Bachelor of Science in Metropolitan Studies

at Shorelight Group - Towson University USA

Towson University offers an undergraduate degree program leading either to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Gerontology. The course work is multidisciplinary and provides students with an understanding of the scope of gerontology, the issues that are central to the study of aging, and a perspective from which students may understand the phenomenon of human aging and its implications for families and society. The program is designed to prepare students for entry-level professional positions in the field of aging, social services, and aging policy, as well as provide the knowledge and skills necessary for graduate and professional schools.

• Students will demonstrate competency in written communication and oral communication.
• Students will use knowledge acquired in family studies and human services courses in field experiences (community service and internship placements) and capstone courses.
• Students will demonstrate comprehensive research skills related to the discipline. Students will demonstrate informational literacy and technological competency.

Towson University offers an undergraduate degree program leading either to the Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in Gerontology. The course work is multidisciplinary and provides students with an understanding of the scope of gerontology, the issues that are central to the study of aging, and a perspective from which students may understand the phenomenon of human aging and its implications for families and society. The program is designed to prepare students for entry-level professional positions in the field of aging, social services, and aging policy, as well as provide the knowledge and skills necessary for graduate and professional schools.

The major in Elementary Education leads to certification to teach grades 1 through 6. The program provides classroom as well as field/clinical experiences that prepare students for beginning teaching in elementary schools. Candidates who desire a middle school placement must pass the Middle School Praxis subject matter.

• Marshal and arrange appropriate historical evidence from primary and secondary sources to support historical arguments.
• Demonstrate command of a body of historical knowledge related to major political, economic, social, and cultural events and issues in Western culture.
• Demonstrate command of a body of historical knowledge related to major political, economic, social, and cultural events and issues in non-Western cultures.
• Demonstrate information literacy, which includes technological competency.

• Use a working critical vocabulary to do textual and ethnographic analyses of cultural phenomena, showing an understanding of both verbal and visual texts, students own everyday experience, and the inter-relatedness of social, political, historical, and economic components of their worlds.
• Through writing, convey an understanding of a variety of critical strategies (e.g. semiotics, content analysis, structuralism) applicable to cultural studies cross-disciplinary core.
• Acquire the habits and attitudes of an inquiring mind, for looking into questions of culture in ways that resonate with students’ lives and finally even beyond these lives, into an awareness of ethical, cognitive, and emotional issues that may at first seem foreign to their own systems of cultural values.
• Evaluate critically the sources and content of information. This goal is listed among the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Expectations Regarding Information Literacy and Technological Competency.
• Understanding and applying relevant discipline-specific methodologies and strategies of inquiry.
• Engaging intellectually and seeking to understand the experiences and views of people with different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, whether in their own country or abroad.

• Demonstrate an understanding of specific disciplines of the social sciences, including basic and advanced concepts, the vocabulary of the disciplines, the ability to do research in the field,  and awareness of recent developments in the disciplines.
• Integrate information from the various disciplines of the social sciences and demonstrate an understanding of interdisciplinary connections.
• Write clearly and effectively on subjects related to the social sciences.
• Engage issues in the social sciences analytically and do meaningful, original work.

In addition to the Core Curriculum requirements, Foreign Languages majors in the French Concentration must complete 30 units with a grade equivalent of 2.00 or higher in French beyond the intermediate level. Of the 30 units, at least 15 units must be taken at Towson University.

The American Studies Concentration is an interdisciplinary program that allows students to take courses in different academic departments that focus on the concept of American culture. The American Studies approach emphasizes the interrelatedness of history, literature, the arts and popular culture. In their course work students will examine American institutions, ideas and material forms in order to better understand the nation’s past and to shape their own futures. The major is designed for those students who may wish to have careers in fields such as law, government service, non-profit organizations, journalism, museum work and teaching, where a broad knowledge of American history and culture is desirable.

A minor is available for those students with another major who want to learn more about American culture. Students have the opportunity to receive units for internships.

Students majoring in Music Education are required to complete the courses listed under the requirements tab, the Music Education Professional Core Courses and the Core Curriculum. Students choose either the Instrumental Music Education Concentration or the Vocal-General Music Education Concentration. Students will also complete a criminal background check as required by the school system in which the internship is located prior to entry into the capstone internship.