Bachelor of Arts in Innovation in Society

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Tempe Campus USA

The MSE in construction engineering is a transdisciplinary degree program that encompasses the areas of geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, construction engineering and management-related topics.

This focus on a combination of design and management prepares the student for a career at the interface of design and construction. Students who are interested in a career emphasizing construction of infrastructure find this program especially desirable.

The BS program in innovation in society is designed to help students cultivate the critical thinking skills needed to develop creative strategies that steer innovations toward the needs and values of society. Students are trained to synthesize research and theory from the social sciences, humanities, natural sciences and engineers so they can develop proposals for how to build better futures.

No single discipline is able to solve the complex problems we face today. Science and engineering can help us further values we hold dear, such as health, economic prosperity, security, justice, peace, sustainability, privacy and happiness. But innovations need to be developed and deployed carefully and with an understanding of a global context that includes corporations, governments, infrastructure and people.

Students in this major learn to consider the implications of technology before it is deployed and understand the big picture so that they can bring together the pieces needed to form a successful strategy. Classes include extensive use of interactive activities and projects.

The program is specifically tailored for students who have a background or interest in the engineering, science and quantitative social science aspects of innovation who want to play a pivotal role in bringing different disciplines together to solve the world's most difficult problems.

The BS program in construction management and technology allows students to specialize in commercial, heavy, residential and specialty construction and facility management. Students learn to organize, lead and manage the building construction business processes related to real estate, facility and infrastructure projects.

Construction management is the most vital function on a job site. Construction managers represent the interests of the building owner or the contractor and interact with architects, engineers, subcontractors, vendors and suppliers to ensure the success of construction projects in the built environment.

This program focuses on the business of construction and technology, such as building information modeling.

Students learn the basics of design; the construction methods specific to each type of construction (heavy, residential, commercial, specialty); and the process of sustainable or green construction. They learn how to estimate, schedule and control the costs of a project and what it takes to manage the people involved and the various types of contracts. Graduates are prepared with the computer, management, technical and people skills they need to succeed.

This is one of two construction programs in the state of Arizona and one of approximately 80 accredited programs in the nation.

The MS program in sustainability is a research-oriented degree program that culminates with research writing, either a thesis or capstone in the form of a publishable scientific paper.

The program focuses on knowledge generation and investigating potential solutions to sustainability challenges and prepares students for designing and conducting transdisciplinary research. This master's degree program is best-suited to students inclined toward natural sciences, economics, engineering or related quantitative fields, and who are interested in a career in research or academia.

Students learn how different disciplines view and approach the challenges of sustainability in theory, research and practice. They develop the academic and technical skills as well as the ethical insights that help them understand, research and provide solutions to complex sustainability challenges at the local, regional, national and global levels.

All sustainability graduate students understand the need for a transdisciplinary approach to solving sustainability challenges, can communicate their work to professionals in other disciplines and to policymakers and the general public, and have the breadth of vision to incorporate the interconnectedness of social, economic, environmental and technical systems into their research. They have the critical thinking skills necessary for approaching sustainability challenges from a systems perspective; the skills needed to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams, and the technical skills required to formulate and solve problems at the appropriate scale.

Neuroscience is concerned with understanding the structure and function of the nervous system and its relation to behavior. The field of neuroscience spans all levels of biological analysis with interfaces to many fields such as mathematics, psychology, philosophy, law and engineering.

The BS program in neuroscience consists of rigorous, in-depth training in cellular and molecular neuroscience, systems biology, behavioral neuroscience, and cognitive neuroscience. After this breadth of training in foundational knowledge, students elect a focus area within these four categories.

Following coursework in their specific area of specialization, students are prepared for collaborative and interdisciplinary research in neuroscience. The degree program also enables students to enter professional degree graduate programs and to integrate innovative outcomes from the research community into their practices.

The MA program in political science offers a variety of areas of specialization within and between the four main subfields of political science -- American politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory -- with particular strengths in ethno-religious dynamics, women and politics, conflict and human rights, and Latino politics.*

Faculty also conduct research and teach in the areas of political psychology and political economy, and many are active in collaborative interdisciplinary research at ASU and with scholars at other universities; many have won major grants and awards. The school is host to the Center on the Future of War, the Center for Latina/os and American Politics Research and an experimental lab.

This Master of Arts program may be taken as a terminal program or as a step toward eventual fulfillment of the requirements for the doctorate. Students who plan to obtain the doctorate at ASU should apply directly to the doctoral program.

*Students interested in a political theory specialization should consult with the academic unit prior to application prior to application.

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 BA program in earth and environmental studies provides a foundational understanding of the evolution of the earth system with an emphasis on the planetary context for sustainable human societies.

The degree program includes broad training in the physical sciences, especially process-oriented geosciences that focus on Earth's life-sustaining surface environment. Advanced courses focus on topics including:

• Climate change
• Earth's water, energy and material resources
• Impact of land-use change on human civilization
• Physical, chemical and biological process interactions that define Earth's evolution

This is designed as a liberal arts program with an emphasis on basic scientific literacy, not as a preparatory degree program for graduate study in the natural sciences.

The MAS in geographic information systems is a compact, one-year degree program fostering advanced study in the management and use of GIS technology in public and corporate environments. The degree program meets important educational needs of working professionals and recent college graduates seeking to improve their career standing. The program provides a comprehensive professional program that balances work in the theoretical and technical aspects of GIS with the applications domain. Students are exposed to innovative technology with a focus on building invaluable problem-solving skills, and the opportunity to work on real-world GIS projects.

The program places the focus on location --- the heart of geography and GIS. From that foundation, students learn advanced modeling solutions in GIS and Earth-observing as well as how to integrate computer science, statistics and geography to address a multitude of questions.

Small class sizes ensure quality attention from the faculty, and classes are held in the evening during the week, allowing flexibility for the working professional. The degree is achievable in a one-year time period. A new cohort begins the program each August, with students attending evening classes during the fall and spring semesters. Upon completion of the spring semester, students select a project to complete during a summer eight-week session. Final presentations take place in mid-July, and in fewer than 11 months the degree program is complete.

The concentration in dramatic writing under the MFA in theatre includes coursework in playwriting, screenwriting, historical studies in theatre, dramatic theory, directing new work, literary management, electives and related topics such as writing for solo performance, storytelling, devising and collaborative writing.

The School of Music, Dance and Theatre supports the production of new plays and performance works written by its Master of Fine Arts students. Student-written work is included in the Theatre Labs and is considered for main stage productions.