Bachelor of Arts in Gender Studies

at Shorelight Group - The University of Utah USA

Classics program at the University of Utah includes the study of all facets of the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome: their history, philosophy, drama, history of science, textual criticism, religion, archeology, and art history. In addition to comparative genre courses and film courses, Classics studies also include reception theory, Western traditions, and the vast influence of Greek and Roman myths, literature, and culture on contemporary and later literature and theory. Students majoring in Classics choose to specialize in either ancient Greek or Latin language and literature. The program consists of four years of language acquisition with a focus on the phonology (the study and classification of speech sounds), morphology (the study of word forms), grammar, and syntax (how words and phrases are arranged) of Greek and Latin, as well as the literature and poetry of each language. The culminating capstone experience allows the student to choose a specific area and topic for a project which demonstrates their skills in language, theory, and writing. Graduates of the program will leave the university with thorough training in the ancient languages of Greek and Latin and their literatures, preparing students for work in government or private fields, as well as additional schooling at the graduate level.

Do you have a passion for numbers, analysis, and theory? Consider majoring in mathematics. This degree provides students with excellent quantitative and analytical skills, and a math degree is the perfect stepping stone for a countless number of careers. Mathematics, with its origins in algebra and geometry, has continued to grow in numerous directions including probability, statistics, numerical analysis, decision making, cryptography, finance, and more. It is the foundation for much of science, engineering, and computing.

An economy is a social system where people produce and distribute goods and services. Economists study these systems, focusing on issues related to decision-making in governments, social and economic institutions, firms and industries. Our world is shaped in a fundamental way by economic forces. High unemployment, financial uncertainty, and growing public debt present great challenges for all of us. Concerns about energy sources, and about the environmental impact of economic activity will also be with us for decades to come. Studying economics will allow you to understand these challenges more deeply and will give you tools to help solve these problems. The Economics major is an excellent preparation for a wide range of jobs and graduate and professional studies. Students in the program gain critical thinking and quantitative analysis skills, and these abilities can be used to solve economic and other real-world problems. Beyond the core sequence in micro- and macroeconomics and quantitative and statistical methods, students can choose elective courses focused on money and banking, environmental economics, economic development in poor countries, labor economics, health economics, econometrics, and many other topics.

Communication is much more than just the written word. Communication is also verbal or non-verbal, and it takes place at both an interpersonal and mass scale. With the University of Utah’s Communication program, students learn how to be effective communicators for all different types of audiences. Communication is a diverse discipline and offers a variety of skills to prepare students for their careers. Through a combination of theoretical and technical training, the Communication program allows students to develop a comprehensive portfolio to market themselves to the industry. If you want to focus your studies on a particular area, you can pursue an emphasis in one of the following emphases:

• Communication Studies
• Journalism
• Science, Health, Environmental, and Risk Communication
• Strategic Communication

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.

The undergraduate Special Education teacher education program provides professional training for those who wish to be educators for young children and students with disabilities.. Through a combination of academic coursework and hands-on experience, you will graduate with the critical thinking skills, pedagogical knowledge, and human understanding you need to be an effective educator to those with unique education needs. The program curriculum consists of a Teacher Education Core, with classes in the following topics: early childhood education, secondary classroom education, assessment and instruction principles, language development, legal and policy foundations, reading methods, writing instruction, math instruction, and classroom technology integration. Students then complete courses and practicums relevant to their emphasis area, with the academic experience culminating in a period of student teaching. Students who successfully complete the program are recommended for licensure to the Utah State Office of Education; once licensure is granted, students may become teachers in the state of Utah.

Sociology investigates the relationships between social order and social change in three interconnected areas along the scale of individual to global; our personal lives, the communities we live in, and the world as a whole. When examining personal lives, sociologists study deviant behavior, family dynamics, and individuals’ racial, ethnic, gender, and sexual identities. At the community level, sociologists study poverty, prejudice and discrimination, education, corporate and business behavior, the criminal justice system, housing and homelessness, the health care system, and social movements. Finally, at the global level, they review human population dynamics, societal conflict, cultural diversity, socially-induced environmental change, globalization, and modernization.

 The Sociology program consists of five core courses that serve as an introduction to sociological theory and application, research methods, and social statistics. The remainder of the curriculum is comprised of courses from four areas of sociology: Diversity, Globalization, Criminology, and Population and Health, as well as a selection of electives. By the program’s end, graduates have invaluable critical thinking skills and awareness of social issues that affect all areas of modern life. This set of knowledge and skills is necessary to find work in a variety of fields, and invaluable in our increasingly globalized and culturally diverse society.

Religious studies scholars examine religions from the perspective of a religion’s followers, studying the similarities, differences, and core tenets of a belief system. If you want to gain a broader understanding of religions and their traditions, consider the Religious Studies program at the University of Utah. Courses of study include Jewish Studies, Coptic Studies, Western Christianity, Islam Studies, Mormon Studies, and Religion & Conflict. Through critical analysis and discussion of these faiths, students will learn how theology shapes individuals and communities across the globe. Regardless of emphasis area, the Religious Studies program consists of courses from 13 departments: English, History, Communication, Philosophy, World Languages & Cultures, Political Science, Social Work, Sociology, Anthropology, Art & Art History, Theatre, Health Promotion & Education, and the Middle East Center. Within these fields, religious studies courses are divided into four areas: Text and Literature, Theory and Methodology, Art, Culture and Society, and World Religions. The culminating experience of the program is a capstone seminar, a student-conducted research project that demonstrates your knowledge and skills in religious studies. Graduates of the program are ultimately equipped with social awareness and theological knowledge that can be used in a variety of careers.

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.

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.