Bachelor of Arts in Theatre with Emphasis in Design and Technology

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

The program is designed to provide the foundational skills for continuous learning and to adapt to the fast changing information technology environment.  This program also includes competency-based and hands-on learning modules to enhance acquired business skills.  Parts of the curriculum are designed around highly valued certifications.  Students will also augment their IT skills.

The Master of Arts in Applied Sociology prepares students for applying sociological theories, methods and skills in researching and analyzing social lives, behaviors and aggregations, for instance, groups, societies, organizations and institutions, for the purpose of understanding social structures, power, and transformations, and building strategies to solve social problems. The Program expands its scope to both the national and global levels, and puts emphasis on NAU three themes of global learning: diversity, environmental sustainability, and global engagement.

The Program includes three optional concentration areas. First, the Sociology of Health concentration area focuses on the impact of social life, including all its dimensions: political, economic, cultural or otherwise, on rates of morbidity and mortality. This concentration area includes medical sociology as well, where students study patients-practitioners relationships within the context of medical organizations. Second, the Women, Gender and Race concentration area focuses on the social construction of gender and racial identities, as well as their relationships with other social identities, and their shifting positions in social structures of power. Third, the Environment, Sustainability and Globalization concentration area keeps pace with the shifting boundaries of sociology to study the interdependencies of the social, economic and ecological dimensions of life, the emergence, structures and dynamics of the global society, and the massive social consequences that result from environmental changes.

Through these concentration areas, students study a variety of social issues, such as, health inequality, sexuality, racial and ethnic conflicts, environmental justice, global social movements, the network society, sustainable communities, etc.

The MA in Communication provides students with advanced skills in communication analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, research, theoretical application, argumentation, and written communication.  Students choose from either the MA in Communication (with no emphasis) or the MA in Communication with an emphasis in Documentary Studies.

The MA in Communication provides a foundation of the basic research methods, theories, and standards of argument in the academic study of communication.  Students explore theories and research in a variety of communicative contexts with an emphasis on the application of concepts, theories, and research to real-world issues.  Students will be able to access, understand, evaluate, and apply research, concepts, and theories.  Students will engage in original research and/or the application of existing research, concepts, and theories to specific situations for the purpose of problem-solving and/or evaluation, including effective message design.  Students will learn the expectations of academic argument in communication as well as how to effectively communicate their findings to diverse audiences.  The MA in Communication (with no emphasis) will be of relevance to working professionals in a variety of fields, educators, activists, and those preparing to pursue a PhD in Communication, Communication Studies, Rhetoric, or related disciplines.

Through this Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Management, recreation resource professionals are prepared for diverse careers in the field of parks and recreation. The PRM Program focuses on small class size, high student-teacher interaction, on-site field experiences, and experiential learning opportunities. The faculty are are dedicated to expanding the scholarly knowledge base of people and organizations to enhance the quality of leisure experiences and places.

Outdoor Education & Leadership Emphasis
Students within this emphasis will have the ability to:

• Make critical decisions related to injury and illness prevention, assessment, treatment and evacuation of patient(s), through application of wilderness first responder training, in response to medical and outdoor emergencies, while in wilderness and other remote backcountry settings.
• Implement the basic hard and soft skills necessary to competently lead others in outdoor environments of the Southwest with a focus on canyon terrain.
• Develop experiential curriculum lesson plans and effectively deliver to a pre-determined audience in a wilderness environment.
• Lead Leave No Trace Trainer Courses and Awareness Workshops within the standards of the Leave No Trace Master Educator certification
• Analyze an in-depth case study of an outdoor non-profit organization and/or for-profit company of their choosing.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Psychological Sciences enables students to develop an understanding of and knowledge about human behavior from several perspectives in psychological science, the ability to apply and synthesize that knowledge within specific psychological domains, and the research methods skills necessary to become critical evaluators and producers of knowledge of human behavior. The BS in Psychological Sciences is distinct from the BS in Psychology because it provides students with the opportunity for focused study in behavioral science through four emphases and one certificate program, and trains students in the more advanced research skills necessary for scientific inquiry within this discipline and for entry into a Ph.D. program in Psychology, if a student chooses to continue in an academic track. Psychological Sciences majors complete a core sequence of courses including introductory psychology, a set of lower division breadth courses, introduction to statistics, research methods in psychology, a set of upper division depth courses, and a capstone course.  Psychological Sciences majors also receive additional research training through completion of an advanced research methods course and a minimum of 6 units of research experience. Additionally, Psychological Science majors have the opportunity for in depth study in a specific area of psychology through completion of a certificate in human resource management, or an emphasis in social/personality, neuroscience, clinical/health, or developmental psychology.

