Bachelor of Arts in Communications

at Kaplan Group - Simmons University USA

The Bachelor of Science (BS) in Public Health degree program equips students with the knowledge to face pressing health challenges, including health inequities by race, gender, and sexuality, infectious and chronic diseases, food and water safety, sanitation, and environmental issues.

What you will learn with a Bachelor’s in Public Health?
Students earning their Public Health degree learn how to interpret public health data, frame a public health issue, review and apply scientific literature, and present findings on approaches to the issue. The interdisciplinary coursework covers emerging research, trends, and solutions that can act as long-term prevention of an issue on a widespread scale—like the eradication of disease.

Through the curriculum and hands-on learning, students in the Public Health major are shaped into confident, skilled advocates capable of influencing a healthier, more educated public.

All undergraduate Public Health degree students complete 12 core courses spread across the four years to establish a strong foundation in fundamental and emerging topics in the field, including human development, health communications, microbiology, global health, environmental science, and epidemiology.

The Public Health bachelor’s degree culminates in a capstone requirement of either an internship or research experience, providing students with a rewarding, hands-on learning experience to deepen their in-classroom knowledge. Learn more about the course options in our Program Requirements below.

In addition to the BS in Public health degree, students can add a public health minor to science, pre-med, health profession studies, or social work for a broadened perspective of the reach of their field.

Our Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Analytics program prepares students to change the world by harnessing the power of information. In fact, Data Science already impacts your world. It is the force behind everything from Facebook ads to personalized medicine.

Data Science and Analytics, a field that also goes by the names of Data Science, Data Analytics, and Predictive Analytics — is also related to “Big Data”, “Machine Learning” or “Artificial Intelligence”. In the Bachelor’s in Data Science and Analytics degree program, students combine computer science, statistics and project management with in-depth knowledge of a specific discipline to become expert analysts. They then apply their expertise in the real world through internships that prepare them for exciting careers in their chosen field.

What can you do with a Bachelor’s degree in Data Science and Analytics?
Many careers opportunities exist for Data Science and Analytics degree holders. Depending on your chosen concentration, or area of expertise, career possibilities for Simmons graduates include:

• Data Analyst
• Big Data Engineer
• Data Architect
• Business Intelligence
• Analyst
• Data Scientist
• Drug Discovery Scientist
• Genomics/Epidemiologist
• Data Warehouse Analyst
• Social Science and Public Policy Analyst
• Ethical Hacker
• Meteorologist

Students earning their Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at Simmons develop a keen understanding of government institutions, the processes of decision making, and public policy.

Political Science students have many opportunities to learn from experts in the classroom—like our Warburg Chair in International Relations—and to attend leadership-focused events with visionaries like Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gloria Steinem. Students also intern for local and national politicians, government agencies, and advocacy groups here in Boston—all just a short walk or T ride from campus.

Why study Political Science?
Politics implicitly affect every aspect of our daily lives. If you’re interested in international affairs, public policy, terrorism, the environment, and/or civil rights, studying political science will quench your thirst for information. Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts in Political Science program at Simmons have the breadth and depth of knowledge required to analyze what shapes the political landscape in the United States and around the globe—yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Best of all? They have the confidence to speak up for what they believe in, striving to make changes to make the world a better place.

As a sociologist, you'll investigate society from a grounded and critical perspective.

Do you want to change the world? First you have to understand it
You'll study everything from crime to religion, developing a unique understanding of what motivates human behavior. Our Students are encouraged to study abroad and apply your substantial training to the real world. The culture at Simmons is focused on community service and activism, giving you ample opportunities to connect and grow within our community.

Our faculty encourages diverse learning styles, offering many options for personalized courses of study and independent learning. You'll benefit from a well rounded liberal arts education with classes in specialties like women's and gender studies, Africana studies and international relations.

With their technical and intellectual experience, our students find successful careers in community organizing, law, public policy, teaching, higher education and social work.

A Bachelor of Arts in Writing trains you to write with insight, clarity, and creativity. It prepares you for a variety of career paths or further degree programs.

Students will develop appreciation for the art of writing and hone their own skills as writers. They  will be able to read closely, produce creative and critical written pieces driven by their own insights in conversation with the ideas of others, do research independently, reflect critically on their own writing, and talk intelligently about their insights in discussions or formal presentations.

Our students develop sophisticated understandings of writing through reading and producing essays, short stories, poems, and public humanities writings. Students learn to read with a writers’ eye by analyzing the craft of published authors.  They sharpen their critical skills and their writing technique by participating in peer workshops.  Guided by award-winning faculty who are poets, novelists, literary scholars, and cultural critics, Writing majors discover their own style and talent as thinkers and writers.

