Bachelor of Arts in Earth and Environmental Studies

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Tempe Campus USA

The BS program in biological sciences with a concentration in biology and society focuses on training biology students to understand the social context of their science and to ask how and why a biological problem has been and should be studied. Students explore the ways in which policy decisions shape and are shaped by biological research and they investigate the meaning and significance of the life sciences in understanding our complex world.

The biology and society curriculum is highly individualized. This unique degree is home to world-class researchers and teachers in diverse fields, including bioscience ethics, history and philosophy of science, science communication, science education and science policy, all brought together under one program. Students have the opportunity to work with many renowned scholars in independent study and research projects.

The MA program in learning sciences proceeds from an understanding that learning happens in many places, not just in schools.

This program focuses on the power of design thinking to improve educational systems and provides students with a blend of theoretical insights and practical tools that prepare them to shape learning environments and experiences. The systems-level approach includes cognitive, social and contextual factors and the interactions among them.

Graduates of the program are equipped to design effective learning and teaching systems in a broad range of formal and informal settings that include museums, libraries, workplaces and schools and are well-prepared to become leaders in the development, integration and improvement of these systems.

In this MA program, global health is considered to be much more than and very different from international public health. It emphasizes that major health challenges stem from many factors well beyond disease itself --- factors that are cultural, ecological, evolutionary, historical, institutional, social and technological.

Any effective, sustainable solutions to the most pressing global health challenges need to take all of these factors into account, including the complex ways in which they relate to each other. In this manner, this degree program teaches students to understand health as not simply a product of disease, but rather emerging in the contexts of complex and interrelated ecology, politics, history, culture, social institutions and evolutionary biology. It also places primacy on how to address the broader (i.e., structural, cultural) bases of ill health in complicated, ever-changing health challenges in low-resource community settings and a globalizing world. To do this, the program combines both social and life science theories with on-the-ground research and its application. There is a strong emphasis on collaborative action as key to identifying and addressing global health problems in a sustainable and meaningful way.

Students accepted into the program are tied to ongoing transdisciplinary global health projects that address complicated, multifaceted health challenges that defy easy fixes, such as climate change-related diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and obesity.

By applying a collaborative, problem-solving format, the master's degree program in global health is intended to provide those planning to enter health or related fields (i.e., environmental, social) with the transdisciplinary orientation, team skills and social and cultural acuity that the Pew Health Professions Commission inter alia has identified as critical but lacking in current health workforce training. The program also emphasizes experiential learning as a way to gain mastery and requires participation in a global internship program based in one of the international partnering communities.

The MID in industrial design is a studio-based program in which students learn to design new products and service systems that solve critical global problems.

Students engage in research, brainstorming, idea visualization, prototyping and testing of creative solutions that address critical problems faced in the world today.

Graduates of this program are adept in using principles of design innovation, sustainability and systems thinking in problem-solving.

The School of Arts, Media and Engineering educates the next generation of learners and empowers them with technofluency --- its development, application and implications. The School of Arts, Media and Engineering prepares students to be socially aware, critically thinking global citizens who strive to bring about positive change in a society that will be increasingly shaped by new technologies.

The BA program in digital culture equips students with the knowledge, abilities and technical skills they need for creating computational media.

Students learn to create computational media, which is computation combined with objects, sound, video, time, space, culture and bodies; breathe behavior into media, objects or systems by programming; think critically about how computation impacts lives and how culture makes a difference in how people experience computational media, a critical skill in this dynamic age.

Armed with skills and reasoned judgment, graduates work in cultural communication, marketing, design, social media, health, education, entertainment and creative arts, and all areas in which culture is shaped by technology and computational media. All students gain techniques to change the world and communicate using contemporary computational media, a vital power in the 21st century. Some go on to invent fresh techniques.

Graduates interested in continuing their education are well prepared to apply for the top interdisciplinary new media programs in the nation.

Digital Culture - Music Concentration

In the digital culture program with a concentration in music, students complement their knowledge of digital culture with discipline-specific courses in the School of Music. These courses focus on understanding the foundations and historical and theoretical structures of commercial and popular music and the principles of electronic music composition and digital sound.

The MS program in computer science affords an opportunity for students employed in industry to seek a breadth of advanced education in computer science.

The program reflects the dual nature of computer science as a scientific and engineering discipline by allowing emphasis on theory as well as practical applications. Students can study topics such as:

• Artificial intelligence
• Big data
• Cloud and distributed computing
• Cybersecurity
• Database management and information retrieval
• Database systems
• Data mining and machine learning
• Distributed computing and operating systems
• Imaging, graphics and visualization
• Simulation modeling and systems

The BSE program in electrical engineering prepares students for positions as electrical engineers.

Following initial coursework in mathematics and sciences, the foundation classes build a solid base of engineering knowledge. The electrical engineering curriculum includes a number of required upper-division electrical engineering and technical elective courses in such areas as circuits; communication, signal processing and control systems; computer engineering; electromagnetics; power; and solid-state devices.

Approved technical elective courses provide students with an opportunity either to broaden their background in electrical engineering or to study in greater depth the technical subjects in which they have special interest.

The MA program in mathematics is designed to increase mathematical knowledge beyond the traditional level of a bachelor's degree in order to prepare students for careers requiring sophisticated mathematical skills. Students may choose to specialize in applied mathematics, core mathematics, mathematics education or statistics through their course selections.

The BA program in Asia studies offers students the opportunity for in-depth study of East Asia, South Asia or Southeast Asia through a coherent concentration of academic study across a number of disciplines. The transdisciplinary approach provides students with a variety of intellectual tools that enable them to address contemporary political, social and cultural issues in Asia and apply their knowledge in various academic and practical settings.

By bringing their own unique stories to life, students pursuing a degree in film and media production develop a comprehensive and practical knowledge of digital media production, an awareness of the impact of media and entertainment on audiences and culture, and an understanding of the role of the artist in society.

Students in this degree plan have access to digital cameras, lighting and sound equipment, post-production software and facilities, and other resources --- including talented and dedicated peer and faculty colleagues who will give them multiple opportunities to produce projects of exceptional quality.

Students choose one of three upper-division tracks of study: directing, producing and screenwriting, and media technology including cinematography, post-production and sound. Each course of study is supported by the degree-wide emphasis on ethical filmmaking practices, innovative creative expression and preparation for a career as an industry professional.