Bachelor of Arts, Major in Sociology and Anthropology with Concentration in Anthropology

at University of Massachusetts Dartmouth USA

The English department offers a bachelor of arts degree in English with a concentration in creative & professional writing.

Creative and professional writing candidates demonstrate their ability to analyze context and rhetorical problems with awareness of cultural diversity to create and compose effective, well-formulated written communication for specific audiences across multiple modalities.

Areas of study in this concentration include: fiction; non-fiction; poetry; journalism; digital media production; script, drama, and screenwriting; professional writing; and technical writing.

Creative and professional writing learning outcomes:

• Write and compose original texts
• Apply key concepts in writing analytically, creatively, and professionally across multiple genres and modes based on audience needs and information design principles
• Identify and summarize foundational concepts in creative writing, literary studies, and rhetorical studies
• Understand and apply concepts and ideas related to issues of diversity such as race, class, sexuality, gender, ethnicity and others to texts across multiple genres and modes
• Analyze the compositional and rhetorical strategies used in texts across multiple genres and modes
• Synthesize primary and secondary sources using appropriate research and writing methods across genres and modes
• Evaluate the appropriateness of compositional and rhetorical strategies used in texts

Massachusetts is one of the world's hubs for digital technology. UMass Dartmouth's animation and game arts program integrates digital art, design, and technology to advance the quality of digital communication and create a more understandable world.

You'll concentrate on digital animation and interactive multimedia while exploring 2- and 3-dimensional design, web design, and virtual reality. As you explore the potential of various digital media technologies, you'll engage in consistent, hands-on experimentation, working with faculty members who have considerable expertise in the field.

Your BFA in Art + Design: Animation + Game Art will prepare you to meet the design and communications challenges of the 21st century with careers in areas such as art direction, advertising, animation, broadcasting, creative direction, education, environmental design, game design, interface design, multimedia, scientific visualization, software application design, special effects, video editing, virtual reality and web design.

The BFA is a professional degree with concentrated areas of specialization, so you will take more art courses than you would in a BA program. At UMass Dartmouth, you also have the advantages of a university education where you can diversify your studies and expand your career opportunities.

Explore the lives, voices, histories, roles, and ideas of women. Learn how the social construction of gender affects women’s and men’s lives. When you major in Women's and Gender Studies, you'll place women's and men's experiences at the center of inquiry—as subjects rather than objects.

Your studies will be interdisciplinary, with classes in crime and justice studies, history, literature, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology/anthropology. These classes are taught by WGS faculty or faculty affiliated with WGS. You'll consider the influences of gender in contemporary society, discover the historical factors that have shaped the current status of women, and explore paths to achieve equality for all people.

With a degree in Women's and Gender Studies, you can pursue careers in advocacy, business, communications, education, family services, human resources, journalism, law, marketing and sales, nonprofit organizations, politics, and publishing. You'll also be well prepared for graduate study in a variety of disciplines.

As a music major, you'll develop your performance abilities and explore the world's musical heritage from the Americas to Africa, Asia and Oceania, Europe, and the Middle East/West Asia.

The BA in Music program provides opportunities for intensive study in applied music, the history of music, music education, and theory. Grounded in the importance of cultural, geographical, and social contexts, our curriculum is distinguished by its focus on the study and performance of music from diverse cultures, including jazz and world music.

Technology is an important part of the curriculum, emphasizing skills for contemporary music and its integration with time-based arts such as computer music, dance, theater, video/film, and the visual arts.

Your studies in music at UMassD will prepare you for careers in composition, education, performance, recording, and sound design—as well as for advanced study in music and related disciplines.

A UMassD bachelor's degree in Public Administration will train students to work in the public sector at the local, state or federal level. We aim to prepare graduates who possess the analytical, critical-thinking, and writing skills necessary for employment in the public sector.

A UMassD bachelor’s degree in Public Administration will train students to work in the public sector at the local, state or federal level. We aim to prepare graduates who possess the analytical, critical-thinking, and writing skills necessary for employment in the public sector. A BA in Public Administration focuses on communication and language skills as it relates to interacting in human and social services.

