Bachelor of Arts in Special Education

at Concordia University Wisconsin USA

The overarching goal of the Technical and Professional Communication program is to prepare graduates to take complex information and make it consumable to internal and external audiences who may not have discipline-specific knowledge. Graduates will become more aware of the forms of communication and communication processes in order to successfully convey their messages.

The Technical and Professional Communication major will emphasize written, oral, and digital communication skills. The coursework will prepare students to collect, analyze and communicate complex information to various audiences. The Communication Department’s approach to this major asks students to complete courses including social media, interpersonal, group dynamics, visual rhetoric, technical writing and speaking, and critical thinking and information dissemination.

The program curriculum will draw upon three primary spheres: writing, visual, and digital storytelling; analytic and critical thinking skills; and oral and interpersonal skills. Additionally, students can select one of three specializations or tracks: Health Care; High-tech Literacy; and Corporate/Organizational. Some program-level learning outcomes include:

• Develop and present cogent, coherent, and accurate writing for general and specialized audiences.
• Communicate effectively to audiences by listening actively and responding constructively as Scripture instructs within various contexts.
• Draw from various disciplines to describe orally and in writing how existing knowledge or practice is advanced, tested, and revised in each core field studied.
• Distinguish and examine communication-related problems from a Christian perspective to better serve society.
• Cultivate appropriate organizational skills related to professionalism, work ethic, and attitude.
• Analyze complex data and be able to combine them into easily-understandable presentations utilizing excellent critical thinking skills.

In this program, you will study anatomy, patient positioning, examination techniques, equipment protocols, radiation safety, radiation protection, and basic patient care. As is fairly evident from the above sentence, we take both patient and medical personnel safety very seriously. You’ll grow confident in your abilities as you learn from some of the best faculty and professionals in the field.

This CUW bachelor degree is a Two plus Two program, in which you spend the first two years on Concordia’s campus taking prerequisite classes prior to entry into the Radiologic Technology (RT) program. You’ll then apply for the next phase that consists of didactic courses and clinical experience with our partner clinical affiliations. It is worth noting that this is a competitive program, so acceptance is not guaranteed. To improve your chances, we’d like to encourage you to demonstrate exemplary grades, prior health care experience, and job shadow hours.

Because the pre-professional curriculum requires about 67 credits (17 credits per semester if taken in 4 semesters), we highly recommend using winterim and summer breaks to fulfill course requirements. Once you are accepted, the more advanced work begins. At first, you are going to spend most of your time in the classroom and scan laboratory, with less time in clinicals. This is to provide you with the theories and principles to ground you before applying them in a real-world environment. Gradually, your classroom time will be reduced as your clinical component increases. You’ll have the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning at one of our partner clinics including Aurora, Wheaton Franciscan, and Froedtert Health systems.
With this degree, you will be a key part of the health care field by safely creating images needed to check for bone fractures, blocked blood vessels, abnormal growths in breast tissue, brain tumors, and so much more. Upon graduation, you will be ready to find a rewarding career in a variety of settings. Alumni have gone on to work in hospitals, physician's’ offices, medical and diagnostic labs, do research, administration, education, and so much more!

In the psychology program, you’ll study the biological and psychological influences on the human mind. What makes our program unique? At CUW, our courses are grounded in science, ethical research, and Christian service. This translates to a holistic approach toward learning in which you first build up your knowledge in the classroom and then apply it in supervised, practical experience at local agencies and institutions. Toward the end of your studies (typically during your junior year), you’ll apply for senior status. Once approved, you can then enroll in Practicum, Research Proposal, and Senior Seminar. By the time you graduate, you’ll possess the skills and knowledge needed for graduate studies or to pursue a helping profession.  This program is also available as a minor.

During your time here, you’ll be introduced to topics like theories of personality, abnormal psychology, psychotherapy, and human behavior. Through it all, we’ll help you become familiar with the procedures, principles, theories, and vocabulary of psychology. This gives you the tools necessary for success. Each psychology class builds on and enhances the others. For example, learning about the developmental stages from conception to death is relevant when studying how individual preferences and worldviews are shaped. Similarly, properly interpreting research is key to using current therapy approaches in treating behavioral disorders. Outside of the classroom, you’ll have the opportunity to participate in numerous service endeavors in the community - so you can start making a positive impact before you frame that diploma.

