Bachelor of Arts in Integrative Studies, Specialization in Psychology and Business Administration

at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville USA

The study of communication involves the development of theories and research tools to analyze, explain and improve human interaction. The applied communication studies program is offered in the College of Arts and Sciences through the Department of Applied Communication Studies. Departmental courses focus on two-person interaction, small-group decision making, communication patterns in organizations and other complex systems, public relations, and speaker-audience interaction in public speaking.

What can I do with a degree in Applied Communication Studies?
In America, employers increasingly recognize the need for more effective communication. As a result, job opportunities for graduates trained in applied communication studies are prevalent in business and industry, government agencies, educational systems, nonprofit organizations, and community-based resource centers. Graduates often have several career choices. Examples of communication careers departmental graduates have entered are: teaching and administration; management, training and consulting in organizations; public relations; human relations and employee assistance programs; sales; and government service. Graduates find employment in various types of for-profit and nonprofit organizations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Applied communication is also an in-demand minor for students majoring in areas such as, business, mass communications, political science and sociology. Our graduates are also well-prepared for graduate school.

Track Option: Interpersonal Communication
Students in the interpersonal communication track are generally attracted to it for the solid preparation it provides for graduate school. This track provides students with a thorough theoretical and practical understanding of the ways in which verbal and nonverbal communication are used in defining, negotiating, and modifying relationships. This track also increases students' awareness both of the many types of, and the myriad influences on, interpersonal relationships. A thorough, systematic examination of relevant theory and research regarding interpersonal communication is provided. Students who select this track as pre-graduate study preparation will find themselves with an excellent foundation upon which to begin careers in the academic community, such as professor, researcher, or administrator. Those choosing this track also will be well prepared for positions in the business sector such as recruiters and trainers.

Sociologists are interested in changing the world. But, we do so by systematically studying society rather than using our biases or assumptions. Once we understand the larger social forces that influence our own behavior and that of others, we can create policies, organizations, and even families that benefit the majority of people rather than the powerful few.

At SIUE, we focus on application. Students in the Department of Sociology participate in hands-on experiences so they can apply what they learn in their classes. Students pursuing general sociology work in communities helping gather data and provide suggestions on how to make those communities stronger. Diversity and social justice students complete internships in nonprofit organizations learning to write grants and help groups find resources. Students specializing in employment relations complete internships in organizations where they help uncover how to make workers more committed and productive. Through systematically gathering information from different groups, sociology can be a powerful tool for the betterment of communities and organizations.

The mass communications program in the College of Arts and Sciences at SIUE prepares students to succeed in careers in one of the fastest growing and most dynamic areas: the mass media.

The Department of Mass Communications at SIUE is accredited by the highly selective Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (ACEJMC). This means our students get one-on-one attention from their instructors due to small class sizes and curriculum that keeps with changes in the media industry. Our students have access to state-of-the-art facilities and faculty members who dedicate themselves to serving the professional and intellectual needs of the students.

The Department of Mass Communications offers three sequences: journalism, media production, and advertising and strategic media. While most of the curriculum is a shared experience by all majors, students take advanced courses specific to their chosen sequence. This approach is in keeping with the converged nature of today’s media industries. At its heart, our department is all about teaching students how to tell stories, whether in the form of advertising campaigns, news stories, documentaries, or any of an almost limitless use of this major. Students who major in mass communications but choose not to enter the media industry will be well-prepared, thoughtful and effective communicators.

What can I do with a degree in Mass Communications?
Graduates of the Department of Mass Communications choose various career paths. Our graduates have become reporters, editors and photojournalists for newspapers, magazines, and online publications. Others work in radio and television, for advertising agencies, and in marketing and communications positions at major corporations and non-profits; many become the social media experts in their positions. Some graduates take an entrepreneurial approach and create careers as independent videographers, event planners, graphic designers, web developers, and freelance communications specialists.

The study of communication involves the development of theories and research tools to analyze, explain and improve human interaction. The applied communication studies program is offered in the College of Arts and Sciences through the Department of Applied Communication Studies. Departmental courses focus on two-person interaction, small-group decision making, communication patterns in organizations and other complex systems, public relations, and speaker-audience interaction in public speaking.