As a student in the Public Administration program, you will learn to:

• Understand concepts, theories and empirical findings in public administration
• Design research and perform data analysis and interpretation
• Understand and synthesize professional and popular writing on public affairs
• Formulate and analyze arguments including their structure and force
• Assess the relevance and weight of evidence
• Write clearly and persuasively
• Organize their ideas in a focused paper or presentation

The MFA in Sculpture is a 60-credit, 2- to 3-year program of study specifically designed to prepare students for a professional commitment to their art. The goals of the program focus on working toward the evolution of a personal voice, acquiring historical knowledge of sculpture, understanding the art of various cultures, developing critical skills in looking at art and discussing aesthetic issues.

Graduates are prepared for numerous career choices within the field of sculpture. Students who complete the program have developed a clarity of thinking and a process of personal expression that will allow them to assume the roles in society of artist as practitioner, artist as educator, and artist as interpreter of their times.

Academic courses in art history, critical theory, philosophy, and a broad complement of University offerings support the cultivation of the student's intellectual and aesthetic maturation.

Our program is based on the belief that photography has a unique ability to merge new technologies as well as cultural and historical influences with artistic production.

Placing our degree within the Design context allows the MFA Photo candidate to gain access to a broader array of faculty conversant with new technologies and design theory which in turn enables candidates to acquire and utilize a more professionally oriented degree and skill set.

MFA candidates develop a thesis project based on their own unique research. The thesis requires both visual and written components which are intellectually, formally, and technically rigorous. Students form a committee based on their thesis topic, choosing from faculty who provide a wide variety of viewpoints and expertise.

In addition to access to the photographic facilities on the main campus—which include a state of the art media lab with 48” Epson color printer, black and white darkrooms and professional lighting studio—MFA students are supplied with graduate studios at our Star Store campus in New Bedford. This downtown arts campus houses all disciplines in graduate study, fostering a communal artistic environment in which multi-discipline projects and collaborations are possible.

Opportunities both to exhibit and curate exhibitions are available at the Star Store's 244 Gallery for graduate students.

The Sociology and Anthropology Department offers a BA degree in Sociology and Anthropology with a concentration in Sociology: the study of social behavior and the socio-cultural settings in which it occurs.

Sociology and anthropology are closely related disciplines that focus on our social and cultural worlds.  Both emphasize understanding systems of inequality and power, and the interrelationship between global and local processes. We offer an  interdisciplinary major in Sociology and Anthropology; students will select a concentration in Anthorpology or a concentration in Sociology as described below.

A major in this department provides a foundation for social action, a variety of professional careers ranging from community organizing to public administration, as well as for graduate work in a variety of disciplines including policy studies, sociology, anthropology and women and gender studies.

The Ceramics program offers the opportunity for concentrated studio work involving both technical and conceptual challenges. Through questioning and experimentation, students work to consolidate materials and processes while developing strong conceptual and expressive ideas.

Graduate students are encouraged to pursue individual areas of interest which may include fabrication of functional or sculptural forms. Your work in the studio is complemented by courses in clay and glaze formulation, kiln construction, and ceramic history and aesthetics.

You will work closely with a faculty advisor to ensure guided exploration to develop maturity. Individual meetings take place on a weekly basis and critiques occur each month. Studies culminate with both a visual and written thesis.

English is an exciting discipline that challenges you to explore both literature and writing. Pursue your interest in literature by choosing the literature and criticism option. You'll learn how to:

• Read and think critically
• Engage with literature—and the world—thoughtfully and analytically
• Identify and analyze formal literary genres and schools of literary criticism
• Communicate effectively through literary analysis, persuasive argument, critical exposition, and presentation

Our award-winning faculty members specialize in a wide and diverse range of fields such as creative nonfiction, drama, fiction, poetry, world and British literature, and many more.

The skills you'll develop as an English major are essential in today's competitive job market and can lead to rewarding careers in communications, editing, freelance writing, grants writing, journalism, public relations, publishing, teaching, technical writing, screenwriting, and many other fields. You'll also be prepared for graduate study across many disciplines, such as creative and professional writing, education, law, and library/information science.