Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

at Shorelight Group - University of Kansas USA

Microbiology is the study of bacteria, viruses, fungi, the immune system, and their roles in human health, the environment and beyond. Job prospects for Microbiologists with a bachelor’s or higher degree continue to be strong. The upper-division major courses in immunology, pathogenic microbiology, virology and microbial genetics couple laboratory courses with lecture courses in order to provide students with hands-on practical experience with the material. The B.A. Microbiology major includes a choice of three of the upper-division lecture and laboratory course pairs.  

The business analytics program covers data warehousing, dimensional modeling, big-data analytics methods, and visualization tools and techniques, and it introduces topics such as data mining and predictive analytics. Graduates will be able to analyze data and use the findings to guide organizational decision-making.

The KU School of Business partners with Oracle, a leading global software and cloud computing company, to provide technical resources for the business analytics program. The collaboration leverages resources available through Oracle Academy, Oracle’s flagship philanthropic educational program that reaches more than 3.1 million students in 110 countries.

The Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (REES) program offers students a broad background in the languages, arts, literatures, histories, politics, and cultures of Russia, Ukraine, the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and countries of the West Slavic (Poland, Czech Republic) and South Slavic (Balkan) regions. The program is interdisciplinary and draws on over 45 faculty members and courses from 14 different KU departments and schools.

Astronomy is often called the oldest science -- in many ways, it is also one of the newest! Astronomers today rely on cutting-edge technology and  computer programming skills to generate and analyze the enormous data sets we use to examine the universe around us. Our business is studying the physics of objects like exoplanets, stars, gas, black holes, and galaxies in the observable universe, which is why we are sometimes referred to as astrophysicists. Because the objects we study are too distant and too large to bring back samples or replicate them here on earth, astronomy is very different from most other experimental laboratory sciences. Astronomers that work with data are called observers, as the only experiments we can run consist of pointing our telescopes at different parts of the sky to gather information about new objects that will test our hypotheses. We rely on the information we can infer just from light (color, temperature, velocity, and chemical composition) to get insight into the formation and evolution of objects ranging from extrasolar planets to stars to entire galaxies.

A bachelor’s degree in law and society provides undergraduate students with a strong background in how law works in practice in public administration, courts, the non-profit sector, policy, policing, and the justice system. Students learn about legal history and legal policy, how law shapes managerial processes, how it shapes government and the system of justice, and how it affects ordinary people in every walk of life.

Graduates of the program will be ready to work in a variety of settings, including criminal justice organizations, non-profits, policy think tanks, and political institutions. There’s significant demand for this type of degree among the region’s police departments.

The law and society program is designed for students who have earned an associate's degree or equivalent hours and are looking to complete the final two years necessary for a bachelor's degree in law and society.

The study of economics offers students insight into some of the most fundamental questions facing societies today: what goods and services should we produce? How should we produce them? How should we distribute them ? Economics offers an outstanding preparation for careers in policy analysis, international relations, business, and other careers that require rigorous analytic thinking. Economics also makes an excellent foundation for graduate study in economics, business, law, political science, or public administration.

The B.A. Option in Italian is a program consisting of eight, three-credit courses in which students pursue studies in Italian beyond the beginning and intermediate levels. In consultation with departmental advisors, students combine their work with other academic disciplines and develop particular strengths and interests in Italian literature, language, and culture. Students pursuing the B.A. Option in Italian are strongly encouraged to study abroad.

Honors in Italian
Students may graduate with honors in Italian by completing 3 hours of ITAL 499 and one approved 3-hour course in a relevant field in addition to the 24-hour requirement for the option. Consult the department early in the junior year. To begin honors work and to graduate with honors, students must have minimum grade-point averages of 3.25 in all courses and 3.5 in Italian.

The department offers a broad range of courses that provide a basic understanding of human language and communication. Linguistics courses examine features of language that underlie the human capacity to express concepts and communicate ideas. The courses address the connections between language, brain, culture, mind, and history. The major gives students a basic understanding of the human capacity to acquire, perceive, and produce language and of language’s role in contemporary society.

Linguistics is a superb preparation for careers that require expertise in the use of language as a means of communication, e.g., business, communications, personnel administration, teaching, health care, and social service. Many majors pursue graduate study in education, law, psychology, computer science, speech and hearing sciences and languages.

Because political science advances our understanding of politics, power, governance, and public policy in the United States and across the globe.

In the broadest sense, political science is the study of governments and governmental procedures. Political science is as old as civilization, because people always have been interested in their government and in their leaders. But political science as it is thought of today, as one of the social sciences, is a comparatively new discipline. It developed in the United States during the last century as political scientists developed an ability to make increasingly scientific observations of government. Political scientists are concerned with the origins and sources of governmental organizations, their growth, and their decline, as well as with the processes and structure of government.

The bachelor's degree in foreign language education at the University of Kansas prepares individuals to teach foreign language to children and adolescents in PK-12 settings. The program serves both native language speakers, as well as second language speakers, and allows students to select from five different language options: French, German, Latin, and Spanish. The foreign language program combines general education, professional education, and language-specific courses with multiple field experiences in diverse communities.