Master of Science in American Indian Studies (Tribal Leadership and Governance)

at Kaplan Group - Arizona State University - Tempe Campus USA

Informatics is about discovering, developing and understanding computer applications that improve people's lives. The BS program in informatics prepares students to become skilled professionals who take a transdisciplinary, user-oriented perspective toward information and computing systems, apply current informatics methods to address society's needs and contribute to the next generation of such systems.

The informatics bachelor's degree program provides an option for students interested in a flexible program in applied information and computing technologies. The program provides skills in design and implementation of computer systems while offering opportunities for building applications used by people in many fields. Students learn to develop software for devices of all sizes, from supercomputers to cell phones and even smaller. The challenges of informatics include designing, developing and applying tools that model, aid or automate activities within science, engineering, business, geography, education and entertainment.

The MA in sustainability is a research-oriented degree program that culminates with research writing: either a thesis or publishable scientific paper.

The program focuses on knowledge generation and investigating potential solutions to sustainability challenges and prepares students to design and conduct transdisciplinary research. Although the graduate degree programs emphasize the integration of a broad range of expertise, this program is best-suited to students inclined toward transdisciplinary science, humanities, planning or related 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 academic and technical skills as well as ethical insights that can help them understand, research and provide solutions to complex sustainability challenges at the local, regional, national and global levels.

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

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 BS program in biological sciences with a concentration in genetics, cell and developmental biology integrates the study of three exciting, closely related areas of life science research.

Genetics examines the blueprints of life, such as DNA sequence and gene expression, while cell biology studies the machinery of life enclosed within the boundaries of cells. Developmental biology uses both genetics and cell biology to understand how genes and the environment interact to produce a whole new individual from a single cell as well as understand the various developmental changes that organisms undergo throughout life.

The combined study of genetics, cell biology and development has resulted in a better understanding of many diseases and promises to prove even more important in the future.

The BMus in performance with a concentration in guitar is a program that focuses on the study of classical guitar literature and techniques. Goals include enabling students to express themselves musically while emphasizing the skills necessary to pursue careers as professional musicians. The course of study includes extensive performance experiences.

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 BA program in Italian offers students an opportunity to study the literature and culture of Italy while gaining a respectable measure of competence in reading, writing, oral and aural skills in the Italian language. Students broaden their knowledge by completing a number of related courses on topics such as:

• Art
• Film
• Government
• History
• Literature and culture
• Religion

Faculty-directed summer programs in Italy are available for students who wish to study the language and culture while living in the country. Study abroad programs in various cities in Italy are also available during the academic year.

The concentration in computational mechanics under the BSE program in mechanical engineering teaches students the modern computational tools available for solving large-scale and complex technical problems. The curriculum focuses on high-performance computing and the accurate modeling of large and small scale systems.

Students who pursue the BA in film with a concentration in filmmaking practices receive grounding in fundamental production skills; entertainment and media ethics; feature, short and episodic screenwriting; and general film and media industry history and practices.

Students have the option of two tracks of study in the upper division: screenwriting or preprofessional. Students who choose the screenwriting track are required to take multiple writing courses at the intermediate and advanced levels. Students in the preprofessional track chose from among a series of course options in each of these areas: writing, producing, and film and media technology.

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.