#high ed

Here it is! In its Spring Semester 2017, soft launch form! Contact me if you have questions!

ETHNO 460 - Ethnography at the Speed of Industry: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Applying anthropological ethnography in fast-paced research settings and the unique contributions of well-designed, multi-method qualitative research in service and product design, consumer insights, and organizational innovation. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 461 - Ethical Ethnography: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su)  Reflect on codes of ethics from relevant professional societies, apply these statements to case studies and a potential research problem, consider ethical challenges, and complete CITI training in human subjects’ research. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 462 Asking and Listening: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su)  Practice the application of varied deep listening and interview techniques in an iterative research process in a fast-paced environment.  PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 463 Observer Toolkits: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su)  Practice the application of diverse observational techniques in an iterative research process in a fast-paced environment.

ETHNO 464 Just Enough Research: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Identify research problems suitable for ethnographic research, form collaborative teams, and experiment with research methods appropriate to informing service and product design, consumer insights, and organizational innovation. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 465 Ethnography and User-Centered Design: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Explore the basic principles of ethnographically-informed human centered design, in an iterative cycle of composing personas, identifying needs and problems, and collecting and analyzing data on user responses to possible solutions. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 466 Planning Productive Fieldwork: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Practice constructing proposals for conducting ethical fieldwork valuable to solving a real world problem, culminating in negotiating permission to conduct research with a public or private sector stakeholder, and obtaining appropriate human subjects’ research approval. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 467 Going Deeper With Theory: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Explore the contribution of anthropological theory to effective research practice, and the unique contributions theoretically informed multi-method ethnography can make to varied industry problems. Emphasis on fundamentals of current anthropological science. PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

ETHNO 468 Lean and Rapid Reporting: (1-0-1) (F,S,Su) Prepare and communicate findings to decision makers in a variety of roles. Make the case for the value of qualitative, ethnographic research in oral, visual, and written forms.  PREREQ: Upper-division standing.

At Boise State, we will be soft launching a fully online, undergraduate certificate in Design Ethnography in the spring semester of 2017. This post addresses one simple but fundamental question: What is a certificate?

A certificate falls near the shorter end on a continuum of degree endorsements, ranging from a traditional four year degree at one end, to a “badge” on the other. For example, at Boise State, our B.S. in Anthropology is 120 semester hours. If a student declares a minor in Anthropology, they will earn 21 semester hours in designated anthropology courses. The certificate is 12 semester hours, all upper division. Badges are generally much smaller, as small as one credit hour.

Our certificate consists of nine one credit courses, and one three credit upper division capstone. Every course in the certificate is brand new. This means each course is being built from the ground up. We are not simply taking existing courses, and re-purposing or re-naming them.

A fundamental value of the certificate is that each course will be informed by the input of professional, practicing anthropologists, working outside academia. This will be an on-going process, as we re-design and revise the courses to continually adjust to student needs and practitioner input.

If you don't have your FAFSA done, what the hell are you doing on Tumblr?? Go get that shit done right now! The deadline is most states is Tuesday, Mar 1. Check your own state and school for their deadlines which may be different. In some places it has to be received or processed before that day, so plan to have it in a few days ahead of time!

If you're in school and haven't submitted your FAFSA, get on it! Early is better! They award a lot of money before the deadline comes up, so if you wanna be considered for those awards you need to get it in ASAP. If you need info from other people, like parents, email or call them and let them know how much is at stake. If they tell you they've waiting on doing their taxes, read this to them from ed.gov :

You do not need to wait until you file your federal tax return. If you haven’t done your taxes by the time your child completes the FAFSA, you can estimate amounts based on the previous year if nothing has drastically changed. After you file your taxes, you’ll need to log back in to the FAFSA and correct any estimated information.

The deadline for most states is Mar 1, and the federal deadline is June 30. Check the deadlines for your state at fafsa.gov. Your school may have a different deadline, so check with them too.