By the end of the program, you’ll not only have a deep understanding of theories in psychology, you’ll have hands-on experience from your practicum and service learning efforts. You’ll be a stronger leader, a better writer and communicator, and a strategic problem solver. Whether you decide to go into counseling, clinical psychology, research, academia or another exciting profession, you’ll be prepared to change other’s lives for the better.

It’s one of the most important roles within any organization: human resource management. Why? Because interpersonal communication can make or break a business. The way we relate to one another within an organizational structure, the culture we build – it’s the backbone of business. And this program will equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary for management of the human resource function within an organization. You’ll develop interpersonal and technical skills – in areas such as employment practices, staffing, compensation and benefits, training, and change management – that will help your business thrive.

It’s not something people think about very often, but the way you relate to the people you work with on a day-to-day basis really can affect your ability to perform well professionally. This program will set you up for success in the field of HR. But more importantly, it will give you what you need to help your co-workers succeed in their own roles. You’ll learn how to demonstrate effective writing, public speaking, and interpersonal communication skills. You’ll also learn how to apply business management skills that will create a diverse workforce – the kind that’s capable of achieving organizational goals.

This program will teach you about important federal and state legislation, case law decisions, and executive orders that affect employment relationships. You’ll learn to analyze a compensation plan that identifies and describes plan objectives, salary structure. and fringe benefits. You’ll also learn how to identify organizational needs for safety plans in multiple areas governed by OSHA related to employee health, safety, and security. You’ll engage management techniques that integrate employee and organizational development with leadership, and learn organizational strategies for recruitment, selection, training, retention, and development of employees.

What about strategic planning? Yep, you’ll gain an understanding of how it relates to the workforce and human resource development. And finally, it’s important for us to mold servant leaders at CUW. Through this program, you’ll identify and describe the elements of servant leadership that apply to the work of the human resource professional.

Develop a greater understanding of people and learn effective strategies to help them achieve their potential.

Possibly the only thing greater than unlocking your own creativity through music, is helping someone else unlock theirs. That’s precisely what you’ll do with a focus in music education: help your students learn to express their unique individuality, while providing them with a strong sense of how the shared experience of music brings us all together.
As a music education student, you’ll study music theory, composition, conducting, music history, and forms of the medieval, baroque, pre-classical, romantic, and 20th century periods from around the globe. With such a thorough background, you’ll gain the skills and to share this knowledge with your own students.

Learn the ins and outs of all the instruments in an ensemble by becoming a teacher for K-12 band or orchestra. The K-12 Choral Education curriculum teaches many levels of music theory and music history, conducting, and techniques for teaching brass, woodwinds, percussion, and strings. In addition to learning in the classroom, stay active in your instrumental skills by participating in an ensemble of your choice each semester.

Through the master's degree in church music, you’ll be encouraged to strengthen your theological knowledge and grow as a church musician so that you can better guide and enhance others’ worship. Our graduate program is designed to be completed exclusively in summer sessions, or in combination with evening sessions. This allows us to meet your needs outside of the traditional academic year, while still providing the beneficial personal interaction with the faculty. You’ll be able to choose from two areas of emphasis: organ and choral. And even though our courses are taught from a distinctly Lutheran perspective, all denominations are always welcome.

Through this master’s program, you’ll not only perfect your musical abilities, you’ll deepen your understanding of how music ought to relate to theology, specifically in a worship setting. With the combination of these two areas of expertise, you’ll grow in your ability to shape meaningful worship experiences for parishioners. What will your course work look like? Some courses will focus on areas like music theory, arranging, and composing. Others will prepare you for leadership roles in conducting and directing choirs or instrumental groups. Towards the end of your education, you’ll be asked to demonstrate a knowledge of liturgical music practices, musical forms, and the history of music in the church.

Study how to create complex hardware and software systems, manage complex computer information systems (IT), and lead a technical team. Now offering two new tracks in Software Engineering and Computer Information Systems. Both of these tracks will build on your existing experience by deepening your skills and knowledge in the main areas of computer science. A bachelor's degree in a related field is recommended, but not required. Optional catch-up modules are available for each course to help bring you up to speed.

