Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies

at EDUCO - University of Nebraska - Lincoln USA

The mechanized systems management (MSYM) major prepares students for delivery, management, and technical support of engineered systems for agriculture, food, energy, and water. Students will develop technical, systems analysis, and management skills. This major is ideal for students interested in working with machinery and equipment systems from a practical perspective. The MSYM program includes hands-on coursework in power and machinery systems, processing and handling equipment, and sensors and controls combined with coursework in business, management, agriculture, and natural sciences that prepares students for a wide range of careers in a variety of industries related to agriculture, food, energy, and water. The program offers four options for specialization:

• Production Option
• Business Option
• Technical Option
• Processing Operations Option

Students in the MSYM major benefit from small classes and personalized faculty advising. Students have the opportunity to work part-time in the Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory and numerous departmental research projects. Students are encouraged to participate in student clubs such as the Mechanized Systems Management Club, the Tractor Restoration Club, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Quarter Scale Tractor Team.

The classics and religious studies major offers a wide range of courses in the languages, civilization, religions, and culture of the ancient Mediterranean world, as well as ancient and modern religions broadly conceived. It is an interdisciplinary major with three options: Classical Languages, Classics, and Religious Studies. The major serves as excellent preparation for careers in any number of fields, such as law, medicine, journalism, ministry, business, and education. Depending on your chosen option, this major also provides you with an excellent background to pursue graduate work in classical languages and literature, classical archaeology, ancient history, religious studies, literary scholarship, and other disciplines in the humanities.

Classical Languages Option
Focuses on proficiency in the translation and understanding of Greek, Latin, or Hebrew, and familiarity with lexical and grammatical tools associated with the translation.

Classics Option
Provides a focus on the social and intellectual components comprising the civilization and culture of the ancient Mediterranean world and their impact on subsequent western culture.

Religious Studies Option
Identifies and analyzes major world religious traditions and their influence on individual, social, and cultural phenomena considered from both global and historical standpoints.

The design and technical production option is for those desiring concentrated training/education in scenic, lighting, sound, and costume design, as well as technical theatre production. The training the student receives in this program allows him or her to seek an entry-level position in professional theatre, television or film industries, or pursue further education at a graduate school or internship program. It is the goal of the faculty to give the student the classroom instruction, practical experience, and individual attention needed to form clear goals pertaining to a career in technical theatre.

Your major in computer science will encompass software experience to prepare you to develop the compilers and operating systems of the future, hardware experience to design the next generation computer chips in Silicon Valley and theoretical studies to advance into research in academia.

Over half of your coursework involves computer science software and hardware, mathematics and the natural sciences, leaving time and flexibility to explore your specific interests. Imagine yourself in elective courses such as:

• Computer Organization
• Embedded Systems
• Programming Language Concepts
• Software Engineering
• Operating Systems Principles
• Database Systems
• High-performance Computing

A political science major combines the analytical and communication skills of a liberal arts degree with an in-depth understanding of governments and political processes. Your political science major prepares you for virtually any career path—from government to law, journalism to business. Courses in political science examine government and politics in the United States and around the world.

A diverse and experienced faculty of art historians help art history scholars explore the history of the visual arts from ancient to modern art and the theoretical and critical literature associated with the cultures producing a given art style. Students attain proficiency in the practice of art and knowledge of the history of art in addition to general college education with about one-fourth of the coursework in the major.

What you will learn
Art history provides a humanistic foundation for understanding the visual arts.

Emphasis is placed on the social, political, historical and religious contexts of art while also analyzing the form and style of artworks.

Theoretical and critical literature on interpreting art is an important part of the field, with contributions often coming from fields such as:

• History
• Anthropology
• Philosophy
• Archaeology
• Literature
• Philosophy
• Sociology
• Religious studies

The discipline requires the development of critical writing and research skills.

