Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

at Shorelight Group - Southwestern University USA

In the spirit of making connections and supporting innovation and exploration across the disciplines, Southwestern University empowers you to design your own independent major, leading to a bachelor of arts. You’ll have the opportunity to propose your own course of study, choosing classes from various departments to expand your knowledge of a coherent intellectual theme or hone your skills in preparation for a specific career goal. Interested in urban studies? Combine classes in government, sociology, architecture, and design thinking. Pursuing a future in global health? Consider linking an internship shadowing a cardiothoracic surgeon with coursework in cancer biology, gender and sexuality, sustainable food and agriculture, and health psychology.

To design your academic curriculum, which will include a high-impact capstone project, you’ll consult with the chairs of the relevant departments and programs and present your proposal to the Curriculum Committee for final approval. Pursuing a unique field of inquiry requires strong initiative and self-discipline, but by interweaving coursework, research, and internships from a range of subjects, you’ll get to pursue your passions, enhance your creativity, and develop a distinct and wide-ranging perspective on complex real-world problems.

The department is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and offers an option for students to pursue an ACS-certified BS degree in chemistry. For students who wish to enter graduate school in chemistry or a related field upon completion of their degree, the ACS-certified chemistry major offers a strong foundation in all fields within the chemical sciences. 

The flexibility of the chemistry degree program allows students to prepare for a number of career options including graduate or professional school, or obtaining a position in government or industry. Students should consult with their academic advisers to determine the best course choices within their individual degree plan. 

In addition to their regular course work, chemistry majors are strongly encouraged to become involved in laboratory research during their junior and/or senior years. Members of the department’s faculty are available to consult with chemistry students about research programs available at Southwestern and other universities. All chemistry majors are required to complete a capstone experience based on a laboratory research project. In addition, all chemistry majors must participate in a literature seminar course to prepare them for their capstone experience.

An increasingly global society calls for an increasingly global citizenry. Technological advances have allowed commerce, information, and ideas to transcend traditional borders and barriers. The world’s economies, cultures, and populations, in turn, have become more interconnected and interdependent. Consequently, the ability to understand and interact comfortably within multiple worldviews and global systems—economic, social, religious, intellectual, political, aesthetic, and environmental—is increasingly necessary.

Through Southwestern University’s program in international studies, you’ll develop the knowledge and skills for becoming an informed global citizen through coursework, foreign-language study, and study abroad. Although the major and minor are deeply interdisciplinary, you’ll explore a range of international issues through the lens of a specific major, such as art history, history, political science, or anthropology. You’ll have the opportunity to focus on a particular geographical region in depth, such as East Asia, Europe, or Latin America, or study the interrelationship of nations across the globe. You’ll gain proficiency in the language used in that region through immersive study. And you’ll even get to experience firsthand what it’s like to live and engage in your selected region through a semester or more of study abroad. 

Southwestern students who have majored or minored in international studies have gone on to pursue careers in law, government, nonprofit organizations, business, and international agencies. International studies also provides a strong foundation for those interested in graduate study in the humanities and social sciences.

Education courses are designed to provide both a philosophical and theoretical basis for teaching and other education careers. We expose Education students to teaching methodology that is based on the latest research and emphasize developmental characteristics of the learner, learning theories, diverse learners, and assessment. Our professors teach and model analytic, creative and evaluative thinking skills in order to develop lifelong learners who are skilled in the problem solving necessary for the modern classroom. Strong, early field experiences and a closely supervised student teaching placement are integral components of the program.

After graduation, during the critical first year of teaching, the Education Department provides assistance through the Semester of Support (S.O.S.) program. Graduates return to campus to exchange ideas, receive technical assistance from the Department faculty, and engage in evaluation of the Teacher Certification Program. S.O.S. also provides on-site technical support to graduates during their first year of teaching.

Although Education Degrees are awarded by Southwestern University, certification is awarded by the State of Texas. In completing the requirements for their respective degree programs, students must meet the requirements necessary for Texas teacher certification as well as the requirements of Southwestern. 

Fulfilling Southwestern’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning, the Math Department empowers you to discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the world around you, from predicting national healthcare expenditures and determining the best position for viewing a painting to analyzing traffic accidents and visitations to a national park. With the guidance of faculty mentors and the ability to complement your studies with interdisciplinary minors such as data science and design thinking, you will have the flexibility to tailor your elective courses to suit your career goals.

