. 

This struggle makes understanding the intersectionality of disabled people’s identities even more important for individuals working with diverse populations. In this minor, you will have the opportunity to think critically about how to change stereotypes and build a better society for people living with disability. 

Whether you choose one minor or two (and a lot of our students double major), these are all fabulous new opportunities to expand your future!