Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Cultural Studies with Emphasis in Asian Studies

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

The Geology program in SESES develops an interdisciplinary base of knowledge that students use to understand the physical and biological history of the Earth and the evidence for that history. A distinguishing characteristic of geology is that it includes deep time in its understanding of terrestrial and solar system processes.

The Geology program is based on a strong foundation of physics, chemistry, and mathematics that provides an underpinning for the students as they move through the program and start to develop an appreciation for the complexities of interconnected Earth systems and their physical and chemical processes. Students work in field and lab environments, using the scientific method to develop an understanding of Earth materials and to synthesize information from diverse sources and methods to interpret the geological history of the Earth and the processes that occur on and below its surface. This includes the analysis of topographic maps 40 and remote sensing images using GIS tools to study the three-dimensional geometry of rock units, as well as geochemical and geophysical data obtained in the field and laboratory.

The three emphases within the program allow the students to develop a deeper understanding of specific fields within the subject and to prepare themselves for a range of professional opportunities. These enable them to explore the use of a range of geophysical and geochemical data and understand how to apply it to solve environmental and geotechnical problems. The program also provides experience in studying the interactions of humans with Earth systems using mathematical, physical, and chemical methods.

Geophysics Emphasis

• Understand how mathematical and physical concepts and principles may be applied to solving problems of the solid Earth.
• Obtain and analyze geophysical data including seismology, gravity, magnetics, and resistivity to answer questions about the Earth’s subsurface and surface processes such as earthquakes

This degree attracts students who desire the knowledge and skills needed to serve as professional emergency managers in the public, non-profit and private sectors.  Students are exposed to the latest information in Emergency Planning (including COOP), Incident Management Systems (IMS), Disaster Recovery and Homeland Security that prepare them to be effective and ethical emergency managers and to protect their communities from emergency events. This plan features a transfer block route designed to aid community-college graduates towards the completion of a bachelor's degree in a concise time frame.

The study of Theatre Arts is an integral part of a liberal arts education. As such, Northern Arizona University Department of Theatre seeks to give the undergraduate theatre student the broadest possible understanding of the art and craft of theatre through the creative, critical, and applied practice of theatre, and provide opportunity through performance and production for the student to learn their art by doing their art in a learner centered environment. The program seeks to prepare students for the global society by creating an awareness of the “other”, practicing empathetical thinking, and sustainability with a global perspective.