What can I do with a degree in Applied Communication Studies?
In America, employers increasingly recognize the need for more effective communication. As a result, job opportunities for graduates trained in applied communication studies are prevalent in business and industry, government agencies, educational systems, nonprofit organizations, and community-based resource centers. Graduates often have several career choices. Examples of communication careers departmental graduates have entered are: teaching and administration; management, training and consulting in organizations; public relations; human relations and employee assistance programs; sales; and government service. Graduates find employment in various types of for-profit and nonprofit organizations locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Applied communication is also an in-demand minor for students majoring in areas such as, business, mass communications, political science and sociology. Our graduates are also well-prepared for graduate school.

Track Option: Public Relations
Students in the public relations track will study under a model program, designed to meet and exceed national guidelines for undergraduate public relations education described in Public Relations Education for the 21st Century: A Port of Entry, sponsored by the Commission on Public Relations Education. This track stresses written, oral, graphic, and technological applications of communication skills. Elements of the program are designed to keep entry-level students in touch with upper-division students, and past graduates in touch with all students. In addition, students will experience the "paired course" concept, an idea that helps students integrate materials across their sequence of study. And finally, students may join SIUE's award-winning chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA), which is affiliated with the national professional association, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

The Department of English Language and Literature offers a Master of Arts in English with the option to specialize in literature, teaching English as a second language or teaching of writing. Students will be well prepared for a variety of careers.

Literature
A master’s degree in English, with a specialization in literature, from the Department of English Language and Literature prepares students for advanced graduate work, secondary and college teaching, and a variety of careers in nonprofits and the private sector that require excellent writing and critical-thinking skills. The literature specialization's vibrant curriculum in the College of Arts and Sciences allows students to study a range of literary texts, from the contemporary U.S.A., to world diasporas, to Chaucer's England.

The program of study is designed with flexibility in mind so students can take courses and create an exit plan crafted for their own literary and career interests. Our innovative exit options allow students to complete a traditional thesis, create an action research project, develop a public humanities program, or study the digital humanities, making this MA an excellent choice for students who wish to prepare themselves for a variety of careers after graduation. Students interested in this degree often go onto further advanced graduate study or teach at the community college level.

The study of history begins with questions about the past; how things came to be as they are or were. These questions can contribute to a greater understanding of ourselves, others and the world in which we live.

Historians approach the study of the past from various perspectives, but all analyze the patterns and causes of change in human thought and action across space and time and the consequences of those changes. Some, working within or across national histories, focus on the trajectory of particular social institutions, such as the family, government, business or religion. Alternately, historians can investigate the historical development of ideologies or of cultural concepts such as race or gender. Historians borrow investigative strategies freely from other disciplines. For some historians, the methodologies of the social sciences become critical tools for the study of the past, while others prefer a historical approach involving the methods of the humanities and literature. Most adopt some mixture of methodologies.

In the College of Arts and Sciences at SIUE, the Department of History emphasizes the study of primary sources beginning with our freshman-level survey labs, through the senior research projects. We also provide numerous opportunities for hands-on learning through class projects and internships at many venues in the greater St. Louis region and in the Metro East. A specialization in applied historical methods is also available for those interested in museums, editing and digital technology. The social science secondary education minor for licensure in teaching is housed in the Department of History.

What can I do with a degree in History?
Traditionally, a bachelor’s degree in history was thought to primarily provide a knowledge base for two careers: licensure in teaching, or as a foundation for attending law school. While teaching and attending law school are still viable options for students with a degree in history, the degree is becoming broadly recognized as a foundation for many other careers. Students are pursuing careers in local, state and federal government, including the Foreign Service and city or town management; nonprofit organizations; politics, including political advising; curatorial and archival management in libraries, museums and art galleries; media, public relations, digital editing and film consulting; and business, in corporate training and development.

The study of history begins with questions about the past; how things came to be as they are or were. These questions can contribute to a greater understanding of ourselves, others and the world in which we live.

Historians approach the study of the past from various perspectives, but all analyze the patterns and causes of change in human thought and action across space and time and the consequences of those changes. Some, working within or across national histories, focus on the trajectory of particular social institutions, such as the family, government, business or religion. Alternately, historians can investigate the historical development of ideologies or of cultural concepts such as race or gender. Historians borrow investigative strategies freely from other disciplines. For some historians, the methodologies of the social sciences become critical tools for the study of the past, while others prefer a historical approach involving the methods of the humanities and literature. Most adopt some mixture of methodologies.

