Integrated Clusters and Applied Schools

Integrated Clusters

To best prepare our students to succeed and thrive in our region and within a 21^st century global economy, Plymouth State University has organized around seven Integrated Clusters that work across traditional, disciplinary boundaries. We see Integrated Clusters as transformative, holistic learning communities that promote critical thinking, collaboration, and career preparation by valuing exploration and discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship, engaged teaching and learning, and interdisciplinary scholarship. We do this through engaging students in our General Education HoME curriculum, including Tackling a Wicked Problem, Pathway Certificates, and an Integrated Capstone, and through open lab experiences which bring together students, faculty, staff, and partners.

Each academic major is affiliated with at least one Cluster, but students and faculty can engage in classes, open labs, and projects across a variety of Clusters.

The mission of each Integrated Cluster:

• Arts & Technologies focuses on the processes of effective storytelling and making things. We value communication, collaboration, creative problem-solving, and learning for the sake of learning. We study, promote, and practice the intentional use of tools and technologies to enable the creation, sharing, and reception of our work.
• Education, Democracy & Social Change is committed to engaging in learning and work that values equity, inclusivity, and social justice. We believe in the power of education to cultivate the critical reflection and engaged citizenship needed to sustain democracy. We advocate for, and collaborate with, children, families, and communities, to promote the well-being of all members of our society.
• Exploration & Discovery embraces scholarship, research, and experiential learning in all their forms. Faculty in the sciences, the humanities, and other fields use their expertise to work independently or in collaboration with each other, students, and outside partners to promote learning, advancement of knowledge, problem solving, and service. Together, they explore natural, societal, cultural, educational, and other questions of their interest. They also engage in academic activities that promote curiosity and inquiry-based learning, and through their scholarship contribute to the betterment of society, locally and beyond. Some of the majors affiliated with this Cluster are biology, meteorology, and mathematics.
• Health & Human Enrichment is driven to support, promote, and enhance quality of life for all through education, research, and partnerships. Integrative approaches are applied to project-based education, research, evidence-based practices, and transdisciplinary exploration advancing the art, science, and ethical awareness of human potential. Some of the majors affiliated with this Cluster are nursing, allied health sciences, physical therapy, and mental health counseling. .
• Innovation & Entrepreneurship exists to serve students, the University, and the community by collaborating across complementary fields of study. By promoting the enterprising habit of mind, we design solutions to the widest range of social, educational, commercial, and environmental problems. We encourage our students to take risks, learn from failures, see opportunity in problems, and act. Some of the majors affiliated with this Cluster are: marketing, finance, educational leadership, and business administration.
• Justice & Security examines the many meanings of “justice” and “security” and how these concepts can be applied and implemented in local, regional, national, and international settings. We partner with government agencies and private organizations to engage in service, internships, and collaborative research. Our partners provide students the opportunity to gain real-world experience; and we provide our partners with faculty expertise and students who are eager to learn and make a difference. Majors affiliated with this Cluster are criminal justice and Spanish.
• Tourism, Environment & Sustainable Societies merges a diversity of expertise to better understand the impacts of change and development, to prepare for new challenges and opportunities in tourism and economic development, and to produce innovative plans for ensuring sustainability and resiliency through stewardship and entrepreneurship. Through applied, problem-based, and community-engaged learning opportunities, students in this Cluster will become thoroughly prepared to solve these twenty-first century challenges while protecting the vast natural and cultural richness that is the essence of New England. Some of the majors affiliated with this Cluster are: environmental science and policy, sociology, and tourism management and policy.

Applied Schools

While Integrated Clusters and the Cluster Learning Model provide a collaborative, educational framework, Plymouth State University’s administrative and academic structure is organized into six Applied Schools. These schools bring together related programs and faculty in ways that reflect the university’s values, including our commitment to service, community, continuous improvement in everything we do, and the responsible stewardship of institutional resources. Information about each school is available on the Plymouth State University website. They include the following:

• The School of Business
• The School of Education
• The School of Health
• The School of Human and Public Service
• The School of Integrated Liberal Arts
• The School of Science and Technology