Master of Arts in Community and Teacher Leaders

at Northeastern Illinois University USA

The master's degree program in gerontology is a multidisciplinary degree intended to provide both breadth and depth in the study of aging. The required portion of the 36 credit program consists of three parts: The classroom component consists of seven required courses (21 credits), the experiential component consists of an internship (3 credits) and the capstone component involves a thesis (3 credits). In addition to the internship, a practicum is required for those students who do not have prior experience in the field. The thesis may be in basic or applied research or may be a theoretical integration of a topic area.

The combination of required and elective courses prepares graduates to assume positions of responsibility in direct service, administration, social policy, and research with, or on behalf of, older people.

By design the program is part-time, with courses offered in the evening and Saturdays. A student may complete all but the thesis in three academic years by enrolling in one course in the first semester and two courses each semester thereafter. The thesis is the final course and is usually taken after all classroom work is completed.

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) is a degree completion program designed to meet the undergraduate needs of experienced adults in a manner compatible with career and family responsibilities.  Students complete graduation requirements through an alternative, self-paced approach to higher education.

The Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies (BAIS) is a degree completion program designed to meet the needs of adult and experiential learners, in a manner compatible with career and family responsibilities. Students complete graduation requirements through an integrative, self-paced approach to higher education.

Interdisciplinary Studies students design a unique curriculum based on personal interests, career, or academic goals. These options include:

• a second academic major
• an academic minor
• an Interdisciplinary Studies Concentration

The undergraduate degree program in Chemistry at Northeastern fulfills the needs of students with diverse academic goals and prepares them for careers in industry and academia. The program is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and meets the standards established by the ACS committee on Professional Training.

The curriculum provides the requisite background for students planning to attend graduate or professional schools in chemistry, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and other professional health fields. In addition to the chemistry courses in traditional disciplines, the department also offers specialized courses in environmental chemistry, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and bio-organic chemistry. Students in the Chemistry program have the opportunity to conduct research with the faculty of the department of chemistry or participate in internship programs at various institutions and industry.

The placement of Northeastern Chemistry majors into the workplace shortly after graduation as well as their acceptance into top rated graduate and professional programs in the country validates the strength of our program. The Chemistry Department is proud of the success of all its graduates and strives to excel by designing new course work and programs to help Northeastern students achieve their educational and career goals.

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.

Philosophy engages and critically analyzes the perennial questions of human experience, such as the nature of knowledge, meaning, reasoning, morality, the character of the world, God, freedom, human nature, justice and history. Philosophy is thus significant for everyone who wishes to live and act in a reflective and critical manner. Furthermore, the student of philosophy develops critical reasoning ability, acumen in textual analysis and persuasive writing skills useful for application in all disciplines and careers.

The Bachelor of Science in Earth Science prepares students for graduate study, or a wide range of positions in Environmental Geoscience fields, including industry, consulting, or state/federal agencies. In addition to required and elective ESCI courses, additional courses in cognate fields (math and science) are required for completion of the degree program. All students are urged to plan their program with the help of ESCI faculty advising.

The undergraduate program in Mathematics leads to a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and has been designed to provide the students with options suitable for various career plans. In addition, Northeastern is listed in the Society of Actuaries University and Colleges with Actuarial Programs, in the tier Introductory Curriculum.

CONCENTRATIONS

The choice of concentration determines the set of mathematics courses required, as well as those that can be taken as electives. Concentrations include:

• Applied Mathematics
• Secondary Mathematics

Mathematics provides tools and techniques that can be applied to solve problems in many fields. With a major in Mathematics, students learn to apply these tools, and consequently improve their career opportunities. Our programs are designed to prepare Mathematics majors for jobs currently offered by industry, business, educational and government institutions. The choice of a concentration should reflect the student’s academic interests as well as career plans.

This program provides graduate education for students planning careers in industry, business, teaching or planning additional graduate work or professional studies.  Four options in the program are available, the Separation Science Emphasis, the Business-Oriented Separation Science Emphasis, the General Program Emphasis, and the Chemical Education Emphasis. Students in the program can follow the Separation Science Emphasis in order to be prepared for careers in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, nutrients, and food industries. The Business-Oriented Separation Science Emphasis enhance the educational experience of the Separation Science chemists beyond what could be achieved if the Separation Science and the Business Administration were pursued independently.  It serves those who would like to advance into management positions. The General Program Emphasis prepares students to enter professional schools or to continue further graduate work in chemistry. The Chemical Education Emphasis serves in-service middle and high school teachers who attained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and hold a teaching certification/license to become highly qualified teachers trained in advanced chemistry and pedagogical content knowledge of teaching science in secondary schools. They will also be well prepared to conduct research in the area of Chemical Education or teach at 2-year colleges.

The Urban Community Studies graduate program places intense emphasis on preparing students for scholar/activist work that addresses the interests and issues of urban residents, particularly communities of color. The graduate program is centered on the in-depth examination of social, cultural economic and institutional structures that impact urban communities. Using ethnographic data collection and other action-based research methodologies as a core focus, courses in Urban Community Studies aim to forge culturally relevant understandings of human relationships in urban communities in the Chicago metropolitan area and worldwide. The graduate program seeks to prepare students to acquire employment in administrative, executive and teaching positions in urban educational, human and social service agencies.

Specific Goals of the Master of Arts Degree in URBAN COMMUNITY STUDIES

• Students will identify, deconstruct and decode the existing socio-economic forces that influence urban structures.
• Students will acquire a rigorous grounding in theory and research required to analyze and understand urban dilemmas
• Students will identify and analyze culturally relevant models of behavior to navigate dilemmas faced in urban communities
• Students will examine social movements and the role of scholar-activists in the solutions to address contemporary problems and issues in urban communities

The Couple & Family Counseling, M.A., offered through the Department of Counselor Education, fulfills the educational requirements for the two levels of licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Illinois: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC); and two levels of licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Illinois, Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (ALMFT) and the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).

Graduates of this program also meet the educational requirements for Clinical Membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The Couple and Family Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) through the year 2024. In addition, the program’s graduate students are eligible to sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) during their last year of study. A passing score on the NCE is one of the requirements for the LPC or LCPC. Graduates from the Couple and Family Counseling Program are eligible to sit for the AMFTRB National Marriage and Family Therapist Exam.