Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science (STEM)

at Kent State University USA

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics is a flexible program, grounded in the liberal arts and suited for students' individual interests and needs. The program combines well with a second major and/or minors.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian Literature, Culture and Translation provides a basis for the development of professional-level proficiency in the Russian language, as well as comprehensive understanding of Russian literature and culture, including television and film. Additionally, students are introduced to basic skills for translating a variety of pragmatic texts from Russian into English. Students explore the language and culture of the pre-revolutionary Russian empire, the Soviet Union and contemporary post–Soviet Russia.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Perform tasks at intermediate high and advanced low levels of proficiency as described by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines. Proficiency, in ACTFL terms, is understood to describe a range of qualities rather than an absolute norm and will vary according to task type, language function, topic, skill (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and so forth.
• Contribute to most informal and some formal conversations with sufficient accuracy, clarity and precision to convey their intended message without misrepresentation or confusion.
• Read a wide variety of texts written for native speakers of Russian and not edited or adapted for non-native speakers.
• Compose routine social correspondence and write cohesive summaries, narratives and descriptions of a factual nature in Russian.
• Demonstrate a historical knowledge of Russian history and culture and understand the diverse nature of culture throughout the ages.
• Discuss cultural differences, distinguishing between fact, opinion and stereotype.
• Communicate effectively and sensitively to diverse ethic and cultural groups.
• View concepts, issues, events and themes from the perspectives of diverse ethnic and cultural groups.
• Esteem value.
• Maintain an ongoing assessment of their own cultural values and behaviors.

The Master of Fine Art degree in Studio Art is designed to prepare students for careers as independent visual arts through the cultivation and refinement of a successful studio practice. The program emphasizes intensive personal investigation and the development of strong aesthetic and conceptual understanding. In addition to time in their own studio, students have opportunities to enhance existing skills and knowledge by observing undergraduate class demonstrations and critiques.

The M.F.A. is the terminal degree in the studio arts and is a requirement for those who intend to teach visual arts in higher education.

The Studio Art major comprises the following concentrations:

• The Ceramics concentration offers an intense focus on artistic development. Through mentorship and a broad spectrum of course offerings, students work closely with faculty advisors to find their own voice as artists. Studio practice is supplemented with art history seminars, visiting artist lectures, summer workshops and travel study programs to New York City, culminating in a solo M.F.A. thesis exhibition.
• The Drawing concentration draws upon contemporary practices and discourse in the field to prepare students for a life in the arts. Students are encouraged to work across disciplines and techniques in order to develop a body of work that reflects their independent investigations in drawing. Studio practice is supplemented with art history seminars, visiting artist lectures, summer workshops and travel study programs to New York City, culminating in a solo M.F.A. thesis exhibition.
• The Glass concentration is based on the belief that successful creative work results from spending time with one’s ideas and receiving constructive and supportive criticism from faculty and peers.  The concentration aims to create an atmosphere where students pursue ideas and engage in an extended scholarly dialogue. While building on the legacy of the American Studio Glass Movement, students are fostered to be leaders in redefining the future of studio glassmaking.
• The Jewelry, Metals and Enameling concentration allows students to build individual research strategies for developing a coherent and distinctive body of work. Investigations of inter-media and interdisciplinary relationships are part of the curricular focus. Students are expected to be conscious of and involved in contemporary practices, discourse and trends, nationally and globally, among the field and within the larger arts/crafts/design movements. In addition to time in their own studio, students have opportunities to enhance existing skills and knowledge by observing undergraduate class demonstrations and critiques. Students are encouraged to use both traditional and contemporary studio practices while having access to an array of metalsmithing equipment, enameling kilns and a digital fabrication laboratory..
• The Painting concentration draws upon contemporary practices and discourse in the field to prepare students for a life in the arts. Students are encouraged to work across disciplines and techniques in order to develop a body of work that reflects their independent investigations in painting. Studio practice is supplemented with art history seminars, visiting artist lectures, summer workshops and travel study programs to New York City, culminating in a solo M.F.A. thesis exhibition.
• The Print Media and Photography concentration aims to strengthen the students’ personal vision through emphasis on the conceptual aspects of the printmaking and photography disciplines. Students have access to studios for lithography, etching, relief, silkscreen and digital media, in addition to a darkroom, press room and digital fabrication laboratory.  Enrollment is deliberately kept small enough to make possible the faculty mentor/student relationship.
• The Sculpture and Expended Media concentration encourages proficiency in foundational methods of making-modeling, carving and assembly. The concentration is a springboard for students to learn how to communicate ideas through sculptural works. Although sculpture classes are rooted in the history of object-making new forms of sculptural practice (installation, time-based practice, sound and kinetic works) are all part of a comprehensive three-dimensional program.
• The Textiles concentration focus on guiding young artists into the world of the professionally active studio artist. Digital design and technology go hand-in-hand with traditional fiber art techniques, while pushing students to think conceptually, experimentally and across disciplines.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced professional competence in some aspect of studio art as exemplified by considerable depth of knowledge and achievement of a significant body of work.
• Demonstrate a deep and comprehensive awareness of historical and cultural contents of art production.
• Demonstrate advanced skills of aesthetic judgement and assessment, as well as integration/synthesis and independent thought.
• Demonstrate an awareness of contemporary art making and relevant issues through dialogues with professional artists and curators.

The Master of Engineering Technology degree offers a curriculum that provides students with advanced technical and management knowledge and skills that meet the needs of the technical workforce in industry and business.

The Master of Arts degree in French provides an advanced education in French, which integrates the language, linguistics, literature and culture of France and the latest methodologies in the teaching of French.

