Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies - Art Option

at California State University, Dominguez Hills - Carson Campus USA

Liberal Studies (LBS) is an interdisciplinary undergraduate major for students who intend to become elementary and special education teachers or to pursue related graduate work. Courses leading to the B.A. in Liberal Studies focus on the subject areas taught in elementary schools as well as professional preparation and early fieldwork.

The M.S. in Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary program housed in the College of Natural and Behavioral Science (CNBS). Our mission is to prepare leaders, innovative thinkers and planners who can address and solve environmental challenges using interdisciplinary approaches. Because of our campus' location, the emphasis of the program is on the urban environment. The required courses in the natural and social sciences introduce students to the unique problems of environmental analysis, policy and planning. Elective courses allow students the flexibility to meet their specific interests and career goals. Real-world experience is obtained through directed research and internships in government agencies, non-profit organizations, and corporations.

Two Tracks Toward MS in Environmental Sciences

Currently, the program is accepting students into the Professional Track. The ‘Internship’ (Professional) track (i.e., without the thesis option) is primarily aimed for students who want to gain professional experience while pursuing their degree and seek immediate employment after graduating from the program.

Potential and current students interested in the Research Track are strongly advised to consult with the Program Coordinator and contact perspective faculty mentors before applying for the research track. The conventional ‘Thesis’ (Research) track is primarily suited for students who want to continue on to doctoral studies and/or pursue careers in the research-related agencies and industry.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Administration is designed to provide professional preparation for administrative or managerial positions in public service organizations. The degree program requires:

• Completion of a set of core courses common to all public administration students;
• A concentration and
• Two additional courses for breadth.

The Bachelor of Science in Public Administration Degree is a single-field major, which means that students are not required to complete a minor for graduation.

The Earth Science major is one of two programs housed in the Department of Earth Science and Geography. The Earth Science degree is a cross-disciplinary program that trains students for careers involving earth system science, which broadly includes the physical science behind the interactions of the lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. The Earth Science program also examines the contribution of those systems to natural landscapes and geological hazards, during the modern era and through geological time. Importantly, it also considers the relationship of human populations to these geosystems.

If you are curious about the answers to the following questions, Earth Science might be the right major for you:

• How and when did the Earth form? How has Earth evolved? What is the history of life on Earth? When did the mass extinctions occur, and what caused them?
• What is plate tectonics, and how do tectonic plates interact? How do mountains form? How, where and why do volcanoes form? What causes earthquakes? Can we predict them? Why or why not? How do tsunamis form?
• What are the different drainage patterns for river systems? How do flowing water and ice sculpt the landscape? How does the generation of hydroelectricity change the characteristics of flowing rivers?
• What is groundwater, why is it important to humans, and what are the implications of groundwater contamination?
• What has Earth’s climate been like in the past? How might climate change in the future? What is the greenhouse effect and ocean acidification? What is the carbon cycle, and why is it important?
• What are the differences between non-renewable, renewable and perpetual natural resources? What is the nature of supply vs. demand in regard to water, petroleum, coal, minerals, and other natural resources? What are the pros and cons of various energy sources including nuclear, solar, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric and carbon-based fuels?

The Department of Anthropology offers undergraduate students course work in the five anthropological subdisciplines: ethnology, archaeology, biological anthropology, applied anthropology and anthropological linguistics. In addition, courses focus on contemporary disciplinary research, area studies and societal applications of anthropological knowledge.

The major concentration in Applied Anthropology is designed to provide the undergraduate student with a strong background in general anthropology, applied anthropology and research methods. It stresses applied anthropology research methodology, field research, data collection, statistical methodology and service learning. One of the pillars of an applied anthropology focus is to stress community engagement and application of anthropological theoretical framework to the field.

The Bachelor of Science in Business Administration program, is designed to accomplish two objectives. The first of these is to prepare students for lifelong professional careers in commerce, finance and industry, as well as for management careers in the public and not-for-profit sectors. A second objective is to provide students with the knowledge and skills needed to obtain professional, entry level positions in one functional area of the business enterprise, or in some particular field of business.

