Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies

at California State University - Monterey Bay USA

Want to establish broad knowledge, communication skills, creative talents, critical thinking abilities and multicultural awareness that will make you widely employable? Looking for an incredibly interdisciplinary and adaptable major that combines dozens of traditional fields of study?

Humanities & Communication majors gain broad knowledge, multicultural communication skills, creative talents, and outstanding writing and critical thinking abilities for the 21st-century workplace. Our major integrates traditional disciplines within humanities and communication with contemporary fields and explores how these fields interrelate.

You will study across the various disciplines in order to gain an integrated understanding of world issues and problems, and you will apply your knowledge ethically, critically, and creatively toward the fulfillment of concrete personal and social goals and needs.

The Sustainable Hospitality Management major provides students with a broad foundation in hospitality, sustainablity, leadership and management, operations, marketing, and information technology. The major provides students with local, regional, and global perspectives on current and pressing sustainability issues and problems within the hospitality industry.

The central core of the program focuses on the concept of “sustainability plus,” going beyond sustainability to address issues in terms of the five-dimensioned lens of People, Ethics, Equity, Planet, and Profit. Students can focus in sustainable hotel, resort, and event management or sustainable ecotourism management. Students gain hands-on knowledge and skills needed to pursue careers in hospitality, including hotels, restaurants, resorts, festivals and events, ecotourism, attractions, and eco-recreation with a focus on “green” jobs in business and industry.

The Master of Arts in Education prepares strong education professionals to have an informed understanding of complex learning; the knowledge and skills to promote such learning; and the disposition to advocate effectively for the learning, living and growth of students, especially those who bring cultural, linguistic and other diversity to schools. The program coursework challenges educators to analyze and improve their instructional practice to better serve students with diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, as well as students with special needs.

The Special Education strand of the MAE program is combined with our CLEAR Special Education Credential.

This program prepares strong professionals who have an informed understanding of what constitutes learning, the knowledge and skills to promote such learning, and the disposition to actively work toward change when policies or practices negatively impact the learning, living, or growth of students—especially those students with special needs who bring cultural or linguistic diversity to schools.

As such, the MAE with an emphasis in special education affords candidates an opportunity to expand their skill and knowledge base through exploration, analysis, and discussions about the latest trends and theories in special education in a scholarly environment that honors the free exchange of ideas, thoughts, and insights.

The CHHS major provides you with the essential knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become a future leader in health and social service organizations. It also prepares you for entry into graduate programs in public health, social work, public administration, nonprofit management, and related allied health and social service professions.

You will master the theory and practice of inter-agency collaboration; acquire proficiency in the use of electronic technologies; and develop sound critical-thinking, communication and analytical skills. You will also build a foundation of values and ethics, and cultural competence needed for serving client populations and communities whose backgrounds differ from your own.

The Biology major offers scaffolded courses that provide students with essential knowledge and skills that prepare graduates for success in jobs, graduate school, or professional school in areas such as biotechnology, genomics, health-related fields, agriculture, field biology, ecology, and marine biology. The highly trained faculty are committed to student success, and provide opportunities for undergraduates to be involved in cutting-edge independent research, as well as service to the community. Many of the biology courses provide course-based research experiences that prepare graduates for admission to world-renowned graduate and professional schools.

The Biology major offers concentrations in:

• Molecular Biology
• Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
• Teacher Preparation

The School Psychology program is designed to prepare professional K-12 school psychologists with the essential competencies to provide the complex services demanded of schools within the educational system. The program is designed to foster development along the ten NASP domains, with a focus in each area around serving culturally and linguistically diverse students in diverse settings.

The Master of Arts in Education prepares strong education professionals to have an informed understanding of complex learning; the knowledge and skills to promote such learning; and the disposition to advocate effectively for the learning, living and growth of students, especially those who bring cultural, linguistic and other diversity to schools. The program coursework challenges educators to analyze and improve their instructional practice to better serve students with diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, as well as students with special needs.

Curriculum and Instruction

The Master of Arts in Education provides advanced training to prepare effective professional educators who implement evidence-based practices to promote meaningful outcomes in our schools and communities.

The B.A. in Music is a hands-on program that prepares students for careers in performance, composition for acoustic and electronic/interactive media, sound engineering, audio programming, and music education, across commercial, independent, and community sectors: Music students produce concerts, mixes, musicals, scores, performances, sound installations, texts, talks, electroacoustic compositions, and interactive and experimental multimedia work in a variety of collaborative, independent, and cross-disciplinary projects. Courses develop skills and experience in all aspects of music-making, including producing, performing, analyzing, composing, songwriting, mixing, editing, documenting, marketing, and programming.

Rooted in the liberal arts tradition of critical, interdisciplinary thought and practice, the degree emphasizes well-rounded musicianship through a balance of experience in performance, composition, musicology, ethnomusicology, music theory, acoustics, and music technology - each characterized by its own ways of thinking and doing - complemented by rigorous, fundamental training in critical listening, sight-singing, keyboard skills, and the fluent reading, writing, and digital engraving of Common Western Music Notation. Beyond these fundamentals, students craft a personal, inquiry-driven degree emphasis in response to a chosen research and creative agenda, leading to an ambitious scholarly-creative capstone thesis project in a chosen area of expertise.

The ability to communicate with Spanish speakers and appreciate Hispanic cultures gives you a tremendous advantage in a wide range of careers. Whether on the job or in your community, your Spanish language competency and cultural understanding can help you establish valuable connections in the inter-dependent global community.

You will attain an advanced level of proficiency in Spanish according to the criteria of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages(ACTFL) guidelines. You will also acquire a reasonable understanding and knowledge of Hispanic cultures through the study of literature, history, art, social science, philosophy, etc. in a variety of courses taught in Spanish and English. As you plan your program, you will be able to select a specific area of concentration (literature, culture, linguistics) in which to acquire a deeper knowledge relative to your particular interests and goals. Additionally, you will engage in real-life learning via your service-learning experiences where you will have opportunities to work with public and private agencies on projects that integrate your language skills with community needs. Finally, in your Senior Capstone project, you will have the opportunity to demonstrate thorough understanding of a topic of interest to you.

The program prepares you for successful professional careers in teaching, business and technology, travel, tourism, governmental and non-governmental agencies, and for graduate study in Hispanic languages and literatures, Chicano/Latino studies, linguistics, translation and interpretation, TESOL, or focused international disciplines such as policy, management and business.

The M.S. in Environmental Science offers innovative, interdisciplinary training in science and technology within the context of environmental policy. There are two M.S. degree options: Professional Science Master’s (PSM) and thesis.

Within the PSM option, you will deepen the skills you learn in the classroom through a professional internship. The PSM option gives you flexibility to structure your graduate experience around your professional interests. You will develop specialized skills that will distinguish your entry into a career that requires highly skilled professionals within technology and applied science-based companies, resource management and planning agencies, scientific and environmental consulting firms, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. The thesis option focuses on independent research intended for professional publication, and can launch you into a doctoral program or a professional career in scientific research, resource management, education, and policy.

Located at the nexus of world-class research agencies and institutes, state and regional preserves, the Fort Ord National Monument, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, CSU Monterey Bay is a prime location for studying watershed, terrestrial, and coastal environments.