Undergraduate Academic Accelerator Pathway (2-Term) - Bachelor of Arts in Geography

at Shorelight Group - The University of Utah USA

Management skills apply to every organization and in every business discipline. The Management Major is designed to give students the skills they need to lead companies in all phases of development, from startup to maturity, and through challenging situations. Students develop competence in human resource management, quantitative and statistical decision making, production/operations management, and general management. In addition to core business major requirements, management students must complete courses in leadership and business ethics. Students then choose electives from areas such as Organizational Leadership, Sustainable Leadership, Managing Conflict, among others. The Management degree will prepare you for careers in not only business but nearly any field that requires excellent communication, organizational, and management abilities.

Recreational therapy (RT) is a form of therapy that uses physical recreation and activities to help people with illnesses or disabling conditions achieve mental and physical health. This therapy might include dancing, playing a sport, hiking, cooking, or even playing a video game. If you like being active and want to help others at the same time, consider majoring in Recreational Therapy. This program will give you the counseling techniques and knowledge you need to help rehabilitate individuals and educate them on the support systems and skills needed to maintain their health and happiness. The RT curriculum covers topics in recreational therapy foundations and treatment methods: through a combination of coursework, community programs, and treatment services, students learn how to conduct treatment planning and provide therapy. The culminating experience of the program is a recreational therapy internship through a local agency, preparing you for work in a professional environment. Students of this program graduate well-prepared to apply for licensure to practice as therapists or to find jobs in allied fields.

Delve into a foreign language, learn about another culture, and become a truly global citizen with the Chinese BA at the University of Utah. Chinese students will gain a deeper understanding of a culture other than their own through the study of language, literature, and society: the curriculum includes language classes from beginning to advanced levels, with additional courses covering Chinese philosophy and culture. The Chinese program aims to provide a well-rounded education on China, ultimately helping you to master the necessary language skills and intellectual understanding that will prepare you for a career in a China-related field.

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.

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.

Biology is the study of life: the cells, physiology, and behavior of all living things. The biological sciences impact almost every aspect of modern life and interface with a multitude of fields and disciplines, including the basic sciences and medicine, social sciences, law, and engineering. This makes studying biology an ideal preparation for a wide range of careers. The Department of Biology at the University of Utah offers a wide range of courses involving field, laboratory, lecture, and library experience. Students pursuing a degree in Biology may complete one of the following emphases:

• Anatomy & Physiology
• Biochemistry
• Cell & Molecular Biology
• Ecology, Evolution and Environment
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Neurobiology
• Plant Biology

Gender Studies is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on interactions of gender with race, class, sexual orientation, and nationality. In addition to its focus on the history and achievements of women, gender scholarship has inspired research and curricula that address men’s lives, masculinity, and the lives of people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. The University of Utah Gender Studies Division offers a space for the study of a wide range of feminist thought and practices: theory and community-engaged learning; activism and professional development; lively debate and professional skill building. Pursue your passions!

If you want to explore all theatre has to offer and even develop your own new works for the stage, consider the Theatre BA through the University of Utah. Through coursework in the fundamentals of theatre—acting, design, stage management, and other topics—and play development, students will graduate prepared to pursue careers in the theatre. The curriculum core offers classes in production, scenography, script analysis, the history of theatre, stage directing, playwriting, stage management, dramaturgy (the theory and practice of dramatic composition), readings in dramatic literature, and additional electives in theatre topics. The critical thinking skills, human understanding, and confidence that students receive from the Theatre program can also be applied to a wide number of other fields.

Physics is the field of study concerned with the nature and properties of matter and energy: how we define measurable quantities, like energy and speed, and how these concepts are related (for example, Newton’s Law of gravity or the theory of special relativity). If you want to learn more about how the universe is structured and functions, consider studying physics at the University of Utah. In addition to learning scientific and theoretical concepts and facts, physicists also develop excellent analytical thinking skills and problem-solving techniques, and expertise in computational methods.

The Spanish program at the University of Utah is ideal for students who wish to gain a deeper understanding of the Spanish language and the cultures of those who speak it. Students of this program will study the language, literature, history, and society of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, gaining cross-cultural understanding and an appreciation of diversity. The curriculum consists of courses in Spanish grammar, composition, conversation, and reading. Electives are then chosen from a variety of allied fields, allowing students to focus on the aspects of the language and its speakers that fascinate them most. Topics covered include the literature, film, linguistics, and culture of Latin America and Spain. The program also offers a wide range of seminars in Golden Age, Modern Peninsular, Colonial Latin American, Caribbean, Contemporary Latin American, and U.S. Latina/o studies, as well as Spanish linguistics. This diverse range of study ensures that students will graduate with the language literacy and critical thinking skills they need to be successful in a number of careers.