Master of Arts in English

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Tempe Campus USA

The BA in the arts is an interdisciplinary degree program designed for students who are passionate about the arts and interested in exploring multiple arts disciplines.

Students gain an increased understanding of the theoretical, historical and cultural forces that shape the arts and design. Students pursue open-ended paths to explore and develop a range of skills suitable for advanced study in multiple areas.

The major includes a common core for all students, and students may choose a focus from arts administration or entertainment design or they may design an individualized focus that is subject to approval by the institute's standards committee and the dean's office.

The MS program in sustainability is a research-oriented degree program that culminates with research writing, either a thesis or capstone in the form of a publishable scientific paper.

The program focuses on knowledge generation and investigating potential solutions to sustainability challenges and prepares students for designing and conducting transdisciplinary research. This master's degree program is best-suited to students inclined toward natural sciences, economics, engineering or related quantitative fields, and who are interested in a career in research or academia.

Students learn how different disciplines view and approach the challenges of sustainability in theory, research and practice. They develop the academic and technical skills as well as the ethical insights that help them understand, research and provide solutions to complex sustainability challenges at the local, regional, national and global levels.

All sustainability graduate students understand the need for a transdisciplinary approach to solving sustainability challenges, can communicate their work to professionals in other disciplines and to policymakers and the general public, and have the breadth of vision to incorporate the interconnectedness of social, economic, environmental and technical systems into their research. They have the critical thinking skills necessary for approaching sustainability challenges from a systems perspective; the skills needed to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams, and the technical skills required to formulate and solve problems at the appropriate scale.

This is an advanced degree that emphasizes competency in the rapidly growing fields of robotics and autonomous systems and with applications in biomedical engineering and medicine.

The biomedical engineering concentration is one of five concentrations in the multidisciplinary MS program in robotics and autonomous systems, which emphasizes robotics, controls, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and related fields. This concentration is appropriate for students who wish to focus on applications in biomedical engineering.

Biomedical engineers work at the interface of technology and medicine on challenges that are critical to the advancement of health and scientific discovery.

The MM program in music learning and teaching is designed for music educators, teaching artists and music professionals seeking new and expanded opportunities for career development in learning and teaching.

Program flexibility affords students opportunities to customize degree pathways, advance their goals, and develop musical, scholarly and leadership roles in their professional settings. Students in the master's degree program develop their capacity to address pressing issues in music learning and teaching and contribute to professional dialogue.

Students may elect courses in each part of the degree program and may design a course of study that meets their specific interests and needs. The program provides opportunities to study full time, part time (through evening courses), in the summers only, or by combining full-time, part-time and summer study. Full-time students may complete the program in as little as one year. Digital commuting for some courses is available through the ASU Sync platform.

Individuals interested in teacher certification can pursue those requirements concurrently with or separate from master's degree study.

Conservation demonstrates a growing need for botanists and conservation biologists in academic institutions, government agencies and nongovernmental organizations.

The MS program in plant biology and conservation provides students with advanced training in plant ecology, evolution and floristics as well as in theory and practice of conservation biology.

Students have the opportunity to work with faculty and researchers from ASU and the Desert Botanical Garden, located in Phoenix near ASU's Tempe campus.

The MA program in learning sciences proceeds from an understanding that learning happens in many places, not just in schools.

This program focuses on the power of design thinking to improve educational systems and provides students with a blend of theoretical insights and practical tools that prepare them to shape learning environments and experiences. The systems-level approach includes cognitive, social and contextual factors and the interactions among them.

Graduates of the program are equipped to design effective learning and teaching systems in a broad range of formal and informal settings that include museums, libraries, workplaces and schools and are well-prepared to become leaders in the development, integration and improvement of these systems.

The BFA program in art with a concentration in ceramics provides a stimulating and challenging environment for artistic and intellectual growth. With the realization that discipline, familiarity with historical precedents and freedom go hand in hand with creative activities, the ceramics program strikes a balance between the acquisition of traditional skills and the promotion of independence and innovation. Responsibility is placed on the individual student to find personally meaningful content and an effective means to express that content within the ceramic arts.

The ceramics program features a complete and varied line of kilns, wheels and other equipment. Faculty members ensure that students learn the techniques and concepts that enable them to take their work in any direction they wish. A guest artist schedule enhances the program as does the Ceramics Research Center at the ASU Art Museum, which has a collection of more than 3,000 pieces and provides unparalleled opportunities to study and research the ceramic arts.

Students declare their BFA concentration at the time of their ASU admission. Following admission, if students wish to change their BFA concentration, they may meet with their School of Art academic advisor.

The communication program prepares students to do far more than give a speech or two in front of their peers. It provides an extensive understanding of the practical, theoretical and professional distinctions of today's field of communication and equips students with the skills needed to convey complex ideas clearly and effectively through both the spoken and written word.

In the nationally recognized CommLabASU, this program trains and prepares students for in-depth study into what contributes to and detracts from effective human communication, recognizing that the art of communication is far more nuanced than simple speaking and writing prowess.

Students may pursue one or more focus areas that are designed to amplify their academic and professional preparation in specific contexts, including: public relations, risk and strategic communication; media, culture and social technology; communication training and mentoring; dialogue, relationships and communities; and sport communication.

The MS program in actuarial science emphasizes broad awareness and appreciation of current issues faced by insurance industry practitioners as well as innovative resolutions provided by actuaries.

Students to advance their knowledge base by applying mathematical and statistical concepts and data analytics to the disciplines of risk management, finance and insurance. It also includes a new focused set of professional learning outcomes aligned with the needs of the ever-evolving insurance industry, while keeping the core technical learning outcomes in place. These guide students' development of professional competencies through coursework, independent projects and opportunities outside of the classroom, while remaining firmly based on a strong foundation of scholarly technical work in actuarial science.

Actuaries must pass a series of intensive professional exams to become credentialed. Program graduates are prepared for the examinations required to become credentialed professionals by the Society of Actuaries or Casualty Actuarial Society and to be competitive employees in the insurance and finance industries.

The life sciences involve the study of the basic organization and processes of life (microbes, plants and animals) at scales ranging from molecules to ecosystems and in time from picoseconds to millennia. This includes investigations into how hereditary information is transferred and organisms evolve, the interplay of organisms and their environments, and how these factors interact in health and disease.

Students interested in a degree in life sciences can opt for a BS in biological sciences or choose one of five concentrations:

• Biology and society
• Biomedical sciences
• Conservation biology and ecology
• Genetics, cell and developmental biology
• Neurobiology, physiology and behavior