Bachelor of Science in Public Service and Public Policy (Sustainability)

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Downtown Phoenix Campus USA

The MPS program in community development practice trains existing and future practitioners in approaches to developing healthy, sustainable and resilient communities. The program provides students with historical and theoretical foundations, applied research skills and core competencies centered around community building, development practices and the facilitation of democratic and cross-sector collaboration toward social innovation and community solutions. This program allows students to establish an emphasis on topics like housing and economic development, education, social and environmental justice, health, and sustainability, drawing from the extensive expertise of ASU faculty.

Understanding the intersections between business and politics is more important than ever for managers and executives in the private, nonprofit and public sectors. The World Economic Forum's latest Future of Jobs Report and McKinsey Global Institute's Jobs of the Future report both have suggested that transdisciplinary, virtual collaboration and cross-cultural competence are extremely important job skills for the near future. Thunderbird's MGM program with a concentration in global affairs equips students with the knowledge base and hard skills needed to thrive in the growing job markets at the nexus of global business and international politics.

This concentration is designed for students who aspire to take on management and executive positions in government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Commerce, the State Department and the Treasury Department or similar roles in the government of a student's home country. The global affairs concentration also positions graduates for leadership roles in international organizations such as the World Bank or World Trade Organization and in major companies that require analysts to monitor policy trends, managers to oversee global supply chains and representatives to advance global business interests to governments, both domestic and foreign.

The School of Public Affairs offers a concentration in science and technology policy as part of the BS in public service and public policy. The program prepares students to tackle many of today's most important challenges: climate change, energy, information privacy, public health and global development.

The MS in criminology and criminal justice is a research degree program designed to provide students with a high level of theoretical and empirical knowledge about crime and criminal justice.

The program provides students with the advanced research skills, training in program planning and management, and policy and statistical analysis needed for careers as criminal justice researchers, leadership roles in criminal justice and related agencies and organizations, and for continued study in doctoral programs in criminology and criminal justice.

The BS program in community sports management focuses on preparing individuals with an interest in managing sport programs and activities for children, youth, adults and seniors in nonprofit, municipal and for-profit organizations.

The program emphasizes the many roles community sports plays within the community including as a mechanism to improve overall quality of life, youth development, sport tourism and community development. Both program delivery and managerial functions are targeted. Specific areas of opportunity include work with youth sports, adaptive sports, sports tourism, sport events and adult recreational sports.

This program provides professional preparation in population-based approaches to improve health outcomes, including school and community health education. Students pursuing a bachelor's degree in health education and health promotion gain foundational knowledge in health promotion program planning, implementation, evaluation, health education and health advocacy. These skills can be applied to society's most pressing health challenges, including improving the food and built environments to promote health, providing sexual health education, and preventing substance abuse, violence, injuries and infectious diseases.

The program prepares competent, entry-level recreational therapists with the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities needed to improve functional outcomes and increase participation in life activities for individuals experiencing health conditions. It is designed for students who want to learn to conduct assessments, develop service plans, implement therapeutic interventions, and evaluate and document outcomes of care. They gain skills to effectively provide comprehensive therapeutic recreation services that include program design and evaluation, individual and group service provision, and advocacy. The required fieldwork component of the program facilitates the development of competencies to provide quality recreational therapy services.

Students who choose this degree program are committed to improving people's lives and contributing to their communities. This degree program is one of two such programs in Arizona, both offered by the School of Community Resources and Development. This program has a heavier emphasis on healthcare settings such as hospitals and human service agencies while the Bachelor of Science in parks and recreation with a concentration in therapeutic recreation prepares students to provide recreational therapy services in community settings such as youth programs, adaptive sports, or parks and recreation.

The School of Public Affairs offers a concentration in criminology as part of the BS in public service and public policy.

Criminology continues to be a highly sought-after area and it presents broad policy implications for future public sector professionals. This program introduces students to the fundamental foundations in criminal justice and criminology by preparing them to think critically, contribute to society and enhance public safety.

Through the BS degree program in nonprofit leadership and management, students are empowered to become successful professionals who work to advance the quality of life in communities.

The nonprofit sector in the United States is unique in form and function. This sector includes institutions and individuals situated between government, public, business and commerce sectors. With more than 1.6 million organizations in the U.S., the sector employs more people than the finance, insurance and real estate industries combined. Philanthropy (voluntary action for the public good) is a hallmark of the nonprofit sector as individuals give their time, money and know-how to causes about which they care.

The core curriculum provides students with the intellectual tools to integrate their concentration areas, engage in transdisciplinary problem-solving and prepare for careers and graduate programs that increasingly cross disciplinary boundaries. An interdisciplinary studies student could choose to integrate concentrations like business and project management, psychology and social welfare, communication and justice studies, public administration and ethics, digital culture and computer gaming or many other unique combinations.

Interdisciplinary studies is an approach to answering questions, solving problems and addressing contemporary social issues from multiple perspectives. Interdisciplinary studies students take an active role in designing their educational plans and defining their career goals. The degree emphasizes written communication, versatility, self-assessment and critical thinking --- essential skills for today's dynamic world.