Theatre: Emphasis in Performance

• Evaluate, analyze, and apply a depth and breadth of knowledge about the global impact of Theatre history, literature, and practices to the scholarship and practice of Theatre.
  • Recognize the literary, theoretical, and historical practices of performance in the global Theatre by taking courses in Script Analysis, Modern Drama, and Theatre History.
  • Synthesize knowledge acquired through the study of Theatrical history, theory and criticism, and be able to articulate their own stances on the global stage of Theatre.
  • Identify a variety of disciplines within the art of Theatre, and the impacts they have on performance by successfully completing  coursework from a wide variety of Theatrical sub-fields.
  • Demonstrate a depth and breadth of knowledge about the numerous facets of Theatre by successfully participating in various areas (or Theatrical positions) in the process of making Theatre, and applying this experience to performance.
  • Critique, perform, and synthesize their understandings of texts from the global stage through in-class assignments and mainstage or second stage projects, thereby expanding their awareness of the larger impact of Theatre.
• Value and apply an understanding of and experience with Theatre as a collaborative art to the scholarship and practice of Theatre.
  • Implement an understanding of the collaborative processes of Theatre through the successful completion of courses in directing, and through the practical applications of rehearsal and performance.
  • Practice effective communication within a collaborative environment through the practical applications of rehearsal and performance.
  • Value and understand professional and ethical boundaries within the collaborative Theatrical process through coursework and the practical application of rehearsal and performance .
  • Application of active listening skills in class, in the rehearsal hall, and in performance.
  • Apply appreciation of the different areas of Theatre to effectively perform a role or direct a text.
  • Recognize and implement successful practices of ensemble development in the creation of Theatre through successful completion of course work and practical application in the rehearsal hall and on stage.
• Apply knowledge of theory to practical work in Theatre.
  • Identify and engage in professional practices of performance through successful completion of courses in performance, and through practical application on stage.
  • Recognize, characterize and implement an understanding of the human body and voice and its relationship to narrative and expression through successful completion of performance courses and through application on stage.
  • Identify, implement, and evaluate knowledge and correct application of discipline-based language, terminology, and vernacular.
  • Identify and engage in the professional practices of the Theatre through successful completion of courses in either Stage Management or Theatre Management.
  • Identify, implement, and critique the technologies and processes used in the professional Theatre, both historically and contemporarily, through the successful completion of courses in Technical Theatre and Design.
  • Implement effective storytelling practices.
  • Identify and utilize the interaction of Theatrical elements, and employ this knowledge in analysis and implementation of Theatrical choices.
  • Recognize and implement an understanding of dramatic structure in playmaking and playwriting in order to tell a story or create a role.
  • Practice effective research and documentation of research in a performance process.
  • Demonstrate growth through audition, and successful completion of departmental performance opportunities.
• Articulate an understanding of sustainability in Theatre, in all its manifestations.
  • Identify and discuss current professional Theatrical practices aimed at increasing sustainability.
  • Recognize, discuss, and analyze the sustainability of storytelling as an art form that is socially, culturally, and historically contextualized.
• Effectively communicate the theory and practice of Theatre in the following modes: digital, literary, verbal, and non-verbal.
  • Articulate the creative process using digital, oral and written communication skills through the successful completion of a Capstone defense.
  • Practice effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills through successful completion of performance courses, and through practical application on stage.
  • Articulate dramatic structure in the rehearsal and performance processes.
  • Recognize and implement effective written communication of dramatic structure, research, and analysis through the successful completion of course work in Modern and Contemporary Drama and Script Analysis.
  • Communicate and implement an understanding of  dramatic structure, research, and analysis through the medium of live Theatre.
  • Implement effective verbal communication skills through correct usage of Theatrical terminology.
  • Articulate and implement effective verbal communication skills through exploration and discovery in the rehearsal hall and coursework.
• Apply effective problem solving through creative and critical thinking.
  • Demonstrate effective and creative problem solving by synthesizing research and coursework, and applying this knowledge to the rehearsal hall and performance.
  • Demonstrate creative problem solving by effective and diverse application of the tools of Theatre to meet the challenges of a role, a play, or a scene.
  • Implement active and critical thinking by proactively approaching a role or a project.
  • Demonstrate autonomy in the successful completion of a Senior Capstone project.
• Demonstrate the facility to synthesize and apply their liberal studies to the practice of Theatre.
  • Apply awareness and comprehension of the scope of university coursework taken to a critically analysis their own processes as performers.
  • Integrate university course work to create roles or tell stories.
  • Apply knowledge from Liberal Studies coursework in creative ways.
  • Comprehend, analyze and apply the diversity of stories found in the Liberal Studies curriculum in regard to performance challenges.
  • Synthesize and apply their knowledge of all areas of Theatre and the liberal arts to effectively complete a capstone project.
• Practice an effective system of preparation and working habits.
  • Implement the Theatrical practices of always being on time, prepared, and ready to work, through successful their completion of coursework as well as in the rehearsal hall and on stage.
  • Recognize, describe, and implement effective warm-up and preparation exercises.
  • Apply continual preparation tactics, research, and practical habits in performance.
  • Implement effective classroom strategies such as active discussion participation, engagement with course materials, and asking relevant questions.
  • Practice effective and efficient writing techniques, including outlining, peer reviewing, and revision
  • Collaborate within groups to prepare and present course material.

This M.S. in Computer Science will prepare you to either enter the computer science workforce or continue on to a doctoral program of study, building core skills that are widely applicable to many areas of science, engineering, industry, business, and research.

