Bachelor of Arts, Major in Political Science

at Northeastern Illinois University USA

The Master of Science in Instruction: Secondary English/Language Arts Program is designed to offer professional development to classroom teachers who are interested in updating and refining their teaching competencies in the areas of Language Arts and English instruction at the secondary level.

Within this program students complete coursework in two areas:

• a professional core composed of coursework in literacy foundations (theory and pedagogy), curriculum development, cultural diversity, assessment, media technology, and research-18 cr hrs.
• a concentration in language arts with interdisciplinary coursework in education, reading, English, linguistics, and/or speech - 18 cr hrs.

The B.A. in Art with a concentration in Studio Art introduces students to a wide variety of art and design media, provides a strong foundation in art history and allows a student to have an extended area of emphasis in a single medium. This major gives students breadth and experience with an array of studio disciplines and classes place emphasis on both technique and ideas in their work. All studio courses use critiques as vehicles for discussion, analysis and evaluation and are appropriately tailored to the course level. Students in the Studio Art concentration have the opportunity to show their work in multiple student exhibitions each semester, including the annual juried student exhibition in the Fine Arts Center Gallery. The Northeastern Art + Design Association (NADA), our student art and design organization, frequently plans and implements shows on campus and all majors mount a senior capstone exhibition in one of our student galleries. Studio areas in the department include:

• Art + Technology
• Ceramics
• Drawing
• Graphic Design
• Painting
• Photography
• Printmaking
• Sculpture
• Letterpress (part of the B.F.A. in Graphic Design)

Political Science is central to an understanding of all basic social issues; therefore, an understanding of political life is indispensable for any well-educated person. The department currently offers an undergraduate major, a minor in political science, a minor in public administration, and a graduate program leading to the master's degree.

Areas of political science in which courses are offered include:

• American Politics and Public Affairs
• International Relations and Comparative Politics
• Political Theory

Within each area, major themes are explored (e.g., public policy and administration, political values and change, elite-mass relationships, and political parties and groups).

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a 42-credit hour program that offers a broad, interdisciplinary training in public health. The MPH program prepares students to lead, conduct research in, serve, and work in a variety of public health settings. Settings may include public and private health care organizations, health research facilities, social service and environmental health agencies, and government institutions dedicated to public health policy, programming, and services. Additionally, students will be prepared to pursue terminal degrees in the behavioral health, epidemiological, or environmental health sciences, as well as health-related law and policy, health care administration, and health communication.

Northeastern’s generalist Master of Public Health is unique in the greater metropolitan Chicago area. The program is taught by a team of faculty across disciplines. Similarly, students will have the opportunity to select six credit hours of electives from a wide variety of disciplines; therefore they are not limited to a concentration area, but rather a wide variety of topic areas related to public health.
Student Learning Outcomes

Students are expected to demonstrate foundational public health knowledge in:

• The profession and science of public health
• Factors related to human health

Students are expected to demonstrate foundational public health competencies in:

• Evidence-based approaches to public health
• Public health and health care systems
• Planning and management to promote health
• Policy in public health
• Leadership
• Communication
• Interprofessional practice
• Systems thinking

Geography is the study of space and location; it is a practical discipline which incorporates knowledge from the natural and social sciences to address problems of a spatial dimension. Geographers describe spatial patterns – where things are, where they are not, and why they are distributed that way. They determine optimal locations – for example, where a business should be or where to purchase a home. They also study interactions, such as travel patterns, trade, and migration.

Many geographers use Geographic Information Systems: computer software that merges maps, data, and analysis. The Department’s GIS Certificate Program can be incorporated into their major as electives or may be taken for the Certificate alone, outside of the degree program.  A minor in Geographic Information Science, which results in a Certificate as well, is also available.

In addition to the required courses in geography, students may choose to specialize in urban and social geography or geospatial techniques. The first option focuses on the study of metropolitan areas and the socio-spatial patterns that characterize them. Students are introduced to principles of urban planning and urban design and the dynamics of urbanization. The latter option includes instruction in field methods, computer-assisted mapping, statistics, geographic information science, and interpretation of aerial photos and satellite images.

The graduate program in English develops skills in critical thinking, writing, and research, encourages intellectual curiosity, and provides training for careers and professional advancement in related fields such as teaching, editorial work, journalism, publishing, writing, and research.

Students pursuing the MA in English choose between two degree concentrations, Literature or Composition. The two-track curriculum provides two separate fields of study within English, offering multiple career opportunities as well as preparing students for doctoral work.

The M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) prepares one to teach English in the U.S. or overseas. Within the United States, our graduates teach ESL in public and private schools, as well as in the city in community colleges and adult education programs. English language learners are the fastest growing group of students in the United States today.

Northeastern Illinois University’s Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Justice Studies program gives students the opportunity to examine the social and historical roots of justice, crime, and the law. Students seek to discover how these roots have shaped public policies, including those of the criminal justice system, and study systematic explanations for the failure—or triumph—of justice in society and explore the potential for transformative justice.

Through critical inquiry, social science investigation, and experiential learning, Justice Studies students develop an understanding of social and economic justice issues and critical criminology. For instance, criminology examines the structural roots of crime and takes up the legal and social concerns of diverse, urban, low-income, and disenfranchised communities, whose members are often heavily targeted by the criminal justice system.

Northeastern Illinois University is the only four-year public university in the Midwest federally designated as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, and as such our Latino and Latin American Studies Program (LLAS) builds on the University’s commitment to diversity and community partnerships. We strive to combine classroom learning and active involvement in the community. LLAS classes are taught by faculty from an array of disciplines in education, the social sciences and humanities, who are committed to active learning through discussion, research and community engagement.

Northeastern Illinois University’s master’s in Social Work (MSW) degree prepares advanced social work practitioners to serve vulnerable populations and contribute to the functioning and well-being of underserved communities. A master’s degree in social work is a vital step toward licensure and allows social workers to hold clinical, supervisory, or program director roles in the field.

Classes are offered during the late afternoon and evening hours to accommodate working professionals. The program may be completed full or part-time, requiring two or four years of study to complete, respectively.