Bachelor of Arts in Sociology

at Wright State University USA

Crime and justice studies (CJS) is an interdisciplinary and incredibly varied field of study. Knowledge specific to the discipline relies upon research from fields as varied as sociology, law, history, psychology, and political science. It encompasses analysis of federal, state, and local entities that seek to understand, control, and deter crime. The principal agencies charged with these responsibilities are law enforcement, the judiciary, and corrections. More fundamentally, however, crime and justice studies examines questions of social justice—concerns related to equality, fairness, freedom, security, and social order. If you are interested in understanding the causes, responses, and consequences of crime for the individual as well as the larger society, consider this program.

Crime and justice studies is a liberal arts degree and therefore, our focus is on providing you with a well-rounded, critically engaged, and scientifically informed understanding of the field. While practical experience is a vital component of our curriculum, our larger mission is that, when you graduate, you will be an innovator and leader in your chosen occupations and will utilize scientific reasoning and sharply honed analytical skills on your path to success. You will be prepared for positions in a variety of occupations, including local and federal law enforcement, probation and parole, civil, criminal and juvenile courts, research, corrections, teaching, forensics, and a variety of other fields.

While crime and justice studies is an exciting and challenging major, it is not for everyone. Unfortunately, if you have a prior criminal record or a drug or alcohol dependency it will be difficult for you to obtain employment in the field once you graduate. Further, it is a field that generally requires not only keen analytic and technical skills but also the ability to empathize, establish strong interpersonal boundaries, and, most importantly, maintain fundamental respect for the rights and dignity of others.

African and African American Studies (AAFS) is an innovative interdisciplinary program in the College of Liberal Arts that offers you the opportunity to explore the experiences of people in Africa and the African Diaspora (the spread of people of African descent throughout the world), including the United States, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia. The mission of the AAFS program is to provide you with a rigorous education that will enable you to become a productive citizen committed to using your learning to better understand the world you live in and also find ways to improve it.

You will investigate the culture and contributions of Africans and African Americans to world civilizations and cultures. You will also be able to develop a global view, essential for living in an increasingly diverse society.

The Greek major allows students to focus primarily on the study of Greek language, literature, and culture. Students are required to take 7 semesters of Greek language. Additional electives cover courses in a diverse range of subjects relating to the study of the Classical world.

Program Outcomes:
Students in the Greek program will:

• Acquire knowledge of the history, literature, and culture of ancient Greece
• Acquire a reading knowledge of Classical Greek
• Acquire strong critical thinking skills
• Acquire effective communication and writing skills

The Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.) in materials science and engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering with a focus in materials and nanotechnology. The graduate programs are broad in scope, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the field of materials science and engineering. The program is built around processing, structure, properties, and performance of advanced materials relevant to numerous areas of application, such as biomedical, energy, aerospace, environmental, and manufacturing.

If you want to see the big picture and manage a diverse range of people and business areas, pursue a master’s degree in leadership development at Wright State. We will work with your schedule, as we are transitioning to 100 percent remote course delivery. You can take two courses per semester and finish your degree in five semesters. You take courses in a cohort model that includes program-related experiences that integrate theory and practice.  

Your coursework will address the principles of individual-based leader development, focusing on processes that build the capacities of groups in organizations. You will be capable of applying knowledge, critical analysis, improvement strategies and research to common challenges encountered in business, community, educational and non-profit organizations. 

Benefits of the MSLD

• Enhance your leadership position in your occupational field. 
• Lead with integrity grounded in values-based and ethical systems.  
• Examine and apply organizational leadership theories. 
• Create leadership development plans for self-awareness improvement. 
• Improve communication, collaboration and group process skills which can be applied within global context. 
• Employ qualitative and quantitative research for organizational analysis and problem solving. 
• Utilize information technologies in the design and leadership of an organization and identify the driving force affecting organizations now and in the future. 

The honors program in English is designed to encourage and recognize superior academic accomplishments by English undergraduates. With the approval of the chair of the English department and the departmental honors advisor, students who meet the eligibility standards may enter the English honors program before the beginning of their senior year. Students may be admitted to the program on the recommendation of any member of the English department faculty, or students may petition to enter the program. Under the direction of a faculty tutor, students in the honors program will complete an honors project that culminates in their writing an honors thesis or project report. For further information on eligibility and enrollment, students should consult the departmental honors advisor.

Program Learning Outcomes:
All graduates with a B. A. in English will be:

• Informed readers, able to formulate readings of texts based on their knowledge of literary historical contexts and of basic critical strategies;
• Skilled writers, able to develop a thesis and sustain a coherent written argument about literature using secondary sources.

The urban affairs major is right for you if you want to make communities better places to live, if you want to fix problems such as vacant housing, decaying infrastructure, access to healthy food, ensuring safe neighborhoods, reducing homelessness, city planning, economic development, and equal education and job opportunities for future generations.

In the 1960s, national foundations asked universities to create teams of faculty from diverse disciplines, such as political science, sociology, geography, and economics, to solve the nation’s urban problems. These initiatives led to new social programs, new curriculum, and new academic degrees. The first Wright State urban affairs major graduated in 1971 and this major remains a strong reflection of Wright State's commitment to contribute to healthy, sustainable communities in our region and beyond.

The urban affairs major prepares you for professional positions in a broad range of fields, including government, nonprofit organizations, and private sector businesses.

Students graduating with the B.A. in urban affairs will be able to:

• Apply analytical tools to analyze problems relevant to the public sector or the nonprofit sector.
• Use critical thinking skills to analyze and evaluate local, national, or global political, legal, or social issues.
• Communicate effectively in writing.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the value of diversity and multicultural competence in today's global environment.

Wright State University offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree in Dance that prepares students to become versatile professional dancers, choreographers, and teachers – by integrating rigorous training and performance experience in ballet, jazz, and modern dance, with acting and musical theatre studies. Our faculty and guest artists represent all facets of professional dance and do all they can to help students prepare for success.

Dance majors hone their technical abilities and creativity through daily ballet classes and specialized training in modern and jazz/theatre dance, perform in dance concerts and musical theatre productions, and create and produce their own choreography.

Our most exceptional students experience the life of a professional dancer from the start when selected for scholarships that provide performance opportunities with our partner companies Dayton Ballet and the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

The mathematics component of the Bachelor of Arts program surveys the classical areas of mathematics—analysis, algebra, and geometry—and their history. Courses in statistics and in computer science provide a taste of two relatively young branches of the mathematical sciences. In addition, a broad choice of electives allows you to either pursue greater depth in one of these areas, or to sample a broader range of courses in mathematics, statistics, and computing.

The Bachelor of Arts program features breadth and flexibility. For instance, there is a Related Course Requirement specifically designed to accommodate subject matter outside the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and even outside both the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Other elective courses can be chosen with essentially no restriction. To examine the remarkable variety of possibilities

Continue your education with a Master of Science degree with a focus on computer science. You can explore the subject by choosing our thesis or non-thesis options.

Areas of study include

• Data science and big data
• Machine learning and artificial intelligence
• Visualization and analytics
• Databases and data mining

We have a mixture of courses that can be taken during the day, evening, or online, giving working professionals a pathway to an advanced degree. When you graduate, you will be able to use current computer science techniques to solve a broad range of problems.

Program strengths include

• Faculty expertise
• Well-equipped laboratory facilities
• A curriculum that combines theory, software, and hardware
• Opportunities to work with faculty members on research projects