International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Culture

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.

German with Teaching Endorsement Option
German Studies aims to teach students in depth about the cultures of the German-speaking world. Germany is the United States’ biggest European trading partner, and the German language is the second most commonly used business language in the world. Students who become proficient in German can communicate with about 100 million people living in a number of countries in the heart of Europe. The German program integrates instruction in language studies with studies in cultural and literary history, enabling students to gain access to the intellectual life of the German-speaking countries.

German Studies aims to teach students in depth about the cultures of the German-speaking world. The program integrates instruction in language studies with studies in cultural and literary history, enabling students to gain access to the intellectual life of the German-speaking countries.

The department provides instruction in history and culture, as well as literary theory, with an end to enabling the student to gain access to the intellectual life in the culture. The department imparts skills to future world language teachers so that they may similarly enable high school students to begin the acquisition of world languages.

Dance majors at WWU are celebrated for their individuality and varied interests within the field of dance and beyond, and are challenged to discover their own artistic voice as performer, choreographer, and scholar.

Dancers at Western engage in a rigorous physical and intellectual understanding of movement art.  Today’s dancers are making and changing history as they reflect on the role of dance in our society through a multi-faceted lens.

WWU Dance majors are contributing to contemporary thinking about dance and art making through in-depth study of dance technique and performance, somatic practices, anatomy and kinesiology, choreography and creative process, dance history, career preparation and entrepreneurial skills, and interdisciplinary study.

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.

Chemistry/Biology — Secondary

This major is recommended for students interested in becoming secondary school science teachers and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in secondary education offered through Woodring College of Education. Courses required for a state teaching endorsement must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Biology is the study of living organisms. As scientists, biologists have three prime motivations: (1) intellectual curiosity about biological systems, (2) the philosophy that creating and disseminating reliable knowledge has intrinsic worth and (3) the confidence that research into the history of life on earth and how biological systems work can be used to solve problems faced by our society today. Thus, we intend for our intensive academic program to stimulate our students’ curiosity and appetite for life-long learning about biology. 

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.

English - Literature
English is one of the central liberal arts degrees. A background in English provides graduates with a sound basis for pursuing a variety of careers, including law, business, education, publishing and government, as well as graduate work in film studies and media, creative writing, language, literary and cultural studies, and critical writing. English engages students in diverse literary heritages as well as fosters the development of sophisticated abilities in critical analysis, creative inquiry, reflective reading, and effective communication and expression.

The English Literature major focuses on the study of literatures in historical and cultural contexts and includes course work in literary theory, creative writing, and composition and rhetoric.

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.

Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies major is designed to expand the students’ knowledge and experiences related to Latin America’s histories, societies, politics, political economies, racial relations, class formations, and social movements.

The United States and the different countries of Latin America have shared a critical history since the nineteenth century. Currently, close to 60 million Latino/a/x people are part of the U.S. society. Latino/a/x constitute 18 percent of the nation’s total population. The histories of Latin America are part of the histories of the United States and the histories of the United States are indeed part of the histories of Latin America. Courses in this major help students to develop analytical, interpretive, and evaluative skills. Divided in two concentrations this major seeks to address important themes that pertain to linguistic and cultural diversity, as well as the impact of the ensuing and continued contact among indigenous people, Africans, and Europeans as a result of the encounter, slavery, displacement, and immigration.

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.

Philosophy
Undergraduate studies in Philosophy fit well into many pre-professional programs, including law school. Emphasizing careful, deep, and critical analysis of concepts and problems, Philosophy is an excellent major for students seeking business and government careers that require a liberal arts background.

Philosophy courses at Western explore traditional areas of focus, such as ethics, epistemology, logic, metaphysics, and the history of philosophy. Through a collaborative study of these topics, the department faculty helps students develop valuable skills, such as critical thinking, critical reading, analytic writing, and effective speaking. Studies consistently show that Philosophy majors do better than anyone else when it comes to verbal reasoning and analytic skills (as revealed by scores on the Graduate Record Exam).

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.

Earth Science — Elementary
Geology is the science that provides the key to finding new sources of useful Earth materials and to understanding Earth processes that affect our lives. This degree satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education. It does not lead to an endorsement in Earth & Space Science.

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.

Archaeology
Archaeology is the "cultural anthropology" of the human past. It uses scientific fieldwork and laboratory techniques to investigate past human societies and the processes and effects of cultural evolution through the study of material remains. Western's Anthropology—Archaeology program is active in regional prehistoric and historic archaeology. Undergraduate participation in fieldwork is encouraged, and necessary if one is to enter the field professionally.

Anthropology Department faculty members carry out research in Latin America, North America, Asia, The Pacific, and Eastern Europe, and are dedicated to excellence in teaching. The department faculty have earned awards for distinguished contributions to undergraduate education and research, have written nationally-disseminated textbooks, and developed curriculum designed to provide extensive opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning experiences working with clients in community social-services agencies, and through participatory research.

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.

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.