This degree is flexible and allows students to develop a customized program of study that is highly aligned with their professional or research interests. Available coursework allows students to study in many areas of computer science, including computer networking, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and software architecture and testing. While all students will be expected to contribute to a substantive computer science development or research project under the mentorship of a faculty member during the course of their study, thesis option students will have additional opportunities to engage in computer science research and scholarship and prepare a thesis.

Our goal in offering the B.A.S. degree is to provide you with a general knowledge of management, organizational, and policy issues and to advance your communication, computer, and quantitative skills. This degree also offers you the opportunity to complete a specialization that will broaden your career horizons, promote life-long learning, and enrich your life. Northern Arizona University offers this degree at selected campuses throughout Arizona.

The B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies is a 49-58 credit degree whose aim is to provide students with a comparative, integrative and global approach to the study of human culture in its diversity and interconnections. The different emphases in the CCS B.A. degree introduce students to the complexities of diverse human cultures, both past and present; in the process, they develop the skills of analysis, interpretation and communication crucial to both their academic and professional development.

The Environmental Science program at NAU constructs an interdisciplinary base of knowledge and skills to explore and develop real-world solutions to environmental problems.

Our program provides a firm grounding in the natural and social sciences to ensure all students understand how chemical, physical and biological processes maintain life, and the complex relationships among humans and the environment. Students work together and individually in the classroom, field and laboratory to practice applying the scientific method to address environmental problems and explore creative solutions that apply cutting-edge technologies.

The broad range of emphases available within our program allows students to delve deeper into a specific knowledge base, then work individually and often together in Environmental Science courses to solve problems by applying the perspectives and knowledge they developed in their emphasis with students from other emphasis areas. To culminate the learning in the program, students develop an individually designed research project or internship addressing an environmental issue of importance to them, which in turn, is expected to further prepare students for a range of professional or graduate opportunities.

Applied Statistics Emphasis

• Apply statistical techniques to find innovative ways of understanding environmental problems.
• Explore advanced math, computer programming, bioinformatics, and geographic information systems, and through collaborations with those of other disciplines and viewpoints, apply this information to generate solutions to environmental problems.

This degree in Applied Indigenous Studies explores issues of concern to indigenous peoples both in the Americas and around the globe. The curriculum grounds students in tribal histories and cultures, governmental policies, sustainable economic development, indigenous entrepreneurship, and contemporary conditions on native lands and reservations.

The Applied Indigenous Studies department also offers four minors to expand students understanding of Indigenous issues: Applied Indigenous Studies, Native American Studies, Indigenous Health Studies and Tribal Public Administration.

Musicology Emphasis

Students develop skills in the area of musicology and/or ethnomusicology that prepare them for further study at the doctoral level.

• Demonstrate advanced historical knowledge of music from the Western tradition as well as music from around the world.
• Demonstrate advanced analytical skills in interpreting music within historical and cultural contexts.
• Participate in the intellectual discourse on music, drawing from their historical, practical, and theoretical knowledge.
• Develop appropriate research questions and arguments and integrate musicological/ethnomusicological methods for the purposes of answering the developed questions and supporting the developed arguments.
• Demonstrate understanding and breadth of critical approaches to music in preparation for researching and writing a master’s level thesis.
• Produce a master’s thesis displaying research of a caliber that could be presented at a regional music conference. This thesis will:
• Present an original, sustained, and coherent argument.
• Involve detailed musical analysis of the work of a particular composer or a specific repertoire of musical works.
• Summarize, respond to, and/or build upon the prior secondary analytical literature on that composer or repertoire.
• Employ a methodology that is more detailed, specific, and/or advanced than the approaches taught at the level of the basic undergraduate music history course sequence.

The astrophysics B.S. is physics-intensive providing a strong fundamental physics foundation as well as a strong foundation in astrophysics and the physical rules guiding the universe.

Student Learning Outcomes
The B.S. in Physics and Astrophysics program is designed to prepare students for a career in a technical field or for graduate studies in physics, applied physics, astrophysics or astronomy..