Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art with Concentration in Photography

at California State University - East Bay USA

Through inclusive and rigorous creative inquiry, the Department of Theatre and Dance provides comprehensive training for performance, creativity, reflection, diversity, collaboration, mentorship, community engagement, and social justice.

Through a combination of core classes with a concentration, the program provides comprehensive pre-professional training in the areas of performance (Acting, Dance, Inclusive Performance (Applied Social Justice), and Musical Theatre) and production (Stage Technology and Design). Our primary goal is to develop artists whose performance skills and creativity are supported by a firm background in history, literature, and aesthetics. In an environment designed to encourage creativity and self-expression, students perform regularly in a variety of theatre and dance productions. The culmination requirement offers an opportunity to direct, choreograph, perform, write, intern, or design.

Theatre Arts program encourages majors to acquire a range of skills to expand their career options. Many have entered advanced studies in nationally recognized universities and conservatories. Some have chosen careers in teaching, while others have gone directly into theatre or dance performance. Alumni perform on professional stages around the world, including Broadway and Hollywood, where they have won Tony and  Emmy Awards, as well as other professional recognitions. Employers in business and public service professions desire Theatre Arts graduates for their team skills, their imaginative approach to problems, and their ability to communicate creatively.

Biology is concerned with living matter in all its forms, responses, and interactions. It deals with the study of anything that has been or is alive: microbes, fungi, plants, “protists” and all animals, including humans. The science of biology includes a large number of highly integrated sub-disciplines such as microbiology, genetics, molecular biology, ecology, evolutionary biology, physiology, systematics, and behavior. Biologists must draw upon a wide variety of academic disciplines to make observations and form conclusions, and well-trained biologists have solid backgrounds in chemistry, mathematics, computer science, statistics, physics, and the humanities, as required by graduate programs and professional schools, to meet the demands of professions in the life sciences.

The Department of Computer Science offers graduate study leading to the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. This program is designed to extend the student’s knowledge in a broad manner beyond the baccalaureate degree major in Computer Science. It will both (1) deepen general understanding of theoretical principles and (2) provide exposure to important applications of Computer Science such as security, software engineering, database, networking, and others. This approach is especially important in Computer Science, where training in specific languages and systems and on specific machines is transitory, as these languages, systems, and machines evolve. In contrast, many of the principles will last, and generally apply to a wide variety of specializations within the field.  The breadth of subject material is important as many students will have a number of different job classifications in their working lives.

Kinesiology is the disciplinary study of physical activity and how it impacts individual and societal health and well-being.  The discipline explores physical activity from a wide range of cognate disciplines, including, but not limited to, biomechanics, physiology, history, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and pedagogy.  It involves areas of study that include sports performance, fitness leadership, sports medicine and related allied health professions, socio-cultural analysis of sport, sport and exercise psychology, physical education, and coaching.    

The BS in Kinesiology degree prepares students for careers in the fitness and exercise and allied health professions. Our mission is to prepare graduates who are knowledgeable, professional, and take a multidisciplinary approach to promoting physical activity.  The degree not only examines the theoretical underpinning of sport, exercise, fitness and health, but is committed to addressing the practical issues concerning coaching and instructing, exercise, fitness and sport. It also addresses prescription; programming and safety in promoting health and performance-related physical activity; and issues of social justice in and through sport. The diverse curriculum strives to be innovative and encourage creative thinking and practice.

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science degree in Environmental Geosciences, focusing on near surface and environmental geology, seismic hazards and Bay Area tectonics, and water and soil characterization and remediation.

This program is designed to prepare students for:

• Employment as geologists and environmental scientists in government (city, county, regional, state, and federal) and private consulting firms (environmental, engineering, and geotechnical firms, mining and oil companies, etc.);
• Professional licensing requirements;
• Doctoral study in environmental science, geology, geochemistry, and geophysics; and
• Teaching at the Community College level

The department also provides continuing education for professional geologists, engineers, planners, etc.

