Bachelor of Arts in Communication

at Shorelight Group - University of Massachusetts - Boston USA

Preparing environmental policy and management professionals, our nationally-recognized BA in Environmental Science program integrates policy, management, and law with the natural sciences. Students gain practical experiences at the intersection of science and policy through coursework and real-world problem solving in our senior capstone course, internships, research, and cooperative education programs. Majors may focus their studies on policy and management (Policy and Management Track), policy-earth systems (Earth and Hydrologic Science Track), and policy-marine systems (Marine Science Track).

• Students will be able to apply the scientific method and design appropriate experiments to answer environmental science questions.  
• Students will understand the contributions of laboratory, field, and survey data collection and analysis for approaching environmental science problems.
• Students will be able to analyze and critique environmental questions across multiple natural and social science perspectives and research approaches.
• Students will demonstrate analytical and quantitative proficiencies to analyze environmental and/or social science data.
• Students will understand the system interactions and feedbacks between human activities and social institutions and the natural environment.
• Students will be experienced in communicating their learnings both in writing, visually, and orally, and for specific and general audiences.

History courses don’t simply introduce past eras of the world:  they teach students to write, research, and argue effectively.  History majors gain the skills for a wide range of successful careers, from teaching to law to environmental science to business management. Small classes, student camaraderie, internship opportunities, and faculty mentoring in the History Department create a stimulating and rewarding undergraduate experience.

Management major prepares students for specific management responsibilities and results in a bachelor of science degree from the College of Management (CM) at UMass Boston. The program is built on a solid foundation in the arts and humanities achieved by completing CM's general education requirements while also being immersed in business theory and practice.

The learning goals for the bachelor of science in management (BSM) program are for students to:

• Demonstrate proficiency in oral and written communication skills.
• Develop critical thinking and quantitative reasoning skills.
• Demonstrate sound ethical reasoning skills.
• Integrate understanding of issues concerning diversity and globalization in business.

The concentration in accounting provides students with a broad understanding of both accounting theory and techniques in preparation for a full range of career opportunities in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors of this rapidly expanding field. The curriculum reflects the knowledge and skills necessary for professional success in the dynamic and critical areas of public and private accounting.

The goal of the Criminology and Criminal Justice major is to provide social scientific grounding to issues of crime and criminal justice. Through classes, internships and projects, students explore the nature of criminal behavior, its causes, the role of punishment, and prison as a social institution. Students learn about the criminal justice system, including law enforcement, corrections, and the law. Classes focus on issues central to criminal justice policies and practices, including mental illness, substance use and abuse, racial and ethnic inequality, gender and immigration. Differences among societies and historical trends are also addressed.

A major focus of the criminal justice faculty is to help students connect theory and research with policy and practice in the “real world.” Using current events, their own research and observations, and critical study of criminal justice systems, students better understand broader trends and future options. For example, during classroom discussion and debate, students may consider the rapidly increasing prison population and high cost of incarceration and ask: Who is being incarcerated and why? Do prison alternatives work? How do incarceration policies affect families and communities?

The Psychology major is a 12-course major.  The requirements of these 12 courses provide students with a foundation in each of five core areas of the discipline of psychology, upper-level coursework in one or more areas and basic information about the research practices used in the field.  The basic structure of the major is represented by four parts.

The description below provides an outline of the major.  The phrase “major requirements” refers to the minimum number and distribution of psychology courses a student must complete successfully in order to graduate as a psychology major. We encourage students to take more than the minimum number of courses in psychology and allied disciplines. Only one of the 12 required classes may be taken pass/fail; the other 11 classes must be taken for a grade.  Eight of the 12 courses for the major must be taken in residence at UMass Boston.

Our award winning, nationally recognized BS in Environmental Science program is grounded in the natural sciences integrating biology, chemistry, physics, and geology with the social sciences to prepare the next generation of innovators and knowledge creators. Students gain essential skills in ecology, geology, hydrology, and marine science and apply these skills to critical challenges facing coastal marine systems in the Boston metropolitan area. Through coursework, our senior capstone course, internships, research, and cooperative education programs, students apply their knowledge to real-world problems in collaboration with our many public and private partners. Majors can focus their studies on the earth systems (Earth and Hydrologic Science Track), coastal oceans (Marine Science Track), or on the science-policy interface (Policy and Management Track).

• Students will be able to apply the scientific method and design appropriate experiments to answer environmental science questions.  
• Students will understand the contributions of laboratory, field, and survey data collection and analysis for approaching environmental science problems.
• Students will be able to analyze and critique environmental questions across multiple natural and social science perspectives and research approaches.
• Students will demonstrate analytical and quantitative proficiencies to analyze environmental and/or social science data.
• Students will understand the system interactions and feedbacks between human activities and social institutions and the natural environment.
• Students will be experienced in communicating their learnings both in writing, visually, and orally, and for specific and general audiences.

The standard major in philosophy provides a general and comprehensive knowledge of the basic historical and systematic themes in philosophy. It will give a sound training both for those who anticipate going to graduate school or those who simply wish to acquire the broadly applicable skills of critical thinking and academic writing.

The majors in ethics, social, and political philosophy and in philosophy and public policy are intended for students who have a specific concern with questions of value as they apply to individuals, society, and public policy. These majors, in different ways, provide a broad outlook on these problems and attempted solutions to them, but should not in general be considered the best preparation for graduate work in philosophy. These majors, will, however, serve as a good liberal arts base for careers in government, the law, or social service.

Community development is a multi-disciplinary field based in the social sciences. In UMass Boston's Community Development program students can customize their focus of study drawing on a breadth of disciplines to focus on issues at the intersection of the environment and economic development, community health, and planning.After completing your requirements in the BA in community development you will have a firm grounding in the multiple fields that contribute to empowering communities through environmentally sound and sustainable economic development and programming that ensures community health and prosperity. You will have the critical thinking skills necessary to develop and manage community programs and the analytical skills required to advance new strategies and actions in support of a sustainable and just future.

This interdisciplinary major introduces students to a number of perspectives from which to study American social and cultural life.  The work we do begins from the premises that “America” itself has been a contested term for centuries, and that the people who call themselves “American” have consistently been engaged in conversations over and around the meaning of that term.  Our courses offer investigations of America’s past and present in a global context through critical analysis of the ways that race, class, gender, and sexuality help constitute American institutions and people.

From our introductory courses (“American Identities” and “American Dreams, American Realities”) through a variety of intensive capstone seminars students develop the ability to understand the texts and contexts, and the representations and realities that have most powerfully shaped the political and aesthetic landscape of the United States.

As part of the Department of Performing Arts, the Theatre Arts Program explores diverse forms including the classics, contemporary drama, comedy, film, and musical theatre. Studies include training in acting; scenic, costume, and lighting design; directing; theatre history; and playwriting. The Theatre Arts major is for active participants who are ready to apply theory to practice via live performance, production work, undergraduate research, and theatre conferences.

• We train our students in state-of-the-art facilities, exposing them to current technology, quality equipment, and contemporary approaches.
• In classes and productions, we follow industry standards, preparing our students with one-on-one mentoring, group collaboration, and peer mentorship to succeed in a highly competitive field.
• We provide curricula that take our students from theory to practicum, and from applied production work to internships.
• We promote undergraduate research that allows our students to participate in regional and national conferences such as KCACTF and USITT.