Bachelor of Arts in General Studies

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Polytechnic Campus USA

This is an advanced degree that emphasizes competency in the rapidly growing fields of robotics and autonomous systems and with applications in biomedical engineering and medicine.

The biomedical engineering concentration is one of five concentrations in the multidisciplinary MS program in robotics and autonomous systems, which emphasizes robotics, controls, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence and related fields. This concentration is appropriate for students who wish to focus on applications in biomedical engineering.

Biomedical engineers work at the interface of technology and medicine on challenges that are critical to the advancement of health and scientific discovery.

Manufacturing engineering draws upon two distinct bodies of knowledge: manufacturing processes (i.e., how materials are altered in either shape or properties) and the processes of manufacturing (i.e., manufacturing systems and management). This combination of topics is embedded in the MS program in manufacturing engineering, and students can follow their interests by developing deeper expertise in either manufacturing processes or the processes of manufacturing.

The program provides advanced technical content to help students prepare for career transitions and improve company competitiveness. It consists of a core set of courses designed to provide all students with advanced knowledge of manufacturing fundamentals and an introduction to systems engineering. The expertise developed in the core curriculum supports student focus areas building on existing unit faculty strengths, including automation, additive and subtractive manufacturing processes including computer numerical control machining, modeling and simulation, electronics manufacturing and manufacturing management.

Thesis, applied project and portfolio options are offered for the culminating experience.

The MS program in human systems engineering with a concentration in intelligent systems provides students with a deep understanding of the science of human performance and experience in the engineering of intelligent systems, robotics and autonomous systems industries.

Students in this program participate in courses focusing on methods and tools in applied cognitive science and foundations of human systems engineering, including uses of simulation and robotics, among other topics.

This concentration prepares students for facilitating the future of work when humans will work closely with heterogeneous technology in the military, space exploration, manufacturing, medicine and agriculture.

The MS program in software engineering focuses on students' development of advanced knowledge and abilities in the design and application of software.

This unique Master of Science program involves the application of engineering principles to software development, including design methodologies, operation principles and maintenance and testing approaches. Students learn to solve issues through engaging projects, commonly as a member of a development team. The program develops students' professional skills in this discipline and provides opportunities for them to engage in and develop research abilities.

The ABET-accredited BSE program in engineering prepares graduates to collaborate across disciplines to design and build solutions to real-world problems. In the program, students apply fundamental engineering knowledge and design thinking to real projects every semester.

Students in the automotive systems concentration of the Bachelor of Science in Engineering program first build a broad engineering foundation to which they add the skills and knowledge necessary for vehicle design and testing. The curriculum focuses on automotive engineering fundamentals, including powertrain engineering and chassis system design as well as hands-on projects that involve designing, analyzing and building actual automotive systems.

Graduates of this concentration are able to provide leadership in automotive engineering settings, especially in automotive

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.

The BS program in human systems engineering provides students with an understanding of the science of human performance and with experience using methods and tools to apply this understanding to design and problem-solving in a wide variety of domains, such as product usability, learning design, sports performance and workplace and hospital safety.

A wide variety of professions need experts in human factors to work on problems that involve an understanding of human performance. Interest areas include user experience, aviation human factors, cognitive performance, consumer psychology, transportation human factors, patient safety, effective teamwork, health psychology, learning optimization, social cognition, threat detection and sports psychology.

The BA program in liberal studies helps address student interests in a broad array of disciplines and subject matters. The liberal studies degree is transdisciplinary, providing students with a thematic approach to education.

The program gives students the grounding they need to use knowledge as more successful thinkers, decision-makers and leaders. The liberal studies core classes are designed to promote critical and creative thinking as students learn how to draw upon diverse disciplinary perspectives and modes of inquiry and develop analytical and communicative abilities. The classes help advance communication skills and support professional career development.

Students majoring in liberal studies have become part of an international movement in higher education. This movement has proven empowering to people who are given the flexibility to explore multiple interests or approach a particular interest from various perspectives. Students are not alone in their chosen path. In fact, this program is just one of hundreds of similar programs offered in colleges and universities across the nation.

Psychology is the scientific study of human behavior. This diverse field includes mental health and counseling as well as child development, neuroscience and brain function, memory and decision-making, behavior analysis, statistics and crosses into other disciplines such as medicine, law, business and economics.

Emphasizing critical thinking and reasoning, and quantitative research methods and writing, this BS program in psychology goes beyond the classroom with practical experiences through internships, service-learning and faculty-supervised research. (Some opportunities are not available to students enrolled in the degree offered through ASU Online.)

The Bachelor of Science degree differs from the Bachelor of Arts degree in that it requires two additional lab courses and advanced statistical training, providing a greater depth of knowledge in the biological and neuroscientific aspects of psychology that are increasingly important both for research and for clinical practice. The advanced statistical training further prepares students for careers and graduate training involving psychological research, clinical research and legal policy research.

The cross-media nature of the graphics industry requires tomorrow's graduates to understand the full spectrum of visual design and production as well as current business practices.

The graphic information technology program prepares students to become visual design technologists with skills in front-end web design and development, print and digital publishing, commercial photography and videography, and motion graphics and visual effects.

This is an intensive program of study emphasizing theory and hands-on laboratory practice.