Bachelor of Arts in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

at Shorelight Group - University of Kansas USA

The B.G.S. degree in the Department of Religious Studies is a research, analysis, and writing intensive program that features close work with faculty in small classroom settings. The B.G.S. develops a foundational knowledge of the world’s diversity of religious cultures in students, while accompanying a secondary field of academic study (a second major, co-major, or minor). Through the study of specific religious traditions and settings, students come away with a background that is invaluable to understanding and working with people of other cultures, whether in international business, medicine, law, or simply as an informed global citizen.

Behavioral Neuroscience is a new major in Psychology at the University of Kansas.  The concentration in behavioral neuroscience is designed for students with a focused interest in the biological bases of behavior and thought. The concentration is well suited for students who are contemplating professional or mainly research careers in medicine, pharmacology, veterinarian medicine, animal science, neurology, neurobiology, and neuroscience.  It is also suitable as a degree for those headed into other health-related fields or graduate school in other areas of psychology. As a behavioral neuroscience major, you will take courses in many different departments because, as you explore the neural basis of behavior and prepare to enter the neuroscience research field, you will need to acquire knowledge in the realms of chemistry, biology, psychology, statistics, and even computer science.

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.

Learn how to guide organizations in making financial decisions and monitor, analyze and manage market trends with a degree in finance.

Finance serves the decision makers outside of an organization like banks, government agencies, stockholders, customers and suppliers. A finance degree from KU will prepare you to work in a variety of fields, including corporate finance, investment banking, commercial banking, asset management, real estate and personal financial planning.

The mission of the Department of Psychology at the University of Kansas is to further the understanding of the mind, the brain, and human behavior through the classes we teach, the new discoveries we make in our research, and in our service to the people of Kansas and the world. At the undergraduate and graduate levels our students acquire knowledge and skills that will enable them to become leaders in the psychological sciences and in other professions.

Psychology is the scientific study of how and why people think, feel, and behave as they do.  Our scientific approach to understanding human behavior equips our students with a solid foundation of analytical, research and clinical skills for careers in many fields with a human service emphasis.

Our department offers a unique academic experience in which you will obtain a vast array of transferable skills that prepare you for a broad scope of professions. Students will be trained in research methodology, critical analysis, data and statistic collections and assessments, ICT skills, and project management. The undergraduate curriculum has been designed as part of a general education for students preparing for careers in various fields of psychology, for students that seek general professional positions, as well as for students anticipating graduate work.

The BA program allows many free electives for background courses in the sciences or liberal arts. The program permits study of traditional geology (with emphasis on the solid earth, the earth’s surface, or environmental geology and natural resources), environmental geology (with emphasis on water or urban environmental geology), or an individually tailored program.

The news and information track prepares students to adapt to an ever-changing media landscape.

Students develop core skills in writing, editing, storytelling, multimedia production, video, design and web, and then move deeper into a specialty area. For instance, students who want to become  web or print reporters will learn to tell stories with words, yes, but also with video, photo, audio, design and interactive media. Students who want to pursue TV news will learn not only broadcast production but gain skills in design, online storytelling, and writing.

The idea is to help students gain both depth and breadth to propel them into careers that will change many times over the coming decades.

Students who graduate from the news and information track often go on to jobs at websites, magazines, TV stations, sports organizations, startups and nonprofits. Career choices are limited only by the students' imaginations, though, as a journalism degree provides skills in research, critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork, communication and creativity that organizations of all types need.  

The Communication Studies undergraduate major equips students with a diversity of skill sets by investigating communication in various cultural contexts, including relational, organizational, intercultural, political, and more.

In an increasingly globalized world, competent communication is crucial for career advancement, interpersonal relationships, and public democratic participation. Here’s what we know: humans rely on communication, and the creation and translation of symbols, language, and messages are integral to daily interactions. In other words, communication connects us.

The major expands on fundamental public speaking principles from the introductory course through emphasizing theories, methods, performances that apply to everyday communication practices.

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 BS is recommended for students interested in attending graduate school in economics or a closely related field. Students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. in economics are encouraged to double major in economics and mathematics.

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.