The French major comprises the following concentration:

• The Applied Linguistics and Pedagogy concentration is intended primarily for students who wish to teach in elementary and secondary schools or beginning and intermediate levels of post secondary study, and to increase their effectiveness as teachers.

The Bachelor of Science in Education degree in Physical Science prepares students for teacher licensure in physics and chemistry, grades 7 to 12. Students take a broad range of science-content courses in biology and geology and specialize in physics and chemistry content. Students in the Physical Science major complete most of their content coursework during their first three years, and then begin their methods coursework during the spring of their third year. During the final year of the program, students complete remaining content courses, science teaching methods courses and a year-long placement in a local school district, which concludes with 13 weeks of student teaching in the spring. Physical Science students are encouraged to meet with their faculty advisor early in their program because many courses must be sequenced carefully.

Students are required to complete Bureau of Criminal Investigation and Identification (BCII) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) background checks.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Plan multiple lessons using a variety of inquiry approaches that demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of how to engage all students in learning science.
• Plan a learning environment and learning experiences for all students that demonstrate chemical safety, safety procedures, and the ethical treatment of living organisms within their licensure area.
• Plan fair and equitable assessment strategies to analyze student learning and to evaluate if the science learning goals are met.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising allows for students to acquire a thorough background in the business aspects of the fashion industry, whereby they develop competencies in fashion theory, retail operations, management and buying, fashion forecasting and promotion, the merchandising for apparel manufacturing and the development and marketing of fashion goods.

Students participate in a study abroad/away experience, which includes opportunities to study for a semester in New York City and Florence, Italy, as well as through collaborative partnership programs with the Paris American Academy, Hong Kong Polytechnic University and Regent's University in London.

In addition, students in the Fashion Merchandising major have the opportunity to enroll in the combined degree program with the Master of Business Administration degree. The combined B.S./M.B.A. degree program allows high-achieving undergraduate students early admission into graduate school. Students enrolled in the combined degree program will complete a maximum of 12 credit hours of graduate-level coursework for the M.B.A. degree during their senior year. This allows student to accelerate their completion of the M.B.A degree after being awarded their undergraduate degree. Students complete a minimum of 150 credit hours (120 representing the B.S. degree in Fashion Merchandising and at least an additional 30 representing the M.B.A. degree). To be eligible for the combined program, students must first complete a minimum of 90 credit hours in the fashion merchandising degree with at least a 3.300 overall grade point average. Upon achieving these requirements, students submit an admissions application to the M.B.A. program by the set application deadline. Students need to satisfy all requirements for the admissions application, including the GMAT exam.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Understand the fashion industry, fashion markets, fashion products, and services
• Demonstrate knowledge and skills of the fashion industry through reflective experiential learning.
• Apply integration of the key knowledge of various segments of industry from fiber to finished product, products/services, consumer markets, and technology in relation to the fashion industry.
• Articulate conceptual and critical thinking applicable to the fashion industry.
• Employ research processes and practices employed in the fashion industry.
• Demonstrate their professionalism and communication skills required in the fashion industry through visual, oral, and written forms.

The Master of Science degree in Data Science provides a focus on developing scientists who will understand the theories, methods and tools of data science and apply data science to solving research and workplace questions in the natural, health and social sciences for businesses and industries.

Data science is an emerging STEM discipline founded on the principles of mathematics and the sciences and developed through a synthesis of mathematics and computer science. One may think of data science as a blending together of methods and ideas from analysis, statistics, databases, big data, artificial intelligence, numerical analysis, graph theory and visualization for the purposes of finding information in data and applying that information to solving real-world problems.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Ask the questions so that problems in a particular business or industrial situation become clear.
• Determine if the problem may be addressed with data science methods and tools, and if yes, propose potential methods for solving the problems.
• Make suggestions for how data science may be used to enhance the quality and value of currently existing products (whether the products are physical or methods) and how data science may be used in the development of new products.

The Master of Education degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling prepares students for employment as counselors in community-based human service agencies (e.g., substance abuse facilities, mental health centers, child and family service agencies) and private counseling facilities.

This program is designed to fulfill the educational requirements for licensure as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Ohio.

State and Federal background checks are required for internship experiences and to apply for Counselor Trainee status. See the Practicum and Internship Coordinator for more information.

The Master of Education degree in Early Childhood Education prepares critically reflective teachers with advanced knowledge in pre-school through primary multi-disciplinary curriculum. Students are prepared to be democratically accountable leaders, co-decision makers, pedagogical experts and committed professionals in various early childhood realms. The program emphasizes commitment to equitable and caring learning communities.

Ohio endorsements for pre-school and literacy endorsement or generalist (grades four and five) may be embedded in the program. In addition, students have the opportunity to receive an International Baccalaureate (IB) recognition award in the M.Ed. degree.

The Early Childhood Education major includes the following optional concentrations:

• The Early Childhood Leadership: Advocacy, Curriculum and Policy concentration commonly appeals to teachers who desire to further their own early childhood programs, become master teachers and/or enhance their own leadership on behalf of young children and professionals who work with them. Students delve into issues and trends in the field, reconceptualize practice, understand and deconstruct/reconstruct policy understandings and complete their own independent research as an inquiry exit project or thesis.
• The Globalization and Intercultural Competence concentration is designed for teachers who are searching for research-based solutions to the learning and teaching of international students and/or who want to build intercultural competence to meet the demands of growing or changing immigrant and refugee populations in the classroom.
• The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics concentration provides students the opportunity to engage children in interdisciplinary instruction; gain experience working with and integrating technology; and integrate STEM to break down traditional boundaries.