Philosophy is the critical study of the fundamental concepts and assumptions involved in all central areas of human experience, including religion, morality, science, and art. The department offers an introduction to philosophy course designed for the general student, as well as introductory courses in logic and current issues.

The basic philosophy curriculum includes courses in the history of philosophy covering the period which begins with the development of rational inquiry by the philosophers of ancient Greece and which concludes with the construction of the modern philosophical systems of the Enlightenment as well as courses in each of the major fields of philosophical study: ethics, which is concerned with the basis of morality; metaphysics, which explores different views about what fundamentally exists; epistemology, which examines the nature and limits of human knowledge; and logic, which studies general methods of reasoned argument and analysis.

A number of courses reflect the role of philosophy in investigating the fundamental concepts and assumptions of other disciplines, including courses in medical ethics, the philosophy of law, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of mathematics.

Other courses focus on the role of philosophy in the critical analysis of basic evaluative conceptions and assumptions. Courses in political philosophy critically examine the evaluative concepts and assumptions involved in our beliefs about government, individual liberty, and social and economic justice. Courses in the philosophy of religion do the same for beliefs about the nature and existence of God and about the relations between faith and knowledge.

The department also offers courses in aesthetics, the philosophical study of art, music, and literature understood as fundamental forms of human culture and significant expressions of the human spirit.

The interdisciplinary character of philosophy, together with its focus on evaluative issues and its unique emphasis on general methods of reasoned argument and analysis, leads to an unusually broad and intellectually sound major for students preparing themselves for such professions as law, medicine, social work, government service, and the ministry. The philosophy major is indispensable for those who wish to prepare for a career as a philosopher within a college or university setting.

The Department of Anthropology synthesizes humanistic and scientific perspectives on human biological and cultural diversity as well as the evolutionary trends seen for humankind. Students and faculty bring this integrated perspective to interactions and collaborations with others in a variety of departments and programs in each of the Colleges across the University.

Courses in anthropology acquaint students with the range of human behavior as differentially explored within each of the subdisciplines within anthropology—archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Research or methodological courses outfit students with valuable analytic and research skills in qualitative, quantitative and GIS analysis as well as in content-appropriate analytic protocols, as for the analysis of archaeological and ethnographic materials.

The bachelor of science in veterinary science degree allows students to enter into the biomedical science or animal health career fields as a veterinary scientist. It also helps qualify students for admission to a veterinary medical school.

Courses in veterinary science are designed to broaden students’ knowledge of anatomy, biochemistry, histology, immunology, microbiology, molecular biology, pathology, pharmacology, toxicology, and virology as they relate to diverse mammalian species.

A major in sociology within the College of Arts and Sciences provides students with vital intellectual and occupational skills. This includes analytical thinking; creative problem solving; effective written and oral communication; collecting, analyzing and interpreting data; and gaining expertise regarding the impact of social and cultural dynamics on individual and societal trends. Students may pursue broad training in sociology, or they may pursue a specific Focus Area, such as Crime/Deviance, Family, Health, Social Inequality, or Social Research. We also encourage students strongly to seize the opportunities provided for internships and a variety of research experiences, which play a key role in helping students define their career trajectory and build a resumé.

Our majors pursue careers in a variety of fields that reflect their substantive expertise, such as:

• Social-Justice Related Activism
• Law and Criminal Justice
• Education and Social/Human Services
• Research—especially public health and medicine, public opinion research, market research/marketing, as well as occupations requiring data collection, analysis, and project direction skills (e.g., nursing, policy work, journalism, engineering, computational sciences)
• Public Service/Government and Administration
• Private-sector for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations
• Management and Human Resources

We also encourage students to combine their interest in sociology with one of the many interdisciplinary programs/certificates offered in the College of Arts and Sciences and beyond. This includes but is not limited to Conflict Resolution, Environmental Studies, Ethnic Studies, Global Studies, Human Rights, Humanities and Medicine, Public Policy, Women’s and Gender Studies, plus the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Center for Civic Engagement.