Writing majors learn to read with discernment and write with clarity and force. Such abilities enrich students’ personal lives while providing them with practical skills that serve them well in their professional lives. Writing majors discover their own voices, learn to collaborate and revise, develop skills of critical analysis and creative expression, and gain confidence in themselves as independent thinkers.

Health informatics is a rapidly growing field that strives to improve the quality and safety of patient care.

Make a difference in health care
With a firm foundation in information technology and computer science, our students tackle critical issues — like how to improve healthcare information security, manage clinical workflow tasks, provide information systems which support research and clinicians' work, and control health information databases — and solve real-world problems.

Through hands-on learning our students can learn about tele-health, Electronic Health Records implementation, and other exciting transformations in the health care industry. Alongside our experienced faculty, you'll apply concepts, theories and practices to achieve better health outcomes.

Our students are well-prepared for careers in IT departments at hospitals, health care centers, and in companies developing software for the health care industry.

Our students perfectly blend information technology with computer science, management and communications, able to solve complex computing problems and communicate the results.

Technology is constantly developing and evolving, presenting new challenges and opportunities
Through hands-on class projects you'll learn vital skills — like modern programming language, database management and web applications — and hone your quantitative skills.

As an information technologist, you'll determine user needs and develop, manage, and support technology-based solutions. Our students are well prepared for careers as web developers, web administrators, IT consultants, network supporters, system integrators, system analysts and application developers.

In the Philosophy program, you'll question life's deepest intricacies.

We like students who ask the tough questions
Our aim isn't to memorize facts, but to explore complex problems and competing perspectives through critical analysis and reflection. Our students gain the ability to express their values and thoughts clearly in both speech and writing.

The extensive talents of our Philosophy students can be applied to any field, including law, journalism, business, social work, medicine, education and writing.

The goals of the Program in Women’s and Gender Studies are to educate students in the theoretical, empirical, and methodological perspectives for considering the status and experiences of women; to consider gender in diverse national and international contexts by studying the multiple and contested meanings and roles of gender; and to develop an understanding of how gender is related to other social categories including race, class, age, sexuality, religion, and nationality. Women’s and Gender Studies courses, whether taken as part of the major or to enrich another discipline, invite students to understand past and present experiences in order to prepare for challenges and opportunities in their future personal, work, and social lives. Majoring in Women’s and Gender Studies has led to careers in management, law, academia, counseling, education, library, museum or archival work, health care, social services, public administration, writing, publishing, and the media.

Learning Outcomes:
Upon graduation students with a BA in Women’s and Gender Studies will have gained the following skills, knowledge, and abilities:

• Critical-Historical Awareness – Students will be adept at considering gender in diverse national and international contexts as a result of studying the multiple and contested meanings and roles of gender from an historical, a multidisciplinary, and a trans-national perspective and will have developed an understanding of how gender is related to other social categories such as race, ethnicity, social class, sexuality, religion, and nationality.
• Interdisciplinary Content – Students will have acquired theoretical, methodological, and empirical perspectives for studying and critically analyzing the history, status, and experiences of women from diverse backgrounds.
• Disciplinary Skills – Students will be skilled at integrating theory and practice and will be able to communicate effectively in both writing and speaking.
• Practical Skills – Through independent learning or internships, students will be prepared to enter the workplace, graduate programs, and community-based volunteer work with an understanding of social justice issues informed by interdisciplinary scholarship and feminist perspectives.
• Leadership Skills – Students will continue in leadership roles that they have either begun or further developed while at Simmons.

We offer two tracks within the Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Food program: Food Service Management; and Nutrition, Wellness, and Health Promotion.

Do you have a passion for food? It's time to put it to use
In the Food Service Management track, you'll focus on the controls of the food service system — like accounting, budgeting, pricing and regulations — and critically understand the theories and applications of human resources management, marketing and organizational design.

Through in-depth team projects, our students focus on modern food production, design, quality and productivity. You'll understand the health effects of nutrient inadequacies and excesses — and learn the value of producing quality food to achieve organizational and nutritional goals.

Are you interested in communicating nutrition information through social media, believe in exercise as part of a holistic approach, and have an entrepreneurial spirit? In the Nutrition, Wellness, and Health Promotion track you will work across disciplines to gain an appreciation for communicating sound nutrition information to targeted populations and communities to encourage individuals to make healthy decisions. You’ll learn to assess and evaluate community programs, while taking advantage of our location to work in a wide range of program sites.

Our students apply their skills through internships at organizations like Panera Bread, Women's Lunch Place, Rosie's Place, The Boston Elder Protective Services Program, Aramark and the Somerville Health Department. Our graduates are leaders in the food service management industry and find success as directors, planners and managers.