Our M.S. program is unique in the bay area in that many courses are offered in the evenings, and augmented by field experiences. Graduate seminars address diverse subjects; for example, geochemical evolution of groundwater, natural tracers of geologic processes, tectonic geomorphology, earthquake hazards, bay area tectonics, near-surface geophysics, and modern depositional environments. We maintain strong connections with East Bay Regional Parks, the California Environmental Protection Agency, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NASA Ames, the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

Candidates for the M.S. degree will engage in significant, guided, individual research. Recent M.S. thesis and project research topics include near surface geophysics, groundwater dating, groundwater nitrate source identification, local catchment characterization, surface water-groundwater interaction, geologic mapping, slope stability, geochemistry, Bay Area structural geology, engineering geology, and neotectonics. Prospective candidates should determine whether their research interests coincide with those of the faculty members before applying to the program. We invite interested persons to contact the department faculty directly for more details on the program. The Graduate Coordinator provides guidance that enables students to complete the requirements for advancement in the graduate program.

The Art Department offers three programs of study in the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) Degree. The Art History and Visual Studies concentration develops students’ skills in research, visual analysis, and argumentation, leading to a range of careers in the arts or to graduate study. The concentration in Studio Arts and the concentration in Design provide broad survey art and design practices in preparation for continued professional development or creative and design careers.

The Design Concentration introduces students to processes of design thinking, critical discussion and fundamentals of visual communication. Design projects balance learning of conceptual development with technique and design tools. Students address communication problems with concept-focused solutions that integrate images, text and graphics through hands-on and digital production skills.

The MS in Educational Technology is designed for educators and e-learning developers with a focus on integrating current technologies into educational curricula. The emphasis on integrating technologies in both K-16 and business settings is a strength of the program, along with the focus in each course on 21st Century skills demanded by the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS), e.g., collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, and communication.

The program includes instruction in the foundations of educational technology, instructional design theories, computer applications, using technology for assessment, multimedia instruction, web-based instruction, distance education, and designing and producing educational software and materials. Students in this program gain knowledge in emerging technologies, instructional design, e-learning development, learning theories, multimedia production, and collaborative production. Students also gain a deep understanding of adapting to the demands of the ever-changing nature of technologies.

Anthropology is the multifaceted study of humanity from an evolutionary, historical, and global perspective. Students in anthropology learn about their own culture as well as those of other peoples as they are shaped by biological evolution, ecological constraints, political history, and sociological conditioning. The Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Environmental Studies offers ethnographic, theoretical and methodological courses in five sub-disciplines: biological anthropology, prehistory and archaeology, linguistic anthropology, sociocultural anthropology, and applied anthropology. Regional courses on major populations of the world, especially the heritage cultures of North and South America, and Asia, form an important component of the curriculum. The B.A. degree program bridges the sciences, social sciences, and humanities, preparing students for multidimensional careers. Fundamentally, the study of anthropology cultivates an appreciation of what all humans share, as well as how humans differ across time and space.

At the undergraduate level, students in the B.A. degree program may choose to focus on special interests in two combined sub-disciplines:

• Archaeology and Biological Anthropology emphasize the study of human biology, variation, evolution, and the reconstruction of past ways of life and cultural systems from material remains.
• Socio-Cultural and Applied Anthropology emphasize the study of social and cultural systems of more recent historical and contemporary populations, and the application of anthropological insights into present-day problems.

The Department of Computer Science offers graduate study leading to the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science. This program is designed to extend the student’s knowledge in a broad manner beyond the baccalaureate degree major in Computer Science. It will both (1) deepen general understanding of theoretical principles and (2) provide exposure to important applications of Computer Science such as security, software engineering, database, networking, and others. This approach is especially important in Computer Science, where training in specific languages and systems and on specific machines is transitory, as these languages, systems, and machines evolve. In contrast, many of the principles will last, and generally apply to a wide variety of specializations within the field.  The breadth of subject material is important as many students will have a number of different job classifications in their working lives.

The university offers the B.A. degree in English with three distinct concentrations: literature, creative writing, and English language and literacies.  The student seeking a degree must observe the general university requirements stated elsewhere in this catalog as well as the specific departmental requirements stated here.