Neuroscience
Students will complete advanced coursework and engage in research at the intersection of neuroscience and psychology, including the relationships between brain and human cognition, emotion, and behavior. Graduating students will be able to:

• Demonstrate depth in their knowledge and application of psychological concepts and frameworks to complex problems in neuroscience.
• Demonstrate mastery of critical thinking and research skills through completion of a research placement in the area of neuroscience.
• Produce a research study or other psychological project related to neuroscience that meets writing standards of the profession, explain scientific results, and present information to a professional audience.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio Arts degree encompasses knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are in demand from an array of creative fields—including but not limited to medical, entertainment, and design—in addition to the skills needed to be studio artists. Studio artists work in a variety of different occupations that require a combination of hand skills, an understanding of a variety of material applications, and creative problem solving. Upon graduation, students are expected to exhibit the strong critical thinking, aesthetic design, and conceptual thinking skills needed to participate effectively in a competitive creative arts market.
 
Beyond the skills of artistic creation, students develop business practices for artists including graduate school application, grant application, gallery representation, self-promotion through web and print media, and maintaining a sustainable and safe studio practice. Studio Arts students learn how to apply their skills beyond traditional studio art applications to other industrial and non-industrial fields outside the world of art.

School of Art faculty teach students to apply critical thinking and analysis, innovation and creative solutions, as well as technical artistic processes towards the production of art while building an open mind to criticism respect for public opinion. All Studio Arts majors are required to complete a Foundation year which includes drawing and basic 2D, 3D, and 4D design coursework. Eventually, students work primarily in one of five emphases: Ceramics, New Media, Painting, Printmaking, or Sculpture.  Classes are studio-based and include classroom critiques and discussions about work produced in class, review of professional artwork and artists, and professional practices of an artistic practice. Each Studio Arts student works towards a senior thesis which reflects the student’s experiences and research the student has completed throughout the program.

Emphases Learning Outcomes  
Printmaking
Building upon the observational and design skills learned in the Foundation program, students in the printmaking program explore a variety of different image making technique including but not limited to lithography, intaglio, silk-screen, wood cut, and bookmaking. What distinguishes the Print Making program from the other emphases is the focus on multiple copies of images.

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.

Through this Bachelor of Science degree in Parks and Recreation Management, recreation resource professionals are prepared for diverse careers in the field of parks and recreation. The PRM Program focuses on small class size, high student-teacher interaction, on-site field experiences, and experiential learning opportunities. The faculty are are dedicated to expanding the scholarly knowledge base of people and organizations to enhance the quality of leisure experiences and places.

The Northern Arizona University (NAU), Parks and Recreation Management faculty, staff and students are committed to promoting successful professional careers, service learning, active healthy life-styles, life-long education, global awareness, and creating meaningful social connections between individuals and their surrounding environment.

• Success as Professionals: We believe in equipping our students with essential entry level professional skills which lead to successful careers in parks, recreation, tourism or related organizations.
• Service Learning: We believe in integrating teaching and learning experiences through meaningful community service focusing on civic responsibility and strengthening communities.
• Global Awareness: We believe in creating opportunities, awareness and experiences focused on diversity, international travel, and education.
• Life-Long Education: We believe individuals who continually engage in new recreation and leisure experiences learn new skills and gain valuable knowledge and help promote positive aspects of human existence.
• Connection to others and the Environment: We believe that the human condition of compassion for others and the surrounding environment can be fostered and supported through participation in leisure activities which raise awareness of overall inter-connectedness and thereby creating a more sustainable future.
• Healthy Life-Styles: We believe that involvement in leisure and recreation activities leads to decision making for better balanced healthy life-styles, effectively lowering illness (both physical and psychological), and allows people to live more rewarding and fulfilled lives

The Personalized Learning Bachelor’s degree in Management is built around workplace competencies and prepares students to pursue management careers in a broad spectrum of opportunities in corporate, non-profit, public service or military settings. The curriculum is designed in consultation with business leaders and competencies identified by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs and the Society for Human Resource Management to ensure students a comprehensive and relevant educational experience.
 
