Bachelor of Arts in Geosciences

at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee USA

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. Students of linguistics do not necessarily seek fluency in a second or third language. Instead, they study the components that make up any given language - the syntax, the grammar, the regional differences, the slang, the pronunciations, the symbols, the changes over time, how people learn a language, and more.

At UWM, Linguistics students can opt for a broad linguistics major which will touch on all aspects of language development and learning. Or, students can choose an applied linguistics major which will focus more on using the principles of linguistics in a business setting such as in the classroom to help students learn a second language, in a social service agency that deals with illiteracy, or at a software company working on search engine optimization terms.

The Department of Health Informatics and Administration in the College of Health Sciences offers the Master of Science in Health Care Informatics degree. Health care informatics focuses on the use of information technologies, data analytics and automation to improve health care. Professional expertise in health care informatics is needed by hospitals and other health care providers, medical centers and facilities, medical software companies, pharmaceutical companies, public health organizations, health insurance companies and medical research institutions. The master's program is designed to meet the demand for highly trained health care informatics professionals. The curriculum covers several areas including: systems analysis and design, database design and management, clinical decision support and computer programming. Students also get exposed to cutting-edge research in areas such as big data, predictive analytics, natural language processing, medical knowledge representation and information retrieval, which are rapidly becoming indispensable for improving health care.

The Committee Interdisciplinary Major with a focus in American Indian Studies provides students with a thorough understanding of the Native American tribal nations in North America and their influence and impact in today's culture and society.

Our program embraces everyone interested in understanding the treaties, history, cultures, and politics that shaped the formation of North America and continue to have relevance today. While UWM does attract a number of students with Native American ancestry to the program, our classes are full of people from all types of backgrounds. They all share a common interest in understanding the past in order to impact the present. The curriculum develops the depth of students’ experience with the methodologies and sources used in the field of American Indian Studies. Although interdisciplinary, American Indian Studies encompasses a distinct body of knowledge. Students majoring in American Indian Studies can select from a wide variety of courses organized under three areas:

• Culture and Creative Expression
• History, Law, and Government
• Education and Community Policy Studies

Many students are already familiar with Geosciences through what is commonly called "earth science" in high school. Geosciences covers our Planet Earth - its soil, minerals, climate change, magnetic fields, earthquakes, water, plants, fossils, volcanoes and more.

The BA degree in Geosciences requires fewer math, physics, and chemistry prerequisites and upper-level courses than the BS degree. It is designed for students who expect to use the earth sciences in preparation for a career in law, business, government, primary or secondary schools, or natural resources, or for those who start the Geosciences program later in their college careers. The BA degree in Geosciences is more easily combined with complementary majors for students to pursue a double or a triple major.

Geosciences majors at UWM can organize their electives around a particular area of interest if they wish:

• Hard Rock - the study of structural geology, mineralogy, petrology, volcanology and tectonics
• Hydrogeology - the study of water resources
• Paleontology - the study of evolutionary patterns in history
• Sedimentary Geology - the study of rocks, fossils, and landforms in the context of the biological and chemical make-up

Geosciences touches on all aspects of the other natural sciences including chemistry, biology, mathematics and physics, so the ideal student for Geosciences loves all types of science and is curious about how they interrelate. Most Geosciences students also love the outdoors and traveling off of the beaten path.

This concentration is designed for the music student who wishes to concentrate primarily on the major performing skill. The student may specialize in either classical, finger-style, or jazz guitar. A student must successfully pass an audition at an advanced level of performance to qualify for admission to the program.

Applicant proposing concentration in Music Performance Guitar must demonstrate outstanding performance skills. An on-site audition is required; in extreme cases, recorded examples of an applicant’s performance may be accepted in lieu of an in-person audition. Applicant should contact faculty in the appropriate performance area to inquire about specific audition repertoire and procedures.

The BFA: Winds, Brass, and Percussion program is designed to prepare students for professional performing careers and studio teaching. The goal of the program is to graduate students who are expert performers and knowledgeable music scholars.  Students take private lessons and master classes; and perform solo recitals, chamber music, orchestral music, and wind band music while working on their degrees.

The Master of Science degree program in Urban Studies provides students with a broad understanding of urban society and trains them in research techniques appropriate to the study of metropolitan communities. The course of study stresses the understanding of social processes and the analysis of social and economic policies affecting cities.

Urban Studies Programs offers two interdisciplinary graduate programs of study that are housed in the College of Letters and Science and led by social science faculty members from the Departments of Africology, Architecture, Criminal Justice, Educational Policy and Community Studies, Geography, History, Political Science, Nonprofit and Public Administration, Public Health, Sociology, and Urban Planning.

Civil Engineering is a profession that deals with the infrastructure of society and impacts your everyday life. From the roads and bridges you use every day to the drinking water that comes out of your tap at home, civil engineers work to develop safe, efficient and sustainable ways to continually improve our infrastructure.

Structural Engineering
Structural Engineering uses the disciplines of structural analysis and mechanics to design structures, such as buildings, bridges, pipelines, industrial, tunnels, vehicles, ships, aircraft and spacecraft. Structural engineers need to understand the behavior of materials such as concrete, steel, wood, masonry, alloys and fiber reinforced composites.

The purpose of the MLIS program is to prepare librarians and information professionals who are able to manage change in an urbanized, technologically oriented, and knowledge-based society. The MLIS program provides a systematic course of study which enables individuals with a strong service orientation to apply principles of library and information science, use current methods and tools, and recognize the value of research.

Students may elect to specialize according to the type of library or information service which best meets their needs: i.e., school, public, academic, or special; or to follow a more generalized approach. Concentrations in archival studies, information organization, information technology, and public libraries are available.

Actuarial science is the quantitative analysis of risk. In addition to mathematics and statistics courses, students in actuarial science take classes in finance, economics, and computer programming.  

What Do Actuaries Do?
Actuaries help individuals, businesses and society manage risk by evaluating the likelihood of future events and creating plans to reduce the negative financial or emotional impact of undesirable events. Some of the questions that actuaries address on a daily basis include:

• What price best balances an insurance company’s risk tolerance with various risk parameters such as age of the insured, health status, place of residence, and other risk characteristics?
• What would be the economic loss in the event of a flood, and how can these costs be covered?
• How large a fund is needed for a company to provide pensions for its employees?
• How likely is it for someone to be hospitalized? What is the average duration of a hospital stay, and how can the costs associated with each day of hospitalization be provided for?
• In the event of a merger, how can the employee benefits plans of the different organizations be reconciled?
• How should an investment portfolio be balanced to maximize return and minimize risk?
• Actuaries also must take this information and convey it to their companies and customers clearly and concisely through written reports, graphs, charts, or other visual or oral presentation formats.