Upon completion of the MSCS program, you’ll be trained in problem solving, collaboration, creative design processes, professional literature, writing, presentation, and ethical practices. You’ll be prepared for advanced professional positions in software development and other technical/design-oriented roles in computing.

Program Highlights

• STEM certified
• Ethics & vocation are central themes in our program showing how professionals respond to the needs of clients, users, and society
• Program can be completed in 18 months
• Start dates available every six to eight weeks throughout the year
• Available online and in person

Graduates from the MSCS program pursue a variety of careers such as system/database administrators/architects, business intelligence analysts, software engineers, application developers, and many others. Our recent grads have gone on to work at:

• Experius
• EP Soft Technologies
• Charter Communications
• iDigital
• QA Labs
• Integra Tech
• Concurrency
• And many more

Our computer science master's program was designed with working professionals in mind. You’ll get a rigorous, quality education that fits within your busy schedule. All courses will be available online in an accelerated eight week format, but three courses per semester will be offered face-to-face on campus.

BUSINESS DATA APPLICATIONS
The new business data applications concentration features the same computer science master's core courses in tandem with business data analytics classes to teach you to use your technical skillsets and programming abilities to collect, scrub, analyze, and visualize data to drive better business decisions. This blend of computer science, data analytics, and business classes will prepare you to be a valuable asset to any organization.

The aim of Concordia’s program is to prepare you for a career in the biochemical industry or to pursue graduate studies to earn a PhD, an MD, or a PharmD. Expect to be challenged on a regular basis. Our professors have designed a rigorous curriculum to help you advance as a scientist and develop analytic reasoning.

A significant portion of your studies will take place in our recently constructed laboratories, with state-of-the-art technology and equipment. Whenever possible, our faculty take a hands-on approach to learning, so you can expect to quickly become comfortable in a lab setting. You’ll gain a thorough foundation in the various areas within chemistry, including organic, analytical, physical, and biochemistry and within biology, including molecular biology. And CUW students aren’t limited to the required courses for developing their skills. If you have a particular area of interest, you have the opportunity to work one-on-one with a faculty member in conducting an undergraduate research project.

More and more, actuaries use data analytics to help assess risk and inform policy. Concordia's new Actuarial & Data Sciences major meets the market's demands by preparing students with current, relevant knowledge and skills in both actuarial science and data analytics.

Actuarial science is an intense field, and will require a sharp, analytical mind, coupled with hard work and dedication to pass the certification exams and practice as an actuary. But it is a rewarding field, and in high demand. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median pay is over $110K, and the demand for actuaries is expected to increase 24% by 2030.

Actuaries assess risk to help make wise decisions for their organizations. Most actuaries work in insurance, but they can also work in finance, healthcare administration, wealth management, and any other industry where predictions and decisions must be made to mitigate risk.

Like all industries, the actuarial science profession is constantly changing to adapt to new technologies. With the computing capabilities that we now have, actuaries are increasingly dependent on data science and analytics. In 2021, the Society of Actuaries announced a change in their Associate of the SOA (ASA) education requirements, including an updated curriculum designed to meet employer and market demands for increased coverage of data analytics.

Concordia's new actuarial and data sciences major couples proven actuarial science methodologies with cutting edge data science technologies to thoroughly prepare tomorrow's actuaries with the skills needed to assess risk in the modern world.

The classical education program comprises an interdisciplinary course of study in classical studies and classical teaching methods, grounded in the liberal arts tradition with a strong foundation in the Lutheran heritage. The complete classical education program at Concordia is comprised of our classical studies major (which provides you with a classical foundation) and the classical pedagogy minor (where you’ll learn how to teach according to classical principles).

Students can anticipate engaging the liberal arts at all levels of the program. You will gain a solid foundation in classical culture and the Christian intellectual tradition. You will explore the history, theory and practice of a classical approach to curriculum and pedagogy. You will develop a thorough knowledge of biblical content and demonstrate an understanding of the Christian worldview from a Lutheran perspective. Upon graduation, you will have the broad content knowledge and practical experience that classical schools are looking for in teacher candidates.