Bachelor of Arts in Biology (STEM)

at Queens College USA

Middle Eastern Studies concern the language, culture, and civilization of one of the world’s great cultures. An interdisciplinary major, it encourages students to achieve proficiency in at least one regional language while completing core and elective coursework in the history, literature, religions, and contemporary societies of the Middle East.

A major in Middle Eastern Studies can lead in several directions. Students have a solid foundation for advanced study in graduate school. Alternatively, various career paths are open, with needs for knowledge of the Middle East in museums and other cultural institutions, publishing, the arts, and education. Careers may also be pursued in business, journalism, government, international agencies, and nonprofit organizations.

Religious Studies involves the interdisciplinary investigation of religious concerns throughout history and around the world. Religions are studied as text, experience, practice, and theology. Coursework explores themes and questions in comparative religion; religion, literature, and the arts; religion and culture; and religion and philosophy.

The program draws on multiple disciplines, including anthropology, art, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and language and literature. Students are encouraged to study relevant ancient and medieval works in the original classical Chinese, classical Arabic, biblical Hebrew, and Latin.

A degree in religious studies is of interest to students planning to continue on for theological or ministerial training, religious research, or teaching. Its cross-cultural sensibilities, moral concerns, and linguistic expertise also are useful in such areas as development work, community advocacy, social care and counseling, public policy, journalism, and librarianship.

Classics involves the study of ancient Greek and Roman civilization and history, including the Greek and Latin languages. In courses on language, literature, art, philosophy, religion, and history, students learn about the pioneering thinkers, writers, leaders, and cultural innovators who shaped much of the Western intellectual and artistic legacy.

History, at its simplest, is a story of what happened in the past, but it is also concerned with very contemporary issues such as equity, social structure, contested meanings and values, and relations between near and far places. At its core are the aims, methods, and results of historical research.

Students receive excellent training in research skills involving qualitative and quantitative primary sources. They learn to evaluate sources, weigh facts, write coherent accounts of the past, and make arguments. They also become attentive to history beyond the traditional national and Western frameworks.

Historical studies provide the background needed for graduate work in law, journalism, library science, and history doctoral programs. The coursework also provides essential skills for those planning careers in business or government. History is the best major for those planning to teach social studies on the secondary level in addition to being an excellent major for those hoping to teach in elementary school.

The department offers a wide variety of coursework, with an emphasis on cultural, biological, and archaeological anthropology. The curriculum provides foundations in the study of human origins and development, varieties of human culture, and the cultural and social complexities of the human species.

?One of the most urgent areas of study, research, and policymaking today is environmental quality. The environmental studies major and minor draw on interdisciplinary thought and skillsets in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities to understand critical environmental issues and propose remedies for them.

Coursework in the natural sciences provides a basic understanding of the physical and biological sciences relevant to environmental issues in urban areas. The social science and humanities coursework emphasizes policy and planning practices pertinent to cities’ social, economic, and political environment. Graduates are well prepared for careers in the public or private sector as environmental practitioners, whether in scientific, policy, or management capacities.

The study of art is at the core of a liberal arts education. Queens College’s varied curriculum, large faculty, and excellent studio facilities support a variety of interests and aspirations. Students may choose from four main concentrations: art history, covering both Western and non-Western art; studio art, in which students are trained to work in several media; art education, combining a major in studio art with courses in secondary education; and graphic design, in which students learn principles of type and image design for print or web.

The Queens College Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Photography & Imaging will prepare students in their pursuit of careers or advanced degrees in fine art, applied photography and digital imaging. The curriculum incorporates the latest 2D and 3D technologies for capturing and outputting images. Students will be able to choose among a variety of courses in the practice of photography, including classes in traditional/analog and alternative processes, digital, 2D and 3D scanning and printing, theory, history and critical thinking.

The interdisciplinary major is designed for students who wish to develop their own concentration area in a subject not covered by any one department or program. Students who are interested in an interdisciplinary major should confer with the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies, which will provide guidance in developing a proposal for approval. The proposed concentration must have a distinct, coherent interdisciplinary theme and the coursework required for it should provide substantial expertise in that theme. Since an interdisciplinary concentration requires competence in more than one discipline, the major involves a minimum of 36 credits and may require the approval of several departments.

?The program focuses on normal communication, its impairment, and rehabilitation of children and adults who have disorders of speech, hearing, and language. It introduces basic speech, language, and hearing science in preparation for graduate study in such areas as acoustic phonetics, psychological and physical acoustics, and psycholinguistics. It also includes pre-professional coursework for students who wish to undertake graduate programs leading to careers as speech-language pathologists and audiologists. Students have the opportunity to observe clinical practice in the Queens College Speech-Language-Hearing Center.