Psychology is about people's behavior and about people's experience. Psychologists teach and do research or applied work on subjects relating to the social and behavioral sciences. In order to discover more about behavior, psychologists study both humans and animals. Psychology covers a wide range of topics, from the way our social environment influences us to the inner workings of our bodies. This diversity of topics is reflected in the psychology curriculum.

The Department of Psychology sees its mission as offering a solid foundation in the theories and scientific methods of psychology to diverse and nontraditional students who choose to study Psychology at the undergraduate and graduate level. The department offers courses in aspects of the empirical knowledge base of scientific psychology and applied psychology for psychology majors and graduate students. Furthermore, the department helps meet the needs of those studying other subjects, such as Human Services majors, Liberal Studies majors, people minoring in Psychology, and other individuals. The department sees its mission as offering these educational experiences within a framework which values and encourages diversity. Within this broad mission, the department develops, evaluates, and alters, as needed, a set of specific goals and objectives for the psychology major.

The department publishes its goals and objectives for all Psychology students to review. It also engages in an ongoing Outcomes Assessment program to evaluate its success in achieving these goals and objectives. Psychology majors are required to participate in the Outcomes Assessment program in order to evaluate both the effectiveness of the department and student competencies.

Health Science offers a variety of programs including a major with different options leading to the Bachelor of Science in Health Science.

The Community Health Option is designed to provide students with the necessary skills and perspectives to function as effective community health workers and educators in an urban population that is diverse ethnically, economically and demographically. Students will gain knowledge and understanding of health behavior and strategies for change, health disparities among diverse populations, and the development of programs that increase access to healthcare and related services.

A student in this option will acquire oral and written communication skills needed to develop health education materials and gain a basic understanding of public health problems and methods commonly used in studying and addressing these problems. Registered nurses and allied health care workers will be able to serve their patients more effectively by becoming knowledgeable about community health service agencies and public health policy at all levels of government. Upon completion of the Community Health Option, students will qualify to take the national Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) examination.

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is designed to provide quality professional education for persons entering or working in public service professions. The MPA program prepares students for careers as professional managers of public sector or nonprofit organizations, as well as for research, consulting, and teaching careers. The MPA curriculum provides a theoretical foundation for the practice of public management.
After meeting prerequisite requirements, students can finish all other program requirements in two and a half academic years if they complete two courses per semester and two summer courses (depending upon summer scheduled courses). The MPA program is accredited by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration (NASPAA), the professional association responsible for evaluating the quality of MPA degree programs. NASPAA is located at 1029 Vermont Ave., N.W., Ste. 1100, Washington, DC 20005-3517.

MPA Public Management Concentration
The Public Management concentration is designed to provide the Master of Public Administration program with an emphasis in the structure, functioning, and skill competencies required for contemporary managers in the public and nonprofit sectors. This concentration offers our students a program that addresses the social, political, and economic landscape of the public sector, and its history and role in American Society. This concentration provides a broad examination of theoretical perspectives, the environmental context, and management functions that can be used to analyze organizations and to improve organizational effectiveness. The concentration combines applied and conceptual readings and provides students with opportunities to apply concepts and techniques to issues experienced in various workplace settings.

The Department of Africana Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities offers a major and a minor in Africana Studies. Africana Studies is primarily a peoples- and culture-based discipline that investigates Africana peoples’ experiences. These experiences range from earliest human civilizations through the tragic era of enslavement, colonization, uprootment, to the forced migration and displacement of African peoples. The intellectual framework that sets Africana Studies apart from other disciplines is that it explores the subject area from the perspective of Africana peoples’ interests, aspirations, possibilities, and envisioned destinies. The foundation of the discipline rests on an understanding and appreciation of African peoples’ worldview and philosophy of life as the starting point for all Africana intellectual inquiry.  The BA degree and minor program offered by the department emphasize an examination of the theoretical and empirical characteristics of the African world experience from both a contemporary and historical perspective.