Undergraduate Extended Accelerator Pathway (3-Term) - Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies

at Shorelight Group - University of Central Florida USA

The B.S. in Elementary Education program at UCF prepares you to become an elementary classroom teacher. You’ll gain a number of hands-on skills, developing pedagogy and content knowledge needed to meet the needs of K-6 students. Coursework covers various elementary subject areas, including reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies and science. It also provides you with first-hand experience in teaching learners with varying abilities, including students with disabilities and English learners. Plus, you’ll have the opportunity to work with the latest technologies that are used in teaching and learning environments.

The study of human communication allows students to develop critical thinking skills, an understanding of cultural and gender-related differences in how people communicate, and it sharpens their marketable skills such as writing, public speaking and persuasion.

Students with a B.A. in human communication pursue jobs in a wide range of industries including management, sales, human resources, higher education (admissions and student services), marketing and training. Many students also continue their education in graduate school, law school and business or professional graduate degree programs.

Students must choose one track from the following: General Human Communication, Business and Professional Communication, Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, or Social Innovation and Activism.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts track in Acting is offered for students who, upon graduation, plan to pursue a specialized performance career in Acting. It provides the student with a thorough foundation in theatre complemented by very structured and intensive career preparation in all areas of acting. Class work is augmented with practical production experiences. Drawing upon the teachings of Stanislavski-based methodologies, as well as other successful practical acting techniques, the professional acting program offers an organic approach to performance training. The program begins with a focus on the fundamentals of acting: development of imagination, selfawareness, improvisation, voice production/diction and movement. During the first two years, the student also receives training in script analysis, singing and dance. The training then moves to an emphasis on characterization, character development and studio training/scene study. This practical study, drawn from the total range of dramatic literature, provides the student with performance experiences ranging from the classical to the contemporary, including verse and musical theatre. The program culminates with a professional internship where students are able to apply their education in a real world work environment. While most students choose to enter the work force following graduation, the BFA is an excellent degree for students interested in pursuing graduate studies in theatre. Work within the BFA program requires energy and dedication; therefore, other part-time study or outside employment is very challenging. BFA standards are high, both for admission and for continuation in the program.

A BS in Computer Science degree emphasizes the mathematical and theoretical foundations of computing, rather than teaching specific technologies. It provides the foundation you need to break into some of the most exciting and profitable careers. Prepare for opportunities in a variety of fields, including robotics, computer gaming, virtual reality, computer vision, media convergence, digital, evolutionary computing, computer architecture and so much more.

Housed in the L3Harris Engineering Center, the computer science program has classrooms and high-tech innovative lab spaces where cutting-edge research is performed covering a wide range of topics. These labs include the Siemens Digital Grid Laboratory and a planned 360-degree augmented-virtual reality lab space.

Students majoring in the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary B.S. program are provided with interdisciplinary breadth and depth in the Social Sciences as they fulfill the requirements of three separate social science minors of their choice, a statistics course, and a methodology course. The Social Science minors are housed in Anthropology, Communication, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, and Women's and Gender Studies. This major supports UCF's goal of offering the best undergraduate education available in Florida with flexibility that is absent in most discipline-specific programs.

Students completing the Forensic Science - Biochemistry Track B.S. degree will also meet the requirements for ACS certification. This track is designed to align students with specific courses necessary for the examination of DNA and other biochemical evidence. Students should be advised that background checks similar to those required for law enforcement officers are likely to be a condition of employment (Reference: NIJ Report NCJ 203099).

The B.A. in Digital Media allows students to integrate the multiple domains of art, storytelling, and technology. It is designed to provide a solid foundation in techniques and theory in one focused area of competence, provide a broad understanding of related disciplines including arts, humanities, and technology, and provide extended experience in working in multidisciplinary teams on realistic problems. It recognizes that there are many combinations of courses which meet the needs of individual students. Two specializations -Game Design and Web and Social Platforms - lead to a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Physics majors can select from two curricular options: a B.A. or B.S. in Physics. The B.A. gives students the flexibility to combine physics with another focus area in an interdisciplinary program, in particular Physics Education, Biophysics, Information Technology/Data Science, or Technical Writing.

As a computer engineering major, you’ll explore ways to improve the underlying digital hardware, computing networks, and production software systems that impact our everyday lives. Your work will help advance our society, covering areas such as computer systems design, mobile and embedded computing devices, sensor networks, reconfigurable logic, software engineering and machine intelligence applications.

Computer engineering coursework focuses on the tradeoff of execution throughput compared to hardware/software/energy costs of all types of computers from portable embedded devices and miniature sensor nodes, up through supercomputers. You’ll learn from renowned faculty that have been engaged in cutting-edge research and have an opportunity to pursue undergraduate research in your area of interest with these faculty. Additionally, courses provide hands-on learning where you can apply what you’ve learned to real-world situations.

Digital VLSI Circuits Track
Choose from a wide range of technical elective courses such as embedded systems and hardware-software co-design, microarchitecture and memory design for performance, VLSI testing and fault tolerant computing, design of ultra-low power circuits and systems and the mechanisms for computing systems, and data acquisition. You’ll graduate with more depth of knowledge in the area of VLSI systems and digital circuit design. After graduation, pursue a graduate degree or find employment in companies such as Lockheed-Martin, Intel, TI, Apple, as well as many other regional, national or international companies. Also, opportunities exist for employment in state and federal government agencies.

The B.M. Music Performance Track is for students dedicated to pursuing a career in music performance from symphonies to opera and beyond. Students will work closely with our world-class faculty and have opportunities to participate in a variety of ensembles.

Music Performance students take classes in music theory, piano, music technology, music history, recital performance, conducting and more. Student will also participate in their instruments music studio where they take private and group lessons and have weekly masterclasses.