Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies - ITEP Option

at California State University - Fresno USA

Join the leader in science, technology, and management. The award-winning Agricultural Business Program at California State University, Fresno is a pacesetter -- having been recognized by the Agribusiness Education Project, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and comprised of agricultural industry leaders and higher education scholars from around the country.

The agricultural business curriculum is a comprehensive and integrative program of economic principles and business application with a problem-solving orientation and a practical experience emphasis.

The Master of Science in Industrial Technology is a 30-unit program which offers graduate study in both industrial and educational related professional and technical fields. Emphasis is directed toward the attainment of advanced competency in the areas of industrial and technology education as well as manufacturing technology. Through selected courses, within the department and other disciplines, knowledge and experience can be acquired in research and development, management and administration, technological studies, and educational studies that are related to all areas of the field.

Chicano and Latin American Studies (CLAS) is an interdisciplinary department that has been successful in presenting a highly informed, active, and challenging view of the Chicanx/Latinx experience in the United States, Latin America, and U.S./Latin American relations. Chicano and Latin American Studies provides an opportunity for a pluralistic exchange of ideas in an interdisciplinary academic setting, where faculty, students, and visiting scholars can share experiences and create a dynamic, intellectual environment.

The Chicano and Latin American Studies Department is designed to meet the following objectives:

• To promote an awareness of the historical and cultural roots of Chicanx/Latinx people in the United States
• To enhance an understanding of Latin America
• To cultivate an appreciation of ethnic and national differences among all people
• To critically analyze the Chicanx and the Latin American experience in terms of significant issues, theories, current problems, and solutions, and
• To provide students with a set of important professional skills to be utilized as they interact creatively and constructively with Chicanx/Latinx communities and multicultural society at large.

The department emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to the study of family life, history, politics, culture, and the arts of Chicano and Latin American communities. The courses reflect an integrated approach in providing students with greater knowledge and understanding of the social reality and diversity of Chicanxs and Latin Americans.

Audiology, speech-language pathology, deaf education and interpreting are concerned with many issues related to speech, healing, and language. Professionals in audiology and speech-language pathology ?elds are devoted to providing diagnostic, rehabilitative, and educational services to children and adults with communicative challenges. Professionals in deaf education and interpreting ?elds are devoted to providing educational services and community-related services to children and adults who communicate in American Sign Language and/or other communication modalities.

Bachelor of Arts
The Bachelor of Arts degree in Communicative Sciences provides the students with a liberal arts foundation integrated with courses designed to provide a basic understanding of speech, language, and hearing development and communicative problems. Students pursuing deaf studies have three options: deaf education, deaf studies, and sign language interpretation. Students majoring in deaf education and speech-language pathology can continue their options in our graduate program.

The Master of Arts degree program in Education with an option in Multilingual/Multicultural Education is designed to develop expertise in educators with the goal of providing equitable learning environments through their instruction and leadership. The overarching mission is to provide master’s degree candidates with a foundation in research, curriculum, and leadership in order to promote equity in schools serving linguistically and culturally diverse (LCD) learners. In this program, master candidates will be working with students who are not only English learners (EL), but also students who have distinct linguistic and cultural needs.

Because of increasing mobility in our modern world, it takes no time at all to travel to places where people speak a language other than English. If you visit or go to work in another country you will quickly learn the fallacy of the phrase, "Everyone speaks English there; don't worry!" Even in California, scarcely a day goes by that you do not hear people conversing in a language other than English, because the United States has a wealth of different heritage languages. Whether you travel overseas or stay in the United States, you will be more culturally sensitive if you are bilingual and bicultural. For example, agricultural, health, and music professionals benefit from knowing another language. It is never too late to acquire another culture and language.

The goal of the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures is to encourage multiculturalism and multilingualism in the Central Valley. That includes preparing students for communication in some of the important heritage languages of the area: German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese. These are also important languages of Mexico, Central and South America, and the European Union, so students are able to travel or work overseas with greater ease. The department also offers Greek and Latin, as well as Classical Studies and Humanities.

The department has programs for those who wish to be middle and high school teachers of French and Spanish. We offer courses to prepare those who wish to be bilingual/ cross-cultural teachers in elementary schools. We also offer courses in Italian, Portuguese, and other languages to the surrounding community. The department offers a major and a minor in French and Spanish, a minor in German, a minor in Humanities, and a minor in Classical Studies. We collaborate with the Department of Linguistics to offer the B.A. Option in Language Studies.

It is the goal of the Department of Viticulture and Enology to be a world-class center of excellence that can effectively meet the needs of students and the broader community. The department offers courses in viticulture and enology. Each degree integrates viticulture and enology offerings with the basic sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics) and management skills to build a well-balanced foundation.

Academic Excellence
The Department of Viticulture and Enology at California State University, Fresno was officially established in July 2000. The foundations for the current curricula are firmly based in the sciences such as botany, chemistry, soil science, and microbiology. Classes in viticulture and enology are designed to help the students incorporate the basic sciences into the production of grapes and wines with numerous opportunities for “hands-on” learning experiences. We have the only university teaching facilities in the world that combines 120 acres of table, raisin and wine grape vineyards, a commercial 50,000 gallon winery, and a processing facility suitable for small-scale raisin production. This unique combination of academics and facilities has provided the training ground for numerous award winning viticulturists and winemakers.

The Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies is a new pilot program starting in the Fall of 2020. Students in this program are being prepared for a career in the architectural design field. Our program incorporates interdisciplinary courses that not only provide students with a solid understanding of architectural design concepts but with a firm understanding of design graphics, urban studies, city and regional planning and constructability to make them competitive in the architecture industry.

The M.P.A. Program builds on the belief that effective leadership of public agencies requires a basic set of abilities and public values irrespective of the particular characteristics of an organization. Courses in the program focus on the development of critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as an appreciation for ethical decision making.

All students in the program complete a core program of 21 units within the 36 units required for the M.P.A. In consultation with their advisers, students will select the remaining units from graduate public administration courses and courses offered by other departments and programs. These units can be used to further develop a general competence in public administration or to provide students with an opportunity to pursue additional topics of interest. The M.P.A. student can meet the university Graduate Writing Requirement by passing the writing component of the course MPA 210. Please see program director for the written policy. To finish the program students may elect to write a thesis or to take a comprehensive examination.

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers graduate courses and research leading to the Master of Science. The graduate courses and research areas are such that several different career goals can be met, including the following: (1) preparation for enrollment in a Ph.D. program in geology or a related field, (2) preparation for employment as a professional geoscientist with industry or government, and (3) advancement of knowledge of the earth sciences and teaching skills of secondary school and junior college teachers.

Graduate research opportunities are available in several fields, including but not restricted to hydrology/hydrogeology/hydrogeochemistry, geophysics, tectonics, engineering geology, geomorphology, structural geology, volcanology/igneous and metamorphic petrology, sedimentology/paleontology/stratigraphy, paleoclimatology and high temperature, and stable isotope geochemistry.

The graduate program also offers research opportunities in applied geology. This curriculum is usually interdisciplinary, involving coursework in geology, civil engineering, chemistry, soil sciences, and other areas. Applied geology emphases include: (1) engineering and environmental geology and (2) hydrogeology. Students of applied geology are encouraged to undertake theses involving support and supervision by professionals in private and public sectors.