As a math major or minor at Southwestern, you will be empowered to make a positive difference in the world. You will hone your critical and creative thinking through such courses as Graph Theory and Real Analysis. And you will have multiple opportunities to combine your interests in math with your passion for the arts or community service. Our recent students have

• Used hyperbolic geometry to crochet models of Texas coral reefs
• Analyzed the structure of the Choose Your Own Adventure series using graph theory
• Composed a musical performance modeling how the HIV virus proliferates through the body

Collaborating one on one with our award-winning faculty on innovative research is just one advantage of the SU experience. As mentors and advisors, our professors will also encourage your engagement with the broader mathematics community: many of our current students and alumni have showcased peer-reviewed presentations and posters at regional, national, and international conferences; earned awards; and coauthored journal publications. You will also get to participate in exciting national competitions, such as the Mathematical Association of America’s Putnam Competition, the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and the Binance Dexathon. Our alumni have gone on to premier graduate programs as well as fulfilling careers in a range of fields, from finance and programming to education and data analysis.

The Theatre Department provides academic, production and laboratory experiences designed to help students develop their artistic potential and to become well-rounded theatre artists. We work to educate students who are well prepared for graduate schools and advanced theatre training programs and for work in the professional theatre. We are also dedicated to empowering individuals who will use the analytical, critical, practical and artistic skills inherent in the theatre discipline to entertain, educate, enlighten and contribute to their communities and the world in insightful and celebratory ways.

The Theatre Department offers a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) The degree is designed to provide students with a solid grounding in all areas of theatre studies including history, dramatic literature, performance, design, management, and technical theatre. Students who choose the Bachelor of Arts option often combine their work in theatre with work in other disciplines, are interested in graduate education focusing on research and scholarship, or are certifying to teach.

For students who are Work Study eligible as part of their financial aid package, there are numerous jobs in the area of the theatre, such as faculty assistants, box office staff, and backstage crew. Students interested in these positions should inquire through department head of the desired area.

Fulfilling Southwestern’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning, the Math Department empowers you to discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the world around you, from predicting national healthcare expenditures and determining the best position for viewing a painting to analyzing traffic accidents and visitations to a national park. With the guidance of faculty mentors and the ability to complement your studies with interdisciplinary minors such as data science and design thinking, you will have the flexibility to tailor your elective courses to suit your career goals.

As a math major or minor at Southwestern, you will be empowered to make a positive difference in the world. You will hone your critical and creative thinking through such courses as Graph Theory and Real Analysis. And you will have multiple opportunities to combine your interests in math with your passion for the arts or community service. Our recent students have

• Used hyperbolic geometry to crochet models of Texas coral reefs
• Analyzed the structure of the Choose Your Own Adventure series using graph theory
• Composed a musical performance modeling how the HIV virus proliferates through the body

Collaborating one on one with our award-winning faculty on innovative research is just one advantage of the SU experience. As mentors and advisors, our professors will also encourage your engagement with the broader mathematics community: many of our current students and alumni have showcased peer-reviewed presentations and posters at regional, national, and international conferences; earned awards; and coauthored journal publications. You will also get to participate in exciting national competitions, such as the Mathematical Association of America’s Putnam Competition, the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and the Binance Dexathon. Our alumni have gone on to premier graduate programs as well as fulfilling careers in a range of fields, from finance and programming to education and data analysis.

The major features courses that present the historical and cultural range of literary production in English, a deliberate encounter with interpretive strategies under the heading of critical theory, and, under “emergent literature,” a set of courses that exceed established, national canons of literature. Special topics courses (10-304) are frequently offered that, where designated, fulfill these requirements.

Students majoring in Latin are encouraged to study for a semester or year at the Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies or at College Year at Athens.

The Capstone consists of a semester-long research project, which encompasses a wide range within the area of Latin studies. The project culminates with a formal paper and an oral presentation to an interdepartmental committee, chosen by the student and the faculty project advisor.

Students who major in Latin, and who place out of the foreign language requirement as entering first-year students, may take a Latin exam for credit. Students may earn up to six semester hours of lower level credit upon successful completion of the exam.

In addition to Latin courses, Latin majors are strongly urged to take interdisciplinary courses on ancient civilization, philosophy, literature, mythology, and art and archaeology.

Majoring or minoring in psychology will help you understand the workings of the brain in its complex control of behavior, emotion, and cognition

You’ll also apply the knowledge you develop in coursework to high-impact learning experiences. For example, our students conduct novel, high-quality scientific research. They engage in internships with local schools, hospitals, police departments, and nonprofits. And based on these experiences, they’ve presented their research at national and international scientific conferences and coauthored scientific publications with faculty on such topics as the neural development of reproductive physiology and behavior, sexuality and relationships, and evolutionary psychology. By majoring or minoring in psychology, you’ll be prepared not only for top-ranked graduate programs but also for a wide range of careers, from medicine and veterinary science to marketing and business.