Master of Arts in History with Concentration in Public History

at California State University - East Bay USA

The Master’s degree in Interaction Design and Interactive Art is a unique interdisciplinary program at the intersection of interaction design and interactive content development. The program emphasizes the creative and technical aspects of current and emerging technology and its use in creating, controlling, delivering, and presenting compelling content in an interactive form. This degree draws upon elements from many fields, including visual and interaction design, UX/UI, Fine Art, Computer Science, Education, Psychology, Journalism, and Telecommunications.

Our program embraces industry skills and practices by emphasizing teamwork and a project-based, hands-on approach in the creation of interactive applications and objects as part of designed user experience. Instruction focuses as much on the enduring creative process as on the transient technology so that students learn skills needed to adapt quickly to new environments in a rapidly developing and ever-changing field.  

The Interaction Design and Interactive Art, M.A. Program is a two-year degree program, and most coursework is offered in the evening to accommodate working professionals.

During the first year, students develop a theoretical foundation, enhance their creative and research skills, and learn to work effectively in teams. During the second year, small teams of students of various backgrounds and talents create innovative, professional interactive thesis projects. Ideas for projects originate from students, faculty, or external sources.

Students in the Interaction Design and Interactive Art, M.A. Program, enjoy many benefits including small student-teacher ratios and dedicated interdisciplinary faculty. Thesis project students have 24-hour access to a dedicated production studio, maker space, and secure workspaces equipped and maintained with the current technology and support staff.

The M.B.A. program supports students’ career advancement by preparing them for positions of leadership in an increasingly diverse and globally competitive economy. The program is centered on the rigorous knowledge of the basic functional areas of business, an appreciation of management challenges in a global context, and opportunities to develop students’ interpersonal and executive leadership skills. It also enables students to deepen and broaden their knowledge and skills through elective courses in an area of concentration. The program offers a range of formats to cater to the needs of full and part time students and students seeking an executive style MBA.

The International Studies BA consists of an integrated group of courses reflecting international aspects of various disciplines. It is designed to provide the student with a broad base of understanding of the world community and of international processes and relationships while providing the opportunity to specialize in an area of interest. A minor in International Studies is also offered.

The Art Department emphasizes study in our Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) Program. This is a professional degree that offers students the opportunity to develop greater expertise through comprehensive and intensive study in a specific area of art or design - a program that leads to successful careers in the visual art and design industries. Students who intend to pursue graduate studies or advanced skills for a professional career typically choose the B.F.A degree.

The B.F.A. professional concentrations require 70 units of study in the Department to complete the major.  There is no application procedure to enter the Bachelor of Fine Arts program beyond declaring as a B.F.A. student with a specific concentration.  The concentrations are listed below under major requirements.

Video & Animation Concentration
Based on a broad range of critical, conceptual, and production courses in the Video and Animation concentration, students create artworks that give expression to their ideas while engaging their audiences whether it is on monitors, theater screens, hand-held devices, or installations.  Students’ interests and films range from traditional to experimental, fictional to factual, and simply entertaining to highly conceptual. Upon graduation, students are prepared for further study in a graduate program or for entry into the work force.

This program is designed to teach students to be linguists who can work with signed and spoken languages and their cultures. The Option to our general BA expands on students’ language and culture training to additionally train them to become interpreters between ASL and English. For admission, students must receive a C or better in all required lower division courses, a 2 or higher on the ASLPI national exam, and have a successful interview with an invitation from the CSULB BA Option admissions committee to join a Fall semester cohort of 20-25 students.

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 Biological Sciences offers a diversified curriculum in the life sciences. Courses are designed for biology majors with specific degree objectives, for students seeking applied technical training, and for non-major students with general interest in biological subjects. Undergraduate programs will prepare students for both graduate work and for a diversity of careers. Biology majors may enter specialized or general careers in life science and find themselves working in laboratories, offices, the field, administrative posts, academic institutions, industry, government agencies, private foundations, botanic gardens, wildlife preserves and zoos.  Simply put, biologists study the living planet.

The Recreation degree prepares students for leadership positions in public recreation and leisure services agencies. Such work enhances the quality of life for millions of people each day across the nation. Specializations available in the degree include the Sustainability Concentration, Youth Development Programming Concentration, and a Recreation Therapy Concentration that prepares students to sit for the state RT licensing exam.

Potential jobs in this rewarding field include program coordinators, supervisors and directors in a variety of areas including day camps, sports, youth, teen and older adult activities and classes and naturalist, park ranger positions. Many graduates from our program are leaders in leisure services organizations including Concord, Livermore, Oakland, Pleasanton, San Ramon, and the East Bay Regional Park District.

This degree program, offered through the Department of Biological Sciences and the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, provides the opportunity for students to acquire a practical and theoretical education in the marine sciences to prepare them for careers as marine specialists, scientists, and teachers. The program at Moss Landing provides interdepartmental work and a field facility for advanced study in the marine sciences which cannot be duplicated on the Cal State East Bay campus.

Program Learning Outcomes
Students graduating with an M.S.in Marine Science from Cal State East Bay will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of fundamental concepts in a particular category of oceanography and marine science and
  • be able to synthesize and integrate across all of these fields, yet achieve a depth of understanding in the student’s individual specialty or field of study (MLML specialties include Physical Oceanography, Biological Oceanography, Chemical Oceanography, Geological Oceanography, Marine Phycology, Marine Ichthyology, Marine Turtle, Bird and Mammal Ecology, and Marine Invertebrate Zoology.)
• Demonstrate the ability to critically analyze scientific research, whether the student’s own research, or that performed by others.
• Pose relevant scientific hypotheses or questions that may then serve to guide thesis research.
• Demonstrate proficiency in the design and implementation of experiments or data collection methodologies to address specific hypotheses/questions.
• Master the skills and tools of data collection and analysis (including analytical and statistical techniques as appropriate) specific to the student’s scientific field of study.
• Demonstrate the ability to place ones own research within the larger context of relevant field of scientific study and to clearly identify the implications of this research for that field.
• Demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communication by being able to present research clearly and concisely. This includes thoughtful and thorough oral and written presentation of their thesis and their responses to questions. 

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers undergraduate study leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, focusing on developing strong foundational knowledge and a broad set of field and laboratory skills that allow students to seek employment, or prepare them for continued academic study in the Earth and environmental sciences.

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary field, focusing on the study of physical, chemical, and biological processes that underpin both natural ecosystems and human-influenced systems. While their focus is often on the physical and life sciences, environmental scientists must also be mindful of social issues, political context, economic factors, and human  well-being in order to understand environmental issues and address environmental problems. The coursework for the Environmental Science degree reflects this broad, systems-level approach, with coursework in science and mathematics, as well as the social sciences. This allows students to gain a deeper understanding of the science and social issues involved in addressing complex environmental problems such as environmental contamination, access to food and safe drinking water, and climate change.

The Department of Social Work offers graduate study leading to the Master of Social Work (M.S.W.). This program trains social workers for leadership and direct practice positions in social work and is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. The program has a multicultural focus, preparing graduates to work in both non-profit and public agencies and to be proficient in serving diverse populations in urban communities.

The mission of the California State University, East Bay Master of Social Work program is to graduate culturally responsive urban social workers in the areas of Children, Youth, and Families and Community Mental Health. Social work graduates are prepared to address individual, family, group, and community needs caused by inequalities of class and identity including race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, religion, caste, and other forms of social injustice. Advocacy and social change around these injustices form the core of the MSW program.