Instructionally Related Activities Funds Request Summary
| Project Sponsor | Andrea Grove |
|---|---|
| Activity Title | Model United Nations |
| Activity/Event Date | Nov 2014; March, April 2015 |
| Date Funding Needed By | 25 August 2014 |
| Previously Funded? | Yes |
| Semester/Year | Spring 2014 |
| Proposal # | 590, 559 |
| Report submitted for previously Funded Activity? | Yes |
| Report submitted for previously Funded Activity | ira-report-form-model-un-fall2013.doc (MS Word, 39.5KB) |
| Academic Program or Center Name | Political Science |
| Estimated total Course Fee revenue | 0 |
| Amount Requested from IRA | 33,012 |
| Estimated Number of Students Participating | 17 |
| Conditions and Considerations | Field Trip |
| Brief Activity Description | Turn on the news and see pictures of Syria, Mali, Afghanistan, Pakistan. On this tour, one is bombarded with images of civil disorder, terrorism, refugees, starvation, weapons proliferation, ethnic war, and environmental degradation—on one hand. But on the same news program, one sees the effects of globalized markets, leaps of technology, and mass movements catalyzed by social media. Indeed, some people say that these opposing trends show how today’s world is in a state of chaos. Model UN events are academic conferences for students that give them a unique opportunity to bring understanding to this chaos, finding global solutions to global problems. This application is for funding to take students to one Model UN event in the fall, in Seattle (Northwest Model UN; one conference in Santa Barbara in spring (WestMUN); and one conference in Burlingame in spring (Model UN of the Far West). These trips are the pinnacle of a semester long course students take to prepare (class offered in fall 2014 and spring 2015). Benefits for students include skill development in policy research, conflict analysis, thinking from different perspectives, negotiation, and public speaking. Students are also able to interact with a diverse range of students from around the United States and beyond. These are all qualities that benefit any major, as well as more specifically related political science majors, communications majors and global studies minors. However, we encourage interdisciplinarity in the team, and as part of the application and selection process choose a team from a cross section of majors. |
| Learning Outcomes and Relation to IRA to Course Offerings | Model UN is related to several courses: POLS 490 which is a special topics course about the Model UN offered each Spring and in Fall 2013. POLS 329, International Law and Organizations, is offered most academic years. In addition, the subject matter for all Model UN conferences is germane to POLS 103, Introduction to International Relations (offered every semester). Further, it is related to the subject matter in COMM 320, Persuasion & Argumentation, COMM 340 Conflict Management and Mediation and COMM 430 Political Communication. Several COMM majors have taken this course as a substitution to an upper-division required COMM class that is not always offered. |
| Description of Assessment Process | As noted, the primary educational goals for participation in Model UN are skill development in policy research, conflict analysis, thinking from different perspectives, negotiation, and public speaking. Students are evaluated based on their exhibition of these skills in written papers, oral debates, and negotiation sessions. Students will reflect on their experience after the conference in a brief paper. |
| Activity Budget | mun-2014-15-year.docx (MS Word, 79.4KB) |
| CIA Budget | — |
| CIA Proposal | — |
| Course Syllabus | — |
| CIA Certification | — |
| Other Sources of Funding | The Political Science program pays for one faculty each semester at approx $8000= $16,000 total. The second faculty is not compensated for salary. Students pay for their own food; at per diem rate of $50, for 12 days the total is $10,200. Students must find own transport to Santa Barbara and Burlingame in the spring semester. Estimating if 4 travel in each car, 4 cars = $1836 total Additional funding = $28,036 |
| Target Audience/Student Marketing | The audience is undergraduate students who are interested in international affairs. We recruit students from the ranks of those who have taken the prerequisite course, Introduction to International Relations and also Introduction to Global Studies. |
| Bring Benefit to Campus | Students who engage in this activity gain tremendous knowledge about the topics they research; this enriches our courses that have international content. They also learn a great deal about negotiation and communication. Many participants have been COMM majors and others who take this knowledge back to their classes. |
| Sustainability | I don't think there is any relevance. Students send papers via email. |
| Program Chair/Director | scott.frisch |
| Academic Affairs AVP | karen.carey |
| Acknowledgement | I acknowledge that I have reviewed and accepted the Conditions and Considerations herein. Please check off boxes as appropriate. |
Program Chair/Director Approval
| Approval | I approve the IRA Funds Request described on this page |
|---|---|
| Name | Scott Frisch |
| Date/Time | 2/27/2014 6:11:57 PM |
Academic Affairs AVP Approval
| Approval | I approve the IRA Funds Request described on this page |
|---|---|
| Name | Karen Carey |
| Date/Time | 2/28/2014 8:09:03 AM |