Bachelor of Arts in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies

at Study Group - Western Washington University USA

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Computer Science
Computer science is an exciting, growing, challenging field that is critical to many aspects of everyday life. You can make an impact on the advancement of medicine, clean energy, entertainment, communication for the disabled, climate research, and automotive technologies to name a few. For some, the most motivational aspect of being a computer scientist is being involved in creating the next great technology that will help people the world over.

Western's program provides the problem-solving and analytical background that ensures programmers and systems analysts can produce creative programming solutions. The program is composed of core classes organized around the study of design and analysis techniques used to write software in various application domains along with details about the internal workings of computers and networks. Elective classes in areas such as artificial intelligence, mobile device programming, robotics, graphics, web programming, bioinformatics, computer security, and video game programming allow students to explore areas of individual interest.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Economics/Environmental Studies
Economics is concerned with how people living in a world of scarcity make choices. These choices inevitably involve costs. Questions examined in environmental economics include efficient resource use, preservation of wilderness and biological diversity, local and regional air pollution, global climate change, and treatment of toxic substances. Students learn how to use economic principles to help understand the causes of environmental problems and to identify potential remedies.

Western’s combined major in Economics and Environmental Studies is available to students who have a strong interest in the economic aspects of environmental studies and natural resources. The curriculum is designed to provide a broad area of study in the economic choices involved in how humans interact with natural systems.

The Urban Sustainability major examines the human and environmental dimensions of cities in the United States and around the world. The curriculum incorporates approaches from a range of disciplines including urban planning, environmental policy, economics, political science, and history. The program emphasizes analytic and communication skills, which are valued by a range of employers. The program provides an excellent foundation for students pursuing graduate studies in a range of social science disciplines.

Learn and apply innovative approaches to solving complex problems facing communities from the local to the global level. The program stresses progressive change leading towards equitable, healthful, livable, and sustainable communities with an emphasis on social and environmental justice, multiculturalism, diversity, and under-served communities.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Energy Policy and Management
The goal of the program is to give students knowledge and analytic skills in the policy and management aspects of today’s diverse energy business, along with broad exposure to the science, environmental, business and policy aspects of the energy system that drive the formation and analysis of energy-related policies.

The B.A. in Energy Policy and Management is an interdisciplinary program that gives students knowledge and skills concerning energy policy and the energy business through courses in economics, environmental studies, environmental science, and various business disciplines, while also providing a solid background in basic energy science concepts.

While building a strong blend of analytic and communication skills, students will gain energy-related expertise that industry experts have identified as essential to the workforce needs in the growing clean energy economy. Graduates will be well prepared to enter the workforce, equipped with the knowledge, skills and applied expertise demanded by entrepreneurship or employment in the energy field.

The program will also integrate core strengths of WWU, including collaboration, practical innovation, community engagement, a global perspective and a sustainability focus. The participating departments are recognized for their outstanding educational programs and demonstrated excellence. This program will foster interdisciplinary thinking, learning and problem solving.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Energy Science and Technology
The goal of the Energy Science and Technology degree is to give students knowledge and analytic skills in the science and technology of today’s diverse energy systems and industries. The degree is designed to prepare graduates to become leaders in Washington’s emerging clean energy economy with an interdisciplinary education that emphasizes applied science and technology, complemented by energy policy and business practices, that industry experts have prioritized among Washington’s energy workforce needs.

Globally, access to modern energy services, including efficient usage, is essential to realize 20th century, let alone 21st century, living standards. A transition from inefficient use of fossil fuels to a clean, efficient energy system is key to managing urgent global risks such as climate change. Locally, demand is increasing for a trained energy workforce in Washington, due to an aging energy workforce and growth in emerging energy efficiency, grid modernization and energy storage industries in the state.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Environmental Science —Toxicology 

Environmental Science Toxicology emphasis major in four years should complete the general chemistry series and the general biology series during their freshman and sophomore years. Prospective environmental science majors are strongly advised to take additional preparatory courses that provide a strong background in chemistry, biology and mathematics. The preparatory courses are listed with the major; preparatory classes may also be used to fulfill GURs. All preparatory courses required for admission should be completed on a lettered or numeric grading scale, not P/NP, and must be completed with a grade of C- or better.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Business Administration - International Business
Western's Business Administration majors explore leadership roles in business and the community, providing students with the perceptual and analytical skills necessary to make decisions and evaluate policies in business, and develop an understanding of the social, economic, and regulatory environments in business. All students earning a degree in Business Administration develop significant understanding of management information systems and computing.

