Bachelor of Science in Applied Communication Studies, Track Option: Interpersonal Communication

at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville USA

The department and outdoor venues on our beautiful campus, situated on 2,660 acres, provide excellent opportunities for innovative biological study. The College of Arts and Sciences' outdoor classroom consists of a 75-acre lake, a 35-acre botanical garden and 380 acres of forest and restored grasslands set aside as a nature preserve. The Department of Biological Sciences is located in Science Building West, a modern, science education facility with fully equipped teaching and research labs. The department is also equipped with state-of-the-art technology in microscopy, physiology, histology, cell biology, microbiology, genetics and toxicology research, and includes extensive botanical and zoological teaching collections. Opportunities for plant and animal research are available in our greenhouse and vivarium facilities.

What can I do with a degree in Biological Sciences?
Numerous career and advanced training opportunities are available to persons holding a master’s degree in biology. These include doctoral training in biology and in the health sciences; secondary and junior college teaching; environmental assessment; and employment in educational, industrial, and governmental laboratories and agencies.

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.

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 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.

Ecology, Evolution and Conservation
The bachelor's in biological sciences with a specialization in ecology, evolution and conservation at SIUE prepares students for positions that require the application of ecological principles to the solution of environmental problems. The specialization also prepares students for advanced study in all areas of biology, including wildlife ecology and forestry. Students selecting this specialization will take a planned sequence of courses that includes basic biological sciences, ecology, evolution, and environmental science. This study may include laboratory and field research. A variety of elective courses are available to allow students to pursue special interests such as plant or animal ecology, environmental management, and evolutionary biology, at either the organismal or cellular level. Students should consult their advisor to devise a course schedule to fit their specific talents and interests.

If you have diverse academic interests that span the disciplines and would like to turn these interests into a cohesive program, then the integrative studies program could be for you! Working professionals can also earn a baccalaureate degree to better position them for opportunities for advancement where a baccalaureate degree is required.

Integrative studies is an interdisciplinary program geared toward meeting each student’s personal, academic and career goals, as well as providing knowledge and skills to meet the needs of emerging professions. This program provides students the opportunity to embrace their individuality and widen their perspectives by exploring and making connections between different fields of study. Students design their own program of study, in consultation with a professional advisor and a faculty mentor, and in doing so take responsibility for their education and career planning.

What can I do with a degree in Integrative Studies?
Students graduating with an undergraduate degree in integrative studies will be well prepared to pursue career opportunities in a variety of professional settings, such as advertising, public service, military, sales, human services, ministry, sports promotion, higher education, public relations, and youth development, among others. Graduates will also be prepared to pursue a master’s or professional degree in various fields.

The newly redesigned secondary education program in the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior focuses on anti-racism and social justice. In response to the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, this program utilizes the brand new Culturally Responsive Teacher and Leader Standards as they join Illinois in their collective effort to have the teaching force reflect the demographics of students in K-12 in the next four years.

What can I do with a degree in Secondary Education?
Students pursuing most majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and Professional Educator Licensure through the School of Education, Health and Human Behavior are presented with two career pathways; that of their major area of study, and that of a career educator. According to the U.S. Bureau of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education, the employment outlook for 2016-2026 is strong for high school teachers, both nationally and within the state. As is the case with all teacher education programs at SIUE, the secondary education program has an exceptional record of preparing highly effective teachers.

English majors find their coursework in the College of Arts and Sciences to be both practical and pleasurable, an appropriate mix of traditional and contemporary classes that span the breadth of English studies. At SIUE, faculty members in the Department of English Language and Literature pride themselves on being strong teachers, and our curriculum reflects changing approaches to 21st-century English studies.

Technological and economic trends often shift abruptly and dramatically, but students prepared in English language and literature find that the abilities they've developed never grow obsolete. English majors possess the ultimate in transferable skills—critical thinking, careful reasoning and effective writing—and they are equipped for change, with the capacity to acquire new knowledge and technical expertise. Our students are experienced in synthesizing complex material and are able to respond with clarity and precision.

English majors satisfy their love of reading while being challenged intellectually as they encounter some of the greatest works written in or translated into English. Our students choose from course offerings in a variety of areas, including linguistics, rhetoric and writing, and creative writing. In doing so, they learn how to write persuasively for a variety of audiences, expand their understanding of language, and develop their creativity and cultural awareness.

What can I do with a degree in English?
English majors are well prepared for a variety of employment opportunities. For those interested in careers as high school English teachers, we offer a fully accredited, four-year program of study leading to professional educator licensure in secondary English language arts (grades 9-12).

Immediate application of new physics knowledge is not what drives physicists, but rather, an inherent curiosity about everything around them. Physics explores the big questions about the universe, and students who are motivated, curious, mathematical, inventive, and wish to explore these big questions will find their place at SIUE. Students in the College of Arts and Sciences are taught by world-class scholars in state-of-the-art laboratories, with small class sizes to help ensure that students are not just faces in a crowded lecture hall. In the Department of Physics, students are welcomed into a community of faculty committed to providing the best education possible.

What can I do with a degree in Physics?
Earning a bachelor’s degree in physics can open many doors. Throughout the United States, approximately one-third of students graduating with degrees in physics go on to graduate school to continue their education in physics or other science disciplines. Our graduates have recently gone on to pursue their education at the University of Arizona, University of Colorado Boulder, and University of New Mexico, as well as other quality programs. Some students, finding the rigor of physics excellent preparation for professional schools, pursue advanced education opportunities in medicine or law.

International studies is an interdisciplinary degree program designed to help students reflect on and engage in the complex social, political, economic, and cultural interrelations that exist among nations and regions of our increasingly globalized world. The program offers a broad range of curricular options in the College of Arts and Sciences, allowing students to explore, in regards to various peoples and across populations, aspects related to geography, history, religion, government, trade, communication, languages and literatures, music and arts, social justice, and environmental challenges. Students in the program will learn critical and analytical problem-solving skills that they can apply to contemporary global issues.

What can I do with a degree in International Studies?
Graduates with a bachelor’s degree in international studies are qualified for many positions in diplomacy or with nonprofits, governmental organizations and businesses. Students can apply their knowledge of globalization, language and culture in workplace settings in the areas of foreign service, foreign aid or international intergovernmental organizations. Examples of government agencies seeking these graduates are the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Defense, the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency. In recent years, there have been hundreds of thousands of export related jobs and employment opportunities with foreign firms in Illinois and in the St. Louis metropolitan area. Possible job titles include: foreign service specialist; human rights advocate; lobbyist and administrative/legislative aid; Peace Corps officer; teacher of English as a foreign language in international settings; family and community support service provider for humanitarian agencies in the United States and internationally; and business consultant in international firms.

International Art, Culture and Communication
Students who choose this concentration have a career interest in the development, preservation, promotion, and strengthening of arts and national cultures to meet the challenges and opportunities of globalization and technological change. They also seek to improve access to knowledge, build networks, promote understanding and enhance cooperation between art, culture and communication councils, and agencies at national and international levels. Additionally, they seek opportunities to support cultural diversity in the media and the arts.

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.