Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology

at Shorelight Group - The University of Utah USA

If you have a passion for filmmaking and are interested in movies and media, consider studying Film & Media Arts at the University of Utah. This program offers students the opportunity to examine the visual art form that defines our time. Through a series of courses covering the history, aesthetics, and criticism of the motion picture, students gain critical thinking skills and hands-on experience in film and video production. You will be exposed to cinema from around the world, exploring genres such as narrative, documentary, experimental, and animation. Electives in women directors, film diversity, film genres, animation, storyboarding, sound, screenplay writing, and other topics are also available.

Civil engineering is about community service, development, and improvement. It involves the conception, planning, design, construction, and operation of facilities essential to modern life: without civil engineering, things like transit systems, offshore structures, and space satellites would not exist. Civil engineers are problem solvers, meeting the challenges of pollution, traffic congestion, drinking water and energy needs, urban redevelopment, and community planning. At the University of Utah, an integral part of studies in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department is an emphasis on environmental engineering. In addition to core courses in engineering, students also take a range of math, science, and technical courses, as well as general interest electives. Through their coursework, students of the program learn how to apply physical, chemical, and biochemical processes to environmental problems, ultimately improving the quality of life across the globe.

The Asian Studies program is an interdisciplinary course of study that will both deepen and broaden your understanding of this crucial region of the world. As an Asian Studies student, you will learn the languages and countries of the core regions of East, South, Southeast, and Central Asia as well as Russia, the Pacific, and West Asia. Broaden your horizons and gain a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the fascinating people and cultures of this region: in addition to language courses, the Asian Studies program offers exploratory and history courses about the area. Cross-cultural understanding and language skills are increasingly important as we become a truly global economy, making the Asian Studies program a valuable experience.

International Studies (IS) is a flexible and interdisciplinary major. It is designed to provide students with a sophisticated understanding of some of the modern world’s most persistent and challenging problems. Students learn about global issues in local, national, and international contexts. They develop the analytical skills and cultural competencies necessary to launch into fulfilling careers that make a difference. Students in the International Studies program typically begin by taking one introductory course on each of three themes: Peoples, Challenges, and Systems. They draw connections between these in the core course, Foundations of International Studies, and they take electives drawn from disciplines across campus as they develop an emphasis on any one of seven focus areas: Development & Sustainability, Foreign Relations & Security, Global Health, Culture & Identity, Trade & Commerce, European Studies, or Human Rights. No matter the chosen focus area, all International Studies majors must also complete a learning abroad program or an international internship.

A degree in accounting offers students the chance to move beyond merely tracking a company’s income and assets. With this program, you can learn how to budget and manage money for a business, ensure that a firm is spending money wisely by making sound investments, file taxes for a corporation, and ultimately understand how a business operates and sustains itself financially. In addition to core business courses, accounting majors take classes in financial and managerial accounting, tax accounting, and accounting information systems.

Rhetoric is the study of effective speaking and writing: it is the art of argument and persuasion. Through the Writing and Rhetoric Studies program, you will become a strong analytical thinker and proficient writer. Students of this program learn rhetorical analysis and the ways that culture and society shape what we define as “literacy,” giving you critical thinking skills and social awareness that can be applied to a number of pursuits. Students in the program choose courses from topics such as under-represented rhetorics, rhetorics of gender, writing poplular non-fiction, professional discourse, grammar and stylistics, digital storytelling, writing as a social practice, and others. The culminating experience of the program is a senior seminar, synthesizing all of the student's undergraduate work into a portfolio piece. Employers consistently rank written communication skills as among the most-desired abilities in job candidates, and strong writing and argumentation abilities are excellent assets for graduate-level coursework.

The Ethnic Studies program at the University of Utah explores differences in power as expressed by the state, civil society, and individuals, challenging social constructions of race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and gender. Students examine traditional forms of history and culture from the perspective of people who are underrepresented, while considering the role that race and racism play in today’s world. The curriculum includes required courses in Ethnic Studies experiences and theory, as well as electives from six different content groups: African American Studies, American Indian Studies, Asian Pacific American Studies, Chicana/o/x and Latina/o/x Studies, Pacific Islands Studies, and general Ethnic Studies. Through your coursework, you will learn to conceptualize socio-historical and political issues from the viewpoints of the various peoples that constitute U.S. diverse populations, using various disciplinary frameworks to do so. You can then apply this framework to current issues of race, gender and ethnicity. Students with this degree work in any career field - healthcare, nonprofit, business, government – bringing their knowledge working with historically underserved populations into their industries.

If you want to explore the world around you and help make the world a better place, consider becoming a chemical engineer. Chemical engineers take chemistry out of the laboratory and into the real world by applying scientific knowledge, technical expertise, innovation, and creativity to make useful materials; without chemical engineering, things like fertilizers, vaccines, and antibiotics wouldn't exist in the quantities that we need them. With their skills and abilities, chemical engineers can be involved in research, development (taking a process from bench scale to full scale), design and evaluation (deciding how a process should work), plant design (deciding how a chemical plant should be built), plant operation, sales, management, and academics. The University of Utah’s Department of Chemical Engineering is nationally recognized for its research and teaching. In this program, you will complete courses in math, physics, chemistry, and engineering. You can also complete an optional emphasis in Energy Engineering. By the time of graduation, about 50 percent of our graduates have found employment or been admitted to post-graduate programs that include law, medicine, and graduate school in a variety of fields. 

Students of English enter a world rich with intellectual possibilities. As an English major at the University of Utah, you will study literature, creative writing, and literary discourse and theories. The U’s English curriculum covers the vast range of literature written in English, from the 8th century AD until the present day. Students will explore theory, film, graphic novels, video games, digital humanities, popular culture, and have the chance to develop their skills as critical and creative writers. However, the skills you gain from an English degree are not limited to just studying literature—written and verbal communication skills are central to any career or subsequent degree that demands the ability to think, argue, write, and speak about complicated issues. In addition to expanding your intellect, your English degree ultimately provides an essential foundation for careers in law, business, government, education, finance, and media.

Technology is vital to the success of every business, and companies need professionals who can use technology to meet strategic business objectives. With a degree in Information Systems, you will create efficient information management within organizations, establishing processes that are most helpful to users. As technology continues to evolve, it remains an essential component of business, and professionals in Information Systems are needed to support it. The University of Utah’s degree in Information Systems will give students the tools to manage the technical direction of business, solve technological issues, and implement new technological advances to enrich business operations. Program coursework focuses on the intersection of business and technology: students take classes in not only business concepts but also information systems concepts, such as databases, programming, networking, and web development.