As globalization persists, people who can conduct international business are vital to organizations now more than ever before. The International Business Concentration provides students with the skills global companies are seeking. Often combining training in language and other business areas, students learn to manage business relationships across borders in a variety of capacities. Here are some comments from alumni from the program.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

American Cultural Studies
American Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field of critical inquiry that investigates power dynamics, inequality, and agency, at the intersection of race, gender, status, religion, class, and ability.

Our courses place particular emphasis on minoritizing and other exclusionary practices shaping limits to national belonging, and how those experiences are lived. We pay attention to the roles of institutions, policies, discourse, and other socio-cultural processes. We educate students in historical and social inquiry, textual analysis and interpretation, and critical theory and practice. We expose students to theoretical foundations in Settler Colonialism, Queer and other Feminisms, Critical Race Theory, Borders, and Transnationalism.

The American Cultural Studies (ACS) major combines the social sciences with humanities to provide students with a rich undergraduate background that is the foundation for careers and advanced study in law, domestic social services, public service, government service, education, and graduate work in American studies, ethnic studies, and the social sciences.

Graduates of the program are especially prepared to go on for further study. Over half of all ACS graduates go on to professional and graduate schools upon the culmination of their undergraduate degree.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Early Childhood Education  P-3
This program is for students who are not seeking certification to work in the public schools. Graduates can work in childcare centers, preschools, Head Start programs, and in after-school programs for school-age children.

Early childhood education is a branch of education that relates to the teaching of children (formally and informally) from birth to eight years old. Knowledge of developmental changes during early childhood and the subjects being taught in an early childhood classroom are important for early childhood educators. Teacher certification is common, but not part of every program. There are further specializations in the field for working with students who are at-risk for developmental delay and disability.

Combines studies in Early Childhood and Special Education and leads teaching certification with endorsements in Early Childhood Special Education and Early Childhood Education (P-3).

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Business and Sustainability - Energy Studies
The State of Washington is a leader in responding to the societal imperative regarding environmental issues. This Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Sustainability is an action component of the state’s initiatives. This degree combines three areas of study that give graduates the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to operate in a changing economic and social environment.

Graduates from this program will possess:

• A fundamental knowledge of economics, giving them the skills to apply economic analysis to problems in sustainable business faced by modern organizations;
• A fundamental knowledge of environmental science and policy, giving them the ability to understand the social and political climate as well as the scientific issues involved in sustainable business;
• An extensive knowledge of business and management in the context of business sustainability giving them the basic skills needed to succeed in organizations.

Why Consider a Business and Sustainability Major?
A Business and Sustainability Major prepares a student to analyze environmental and social issues from multiple perspectives, decide on action steps to deal with those issues, and then implement those action steps successfully. Need for these actions will only grow as environmental issues, including climate change, waste, and pollution become more central in the operations of organizations. This degree compliments the state’s initiative involving private enterprise, not-for-profit organizations, and government.

Energy Studies Concentration:
The transition to a more sustainable energy system is a key to reconciling our economic and environmental aspirations. WWU graduates are finding growing opportunities in the emerging energy economy in Washington and beyond. Today’s diverse energy business demands knowledge of core business skills, understanding of energy policy and management, and broad exposure to the science, environmental, business and policy aspects of the energy system that drive energy-related businesses and their governing policies. The energy concentration in the Business and Sustainability major gives graduates a strong blend of analytic and communication skills, along with energy-related expertise that industry and government experts have identified as essential to workforce needs in the emerging energy economy.