International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Urban Planning and Sustainable Development

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.

Political Science
The Political Science curriculum prepares students for careers in public service-related occupations in government, the non-profit sector, and business. Many students majoring in Political Science go on to law school, graduate school, and into related professions.

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.

Journalism - News/Editorial
Journalists are responsible for gathering information, analyzing and editing it for a mass audience, and dispensing it using some form of media platform. Increasingly the methods of distribution have become more complex, but the basic mission of a journalist remains the same: to serve the public by finding, defining, writing, and editing information.

The Journalism – News Editorial program is one of three tracks within Western’s Journalism Department. Students are given the daily opportunity to practice what they learn through hands-on student publications and professional internships. The Journalism Department exposes students to current affairs and problems, from issues of campus governance to international news and concerns.

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.

Secondary Education
The Secondary Education program is designed for students who want to become teachers at the middle or high school level and leads to a recommendation to the State of Washington for a teaching certificate with an endorsement in at least one subject area.

To gain a Teaching Certificate all teacher candidates must complete a teacher preparation program. Woodring offers programs for Elementary, Secondary, and Special Education areas.

An endorsement is the subject area and grade level you are qualified to teach. For example, Earth and Space Science is an endorsement.

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.

Chinese Language and Culture
The study of Chinese Language and Culture focuses on communicative skills and cultural awareness, which are essential for success in career pursuits such as business, education, public service, and technology related to China, Chinese people, and Chinese language.

Western's Chinese Language and Culture program provides students with the opportunity to become competent communicators in Chinese language and culture, shared by 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fourth of the world’s population.

The Chinese Language and Culture major leads to a BA degree without teacher certification. In order to receive a recommendation for state of Washington certification, students must complete the teacher certification program which is offered by the Department of Secondary Education. A passing score on the World Languages WEST-E test, and proficiency in the designated world language assessed by ACTFL oral and written tests at the Advanced-Low level, are required by 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.

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
Environmental Science draws on basic knowledge of the physical, chemical, biological, and quantitative aspects of natural systems. The knowledge of how natural systems work is applied to solving problems largely created by human activities. Often these problems are represented by disturbances in the functioning of natural systems as humans alter their own life-support systems — the air, the water and soil. The scale of disturbance ranges between molecular and cellular to individuals, populations, ecosystems, and regional and global levels.

Are you excited by how natural systems work? Do you want to solve the problems of the natural environment caused by human activities? Do you love to work outdoors? Do you love the sciences and scientific inquiry? Then Environmental Science is for you.

Biochemistry studies the chemical processes of living organisms. Biochemists use chemistry knowledge and techniques to research biological problems. Biochemical research has had a huge impact on biology and medicine in the last few decades. The field has helped us to better understand biological structures like cells, proteins, and DNA.

Biochemistry is an interdisciplinary program established by Western's Biology and Chemistry Departments. The program is specifically designed for students who seek graduate study or employment in biochemistry or molecular biology.

Western's Biochemistry major provides significant lab training, and is designed to meet diverse career goals. There is close student-faculty contact, upper division class sizes are relatively small, and students have direct access to state of the art laboratory equipment and instrumentation.

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.

Anthropology/Social Studies
The Anthropology Department offers this combined major in partnership with Western's Woodring College of Education. Anthropology is particularly valuable for teachers, because it provides a broad understanding of human behavior, cultural diversity, and learning as a process of social interaction. Teachers today work with students of various cultural backgrounds and awareness of specific cultural learning influences, attitudes, motivations, and patterns of interaction is an integral part of working effectively and respectfully in diverse communities.

Through the required basic courses in Anthropology, majors will acquire an understanding of cultural context, the evolution of contemporary institutions, and both similarities and differences that are both the heritage and potential of humanity. With faculty advisement, Anthropology/Social Studies students will identify topics for advanced coursework, including:

• Diverse cultures and ethnic communities in the Pacific Northwest
• The relationship of cultural and political realities to civic engagement
• Linkages between cultural expectations and learning processes

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).