International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Education in Spanish — Elementary

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.

Accounting
Accounting is an important tool used by managers of organizations to plan, control and report financial activity. A thorough knowledge of Accounting is necessary to understand the operation and financial condition of any business, non-profit organization, or governmental agency.

Western's Accounting students take a broad array of Accounting courses, including courses from the Economics and Business Administration programs, to prepare them for accounting careers or post-graduate studies. Graduates leave the program equipped to take examinations to become certified public accountants (CPA) or certified management accountants (CMA). 

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.

Sociology
Sociologists examine subjects encompassing a vast array of human behavior: crime and punishment, the formation and dissolution of families, bureaucracy in organizations, conflicts between classes, and global inequalities. Sociology focuses on the way individuals’ lives are embedded within multiple social contexts that facilitate and constrain the range of possible actions. These contexts include generation, occupation, gender, religion, sexual orientation, family, health, nation, race, and ethnicity among many others. Students study and examine these phenomena with a variety of scientific tools, including collecting and analyzing statistical data and conducting surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews.

The four major specializations include Family and the Life Course, Criminology and Criminal Justice, Population Studies, and Social Organization/ Social Inequality. Students pursuing the Bachelor of Science (BS) in Sociology are required to complete a math-intensive course of study. They develop an aptitude for critical thinking and improve their writing abilities. Students will obtain substantial experience with statistical computing, including programming and data analysis.

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/Mathematics — Secondary
The program of study for the chemistry/mathematics majors provides many benefits to students, such as close student-faculty contact and relatively small classes. The students have direct access to modern laboratory equipment and instrumentation, and there are opportunities for research work under the direction of a faculty advisor.

As a practical matter, Mathematics is a science of pattern and order. Its domain is not molecules or cells, but numbers, chance, form, algorithms, and change. As a science of abstract objects, Mathematics relies on logic rather than on observation as its standard of truth, yet employs observation, simulation, and even experimentation as means of discovering truth.” From: Everybody Counts: A Report to the Nation on the Future of Mathematics Education (c) 1989 National Academy of Sciences.

Teaching mathematics and chemistry is a challenge, a responsibility, and an opportunity. Learning to teach mathematics and chemistry occurs through a variety of means: the study of a wide variety of mathematics and chemistry, pedagogical preparation within a mathematical and science context, formal clinical preparation in education, an extended internship, and continual experiences as a student, learner, and problem solver in mathematics and chemistry.

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.

Psychology:Human Development — Elementary
Psychology’s attempt to understand the human condition takes many approaches. Some psychologists study brain chemistry and its relation to behavior, while others study the behavior of individuals in groups. Still others are engaged in providing counseling or psychotherapy to people who are mentally ill or who are having difficulty in coping with the demands of life. With a faculty of over 34 individuals, all of whom hold a doctoral degree; the Department offers a program of study which provides a solid foundation in the general concepts and methods of Psychology, as well as courses and programs for students in many of the more specialized areas.

The human development program is designed to provide students in the elementary education program with an in-depth understanding of theory, research, and application in developmental psychology, and a sound background in general psychology. The program is designed to allow students flexibility in selecting psychology courses with the assistance of their advisors.

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.

Elementary
Western's Elementary Art program prepares students to teach at the elementary grade level. The program introduces curricular design in the arts and the four components of Discipline Based Art Education—criticism, history, aesthetics, and art studio.

Near the shores of the Salish Sea, Western is in an ideal location for undergraduates studying marine sciences. The Biology – Marine Emphasis major provides a thorough introduction to the basic areas of biology and supporting sciences while allowing specialization in marine biology. Students explore the structure and function of marine organisms and their relationship with the environment.

A highlight for most students in this emphasis is the opportunity to enroll in courses taught at Western’s Shannon Point Marine Center located in Anacortes, WA (about an hour from Bellingham). These all-day courses give students the opportunity to delve deeply into marine ecology and algal diversity, and include boat-based research and trips to nearby islands.

The integrated conceptual foundation in biology, the critical thinking skills, quantitative problem-solving abilities, leadership with team-building skills, and scientific research skills students obtain from lecture and laboratory courses in the B.S. Biology curriculum ultimately are critical for post-baccalaureate studies and future job performance.

The study of Economics provides an understanding of economic concepts and the functioning of the economy, in conjunction with economic analysis in problem solving. Mathematics is the study of pattern, structure, and change. The integration of concepts from both Economics and Mathematics creates proficiencies in both fields and provides a foundation for graduates to be successful in advanced study in economics or business.

A degree in Economics and Mathematics from Western is excellent preparation for a career as an economist, or other various fields of study. Students gain critical theory skills through economics and mathematics courses, and have options to follow their pathway of interest with elective courses.

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.

Geology
Geology is a diverse discipline, incorporating aspects of physics, chemistry, biology and natural history in the attempt to solve earth-related problems. Geoscientists provide basic information to society for solving problems and establishing policy for resource management, environmental protection, public health, safety, and welfare. By applying knowledge of forces that shape the Earth, Geoscientists seek to reconstruct the past and anticipate the future.

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.

Humanities: History of Culture
The humanities include the disciplines which study philosophy, religion, history, literature, and the arts. The BA in Humanities: History of Culture serves students who want to major in more than one Humanities discipline, using interdisciplinary methods of investigation.

The department supports study of cultural history on a global level, including Europe and the Americas, East Asia South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and predominantly Islamic areas. Its courses give attention to historical development and cross-cultural interaction, both in the past and in the modern period. Students learn to analyze individual works of the humanities and to relate them to social and cultural developments.  The department’s curriculum includes some courses called “Humanities” (HUMA) and others called “Religion” (REL).  

The study of French includes instruction in language, literature, linguistics, and culture. Students of French studies acquire the skills required to not only speak the language, but also to learn about and appreciate French societies, cultures, and artistic expressions. The guiding principle of the curriculum is that one of the best ways to understand a culture is directly through its language.

The French studies program is designed to help students develop a solid grammar and vocabulary base that allows students to become effective communicators with an equal emphasis on cultural awareness. The department emphasizes the diversity and multicultural aspects of the Francophone (French speaking) world through civilization, culture, literature and sociolinguistic courses. Training includes both language structure and literary analysis. Language structure is taught both holistically and analytically — with multimedia technology, study abroad, language skills courses, and linguistics courses. Literary analysis is an essential component to the curriculum, and the department provides instruction in history and culture, as well as literary theory.

The BA in French leads to a BA degree without teacher certification. In order to receive a recommendation for state of Washington certification, students must complete the professional teacher certification program. Please see the Department of Secondary Education for program admission, completion, and teacher certification requirements.