In the College of Arts and Sciences at SIUE, the Department of History emphasizes the study of primary sources beginning with our freshman-level survey labs, through the senior research projects. We also provide numerous opportunities for hands-on learning through class projects and internships at many venues in the greater St. Louis region and in the Metro East. A specialization in applied historical methods is also available for those interested in museums, editing and digital technology. The social science secondary education minor for licensure in teaching is housed in the Department of History.

What can I do with a degree in History?
Traditionally, a bachelor’s degree in history was thought to primarily provide a knowledge base for two careers: licensure in teaching, or as a foundation for attending law school. While teaching and attending law school are still viable options for students with a degree in history, the degree is becoming broadly recognized as a foundation for many other careers. Students are pursuing careers in local, state and federal government, including the Foreign Service and city or town management; nonprofit organizations; politics, including political advising; curatorial and archival management in libraries, museums and art galleries; media, public relations, digital editing and film consulting; and business, in corporate training and development.

The mission of the environmental sciences graduate program is to cultivate students’ perspectives of environmental issues and provide students with refined knowledge of environmental issues at the local, regional and global scale. The program will increase the student’s technical competence in addressing and analyzing these issues, their origins, ramifications and resolutions. The environmental sciences graduate program at SIUE is designed to enhance and promote professional education and career opportunities in a wide area of interests.

What can I do with a degree in Environmental Sciences?
Students completing the graduate program in environmental sciences have career opportunities with governmental agencies, private industries, consulting firms and educational institutions. Areas of responsibility may include environmental field or laboratory research and analysis, environmental policy and law, environmental remediation, solid and hazardous waste management, groundwater pollution control, water management, air quality management, environmental and ecological risk assessments, and restoration environmental engineering.

The biological sciences encompass the study of all life on Earth. Biological sciences programs are offered through the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. At SIUE, our diverse programs of study include specializations that allow students the opportunity to pursue any areas that are of interest to them. Students can customize their academic program in order to better prepare them for their chosen career.

What can I do with a degree in Biological Sciences?
Many careers are available for people with basic or advanced training in biology. There are opportunities in botany, ecology, education, fisheries, forensics, forestry, genetic engineering, horticulture, medical technology, microbiology, molecular biology, parasitology, physiology, wildlife management and zoology. Technical and supervisory positions are available in federal, state, industrial and university laboratories. Environment and health-related occupations almost always require sound, basic training in biology. Most students entering schools of medicine, dentistry, optometry, osteopathy, veterinary science, chiropractic and podiatry are biology majors. Basic training in biology is essential for careers in allied health sciences, including nutrition, pharmacy, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

Medical Technology
This specialization is designed for students who wish to become medical technologists certified by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. Medical technologists should have a firm understanding of the theory behind the diagnostic tests they perform in the clinical laboratory.

Their responsibilities encompass all clinical laboratory disciplines, such as clinical chemistry, urinalysis, hematology, serology, immunology, blood and organ banking, microbiology, parasitology, and nuclear medicine. As self-motivated, inquisitive scientists, medical technologists contribute to the development of new methods and laboratory instrumentation that aid physicians in preventing and curing disease. Most medical technologists are employed in hospitals, but private laboratories, physicians' offices, government agencies, industrial and pharmaceutical laboratories, and university research programs offer growing opportunities for employment advancements.

Industrial engineers design, produce and deliver quality products (parts or services) to customers at affordable prices in a timely manner. This process involves not only designing and producing value-added products, but also planning and managing people, processes, systems, equipment and other resources efficiently and cost-effectively. In the Department of Industrial Engineering within SIUE's School of Engineering, students learn the knowledge and skills necessary in engineering and management and are uniquely positioned to work in a variety of industries, such as automobile and aircraft manufacturing industries, healthcare organizations, shipping and logistics, and business.

What can I do with a degree in Industrial Engineering?
SIUE graduates of the industrial engineering program are employed as industrial engineers, manufacturing/production engineers, quality engineers/managers, operations/system engineers/managers, and process design engineers at various major corporations. These corporations include Boeing, Caterpillar, Inc., Pepsi, Pinnacle Foods, Schnucks, Kraft Foods, Eaton Corporations, Nestle Purina, Lockheed Martin, Lowe's, GM, Mallinckrodt, Bayer, Chrysler, Emerson Electric, Motorola, American Airlines, USPS, Intelligrated Systems, Anheuser-Busch InBev, BJC Health Care, AT&T and MasterCard, among other reputable companies.