Bachelor of Science in Geography

at Wright State University USA

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 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.

Continue your education with a Master of Science in Computer Engineering degree. This program covers hardware and the integration of hardware and software. You can explore the subject by choosing our thesis or non-thesis options.

We have a mixture of courses available during the day, evening, or online, making it easier for working professionals to pursue this degree. When you graduate, you will be able to use current computer engineering 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

Athletic Trainers (ATs) are health care professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injuries and medical conditions. Students who want to become certified athletic trainers must earn a degree from an accredited athletic training curriculum. Accredited programs include formal instruction in areas such as injury/illness prevention, first-aid, and emergency care, assessment of injury/illness, human anatomy and physiology, therapeutic modalities, and nutrition. Classroom learning is enhanced through clinical education experiences." — NATA web site, 2015

The athletic training program prepares you to sit for the national Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer examination which meets the certification in Ohio as regulated by the Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers Board.  Licensure and certification requirements vary from state to state, and we have not determined if this program meets educational requirements outside of Ohio.  If you are planning to pursue professional licensure or certification in a state other than Ohio, please contact the appropriate licensing entity in that state to seek information and guidance regarding that state’s licensure or certification requirements.

The Master of Humanities program offers a unique, flexible, interdisciplinary opportunity for graduate study, whether you are a traditional or non-traditional student.

You will explore questions from diverse perspectives rather than concentrate your study within a single discipline. Your program of study might focus on a historical period, a cultural region, or a social or artistic theme, and may combine, for example, ancient and modern cultures, literature and politics, philosophy and art, or history and religion.

The program is flexible because you design, in consultation with the director, your integrated individualized curriculum, pursue full-time or part-time study, and attend evening or day classes.

The Master of  Organizational Studies comprises the core courses for the current Organizational Studies Educational Doctorate (Ed.D.) program. Students who are admitted into the Organizational Studies Ed.D. program will receive the M.S. in Organizational Studies once they have satisfactorily completed the Ed.D. program core courses, which includes the internship. The M.S. degree will permit all students to receive the master’s degree. The core courses provide an interdisciplinary approach to the study of topics, theories, and research critical to the success of leaders in a variety of organizational settings. These courses reflect a scholar-practitioner oriented program for working professionals, grounded in systems theory, adaptive leadership change, decision making, structure, personnel roles and functions, external relations, planning, program evaluation, and organization theory. The program is for those working in community, government, public service, business, non-profit, and education organizations.

Program Outcomes
The focus of the master’s program is to develop scholar-practitioners committed to exploring and expanding research related to the practice and processes in organizations. Graduates will deepen their understandings related to leadership and change within organizations. The participants will gain the knowledge and skills to conduct robust research, to strengthen practices in organizations, and to establish networks for education, psychology, urban affairs, and health and human services, to name a few. The following six principles (Fullan, 2005) form the conceptual framework of the proposed program:

• Commitment to changing contexts at all levels
• Lateral capacity building through networks
• Intelligent accountability and vertical relationships encompassing both capacity building and accountability
• Deep learning at all levels of the system through collaboration
• Dual commitment to short and long-term results
• Leadership that produces leaders.

Sociology is concerned with social relations:

• How people relate to each other as individuals, in families, and in other groups
• How they interact within various social institutions, including the workforce and government
• How their behavior is judged socially acceptable or deviant by others

The Bachelor of Arts Program in sociology trains you to observe and analyze social interactions, predict likely outcomes, and determine how we can develop programs
for the good of individuals and society.

To help prepare for future work and service, you will be required to take five or more upper-level courses designed to develop your writing and critical thinking skills.

Geography is the study of the location and interrelationships of human and physical phenomena on the earth’s surface. Because of its emphasis on spatial organization and distribution of these phenomena, geography has a broad cross-disciplinary base. Such topics of study as cartography, climatology, landform analysis, remote sensing, settlement theory, spatial interaction, geographic information systems, and urban morphology indicate the breadth of contemporary geography. The undergraduate major in geography includes the study of cultural, economic, physical, and regional geography, as well as quantitative methods and field work. Backgrounds in the natural and social sciences, humanities, statistical methods, and computer programming are useful to, but not required for, the geography major.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in geography focuses on examining the processes of the formation and characteristics of the cultural landscape. Students may select an area of study from physical geography, human geography, resource analysis, land management, or economic geography with careful selection of elective courses.

Geography may be selected as an academic major, as a secondary teaching concentration in a social science or earth science program, or as part of an elementary teaching major. Students majoring in geography may qualify for licensure at the secondary level by meeting the minimum requirements in professional education courses for licensure by the state of Ohio. Because of sequential requirements and prerequisites, students are strongly urged to consult with a geography advisor before registering. Students in any major may also minor in Geography.

Geography majors should participate in the department’s internship program if they do not have professional experience in the field. The internship is designed to complement geography students’ class work and gives them experience in the actual work environment. Students interested in the internship should contact the department internship coordinator or their advisor.

The B.S. in physics degree is designed for students who wish to gain a strong foundation in experimental and theoretical physics along with a solid background in mathematics that wish to pursue graduate school in physics or a related field, such as engineering, or directly enter the workforce and a career in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) related field.

The Department of Biological Sciences is home to 22 active research faculty and approximately 50 graduate students. Our faculty are currently funded by EPA, NIH, NSF, USDA, a variety of state and local agencies, and private foundations. Many faculty members have leadership roles in local, state, national and international organizations, including the American Physiological Society, American Society for Testing of Materials, International Standards Organization, the Nature Conservancy, the Ohio Plant Biotechnology Consortium and the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry. They also served on EPA, NIH, and NSF study sections and review panels and are otherwise recognized as experts in their field.