PL Management students are provided with the knowledge, skills and abilities to enter the workforce with foundational skills in managing sustainable, ethical and socially responsible organizations. Students explore theories, concepts and practices through current case studies and literature that apply to managing business operations and personnel in the context of a global enterprise. Students analyze and interpret critical knowledge, skills and abilities required for success in managing innovative and traditional organizations. The program focuses on current issues and theory-to-practice exercises to prepare managers for immediate success in the field.
 
Students in the Human Resource emphasis study broadly from program core topics impacting global enterprise including leadership, ethics, finance, managing human capital, communication, supply chain management, marketing, critical thinking, strategic planning, technology and employment law. In addition, HR emphasis students complete coursework that prepares them to apply concepts and principles of job analyses, HR policy, human performance metrics and compensation.

Healthcare Emphasis

• Review the state of US healthcare organizations
• Analyze healthcare operations, obligations and delivery
• Research legal and policy issues that govern the healthcare organization and workforce
• Evaluate quality management and risk management in healthcare
• Examine statistical methods used to inform management decisions
• Integrate and apply learning through a Capstone project

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 Theatre Studies

• 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.
  • Demonstrate a depth and breadth of knowledge about the numerous facets of Theatre by successfully participating in various positions in the process of making Theatre.
  • Successfully complete coursework from a wide variety of Theatrical sub-fields
  • Apply knowledge of select Theatrical positions in theory and practice.
  • Recognize the literary, theoretical, and historical practices of 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 in order to articulate their own stances on the global stage of Theatre.
• Value and apply an understanding of and experience with Theatre as a collaborative art to the scholarship and practice of Theatre.
  • Practice effective communication within a collaborative environment through the hands-on process of Theatre-making.
  • Value and understand professional and ethical boundaries within the collaborative Theatrical process.
  • Apply active listening skills.
  • Evaluate and apply an appreciation of various areas of Theatre to effectively work in a specific area.
• Apply knowledge of theory to practical work in Theatre.
  • Identify and engage in the professional practices of the Theatre through successful completion of courses in either Stage Management or Theatre Management.
  • Recognize, characterize and implement an understanding of the human body and its relationship to narrative and expression through successful completion of performance courses.
  • Identify, implement, and critique the technology and processes used in the professional Theatre, both historically and contemporarily, through the successful completion of courses in Technical Theatre and Design.
• 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.
  • Engage in effective digital communication practices through successful completion of course work and practical work in the making of Theatre.
  • Demonstrate understanding and practice of effective written communication and research skills in the literary, theoretical, and historical practices of global Theatre by successfully completing courses in Script Analysis, Modern Drama, and Theatre History.
  • Practice effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills through successful completion of performance courses as well as practical application on stage.
  • Implement effective visual communication skills through the successful completion of courses in Technical Theatre and Design.
• Apply effective problem solving through creative and critical thinking.
  • Articulate the creative process through the successful completion of a Capstone defense.
  • Demonstrate the facility to synthesize and apply their liberal studies to the practice of Theatre.
  • Recognize and analyze Western and non-Western Theatrical practices through coursework and practical application.
  • Apply culturally-aware comparative critical analysis of diverse practices and theories.
  • Synthesize knowledge acquired throughout their academic experiences on and off of the stage.
  • Articulate personal positions on the global state of Theatre.
• 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 in order to critically analyze historical and contemporary texts and practices.
  • Integrate university course work into analysis and discussion of historical, social, aesthetic, and political contexts for Theatrical practices and texts.
  • Articulate arguments about and analysis of the diversity of stories found in the Liberal studies curriculum.
  • 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 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.