Master of Arts in Economics - Financial Economics

at Kent State University USA

The Bachelor of Technical and Applied Studies degree in Technical and Applied Studies is designed both for students beginning their academic study and for students with an associate degree or college-level coursework. The program accommodates varied educational backgrounds, develops competencies needed for success in a variety of work settings and offers major courses in schedules attractive to traditional students and to time- and place-bound adults.

Students construct a meaningful plan for using the curriculum to explore and prepare for their preferred futures by completing a cornerstone course. A capstone course features a synthesizing of learning focused on foundational competencies and developing an electronic portfolio. This enables students to collect artifacts of their learning, which can be used to advance their careers.

The Technical and Applied Studies major includes the following optional concentrations:

• The Applied Business concentration is an option for associate degree graduates or students with a business background who choose not to pursue the B.B.A degree, or for students who would like to gain knowledge about financial management, customer service, strategic management, labor students and leadership. The concentration includes a practicum.
• The Nonprofit-Human Services concentration provides students with the knowledge and competencies in areas such as grant writing and fundraising, mission and vision, advocacy and lobbying, risk management, board committee development, program planning, leadership and ethics, human resource development, youth and adult development, marketing, financial management and nonprofit management.

Students may also declare the Technical and Applied Studies major with no concentration. The stand-alone major offers a flexible and robust core of skills/knowledge-based courses, which bridge multiple disciplines in multiple colleges. The skill sets that are provided by this program are civic engagement, computer literacy, critical thinking, diversity and internationalization, ethics, information literacy, leadership, self-management, oral and written communication and mathematics.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Insurance Studies provides students with the academic background for career entry in the insurance industry. The insurance studies degree program offers a well-rounded core of business and social science courses including management technology, professional writing, and human communications.

Building on this core curriculum are courses that provide the opportunity to explore all lines of insurance, including personal lines, commercial lines, life and health insurance. Students also take on an internship during their third year to reinforce their insurance industry knowledge and gain real-world experience.

The knowledge gained in the insurance program permits students to join any organization within the insurance industry with a solid understanding of applicable products, regulations, operations and policy contracts. Students graduate with knowledge of several specific insurance industry facets, such as property and casualty insurance, life and health insurance, insurance company and agency operations, insurance regulation, insurance finance and risk management.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the insurance industry
• Possess strong analytical and problem-solving skills to identify and critically assess problems facing the insurance industry
• Identify and assess legal and ethical issues surrounding insurance industry decisions
• Work effectively in a team-based environment

The Bachelor of Science degree in Respiratory Care is a completer program designed to prepare qualified respiratory therapists with the necessary knowledge and skills to develop professionalism and advance their careers in the areas of leadership, management, education, research, disease and sleep medicine utilizing best practices in order to advance the practice of respiratory care.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Incorporate theory, research, evidence and best practices to enhance respiratory care practice.
• Understand leadership and management principles as it relates to the function and organizational structure of the respiratory care department.
• Understand the purpose and application of key elements of professionalism in the practice of respiratory care.
• Demonstrate techniques and strategies of teaching and learning of respiratory therapy utilized in various venues.
• Identify a variety of sleep and breathing disorders and exhibit a fundamental understanding of the application and interpretation of sleep studies in the diagnosis of related disorders.
• Apply critical thinking in the area of managing chronic disease and the impact healthcare professionals have on affecting positive patient population outcomes.
• Describe research methodology and design and their application to health science research and their application to everyday health care.
• Exhibit knowledge in specified areas of advanced respiratory care practice.
• Identify and analyze current contemporary issues in respiratory care and their impact on the profession and delivery of care.
• Understand information management and information systems, technology and the human/technology interface utilized in professional healthcare practices.

The Master of Science degree in Data Science provides a focus on developing scientists who will understand the theories, methods and tools of data science and apply data science to solving research and workplace questions in the natural, health and social sciences for businesses and industries.

Data science is an emerging STEM discipline founded on the principles of mathematics and the sciences and developed through a synthesis of mathematics and computer science. One may think of data science as a blending together of methods and ideas from analysis, statistics, databases, big data, artificial intelligence, numerical analysis, graph theory and visualization for the purposes of finding information in data and applying that information to solving real-world problems.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Ask the questions so that problems in a particular business or industrial situation become clear.
• Determine if the problem may be addressed with data science methods and tools, and if yes, propose potential methods for solving the problems.
• Make suggestions for how data science may be used to enhance the quality and value of currently existing products (whether the products are physical or methods) and how data science may be used in the development of new products.

The Master of Arts degree in History offers students the opportunity for advanced study in a variety of areas. Coursework emphasizes interpretation, methodology and original research. A student's program of study allows for the opportunity to conduct historical inquiry, research and analysis at the highest level. While students will be able to develop a core competence in their chosen field study, they will also study the histories of regions and times far removed from their central interests. Students may also pursue interdisciplinary work in cognate fields composed of courses in outside disciplines.

Students who anticipate continuing their graduate study beyond the M.A. should pursue one of the thesis tracks. Those who choose the thesis option, which is required of students on graduate assistantships, will produce a thesis based on original primary source research that engages a historiographically significant research question. Non-thesis options are available for those who do not expect to go on to doctoral work.

The program develops graduates who are educated scholar-citizens committed to historical empathy and in possession of critical thinking and communication skills honed by rigorous training.

The History major includes the following optional concentration:

• The History for Secondary School Teachers concentration is for educators interested in the advanced study of history. Coursework is focused on current scholarship and approaches to history. While the concentration's focus is not in history pedagogy, it is designed to encourage the application of current historical scholarship to the work responsibilities of the practicing teacher. The program provides school professionals with a structured but flexible approach to analyzing and teaching history while permitting interdisciplinary work in related fields or areas particularly relevant to students' professional objectives.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Music gives music majors an opportunity to study music and liberal arts with an optional minor, available in most academic areas of the university, or as a dual degree program with a major in another field. Although not as music intensive as the Bachelor of Music degree, the B.A. degree includes study on a main instrument and ensemble participation throughout the program.

The Music major includes the following optional concentrations:

• The Contemporary Popular Music concentration provides students the opportunity to study contemporary instruments such as electric guitar, electric bass and voice, as well as participate in a variety of styles including rock, pop, Motown and other popular styles.
• The Jazz Studies concentration provides students the opportunity to study jazz improvisation, arranging and composing.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate knowledge of music history and theory
• Demonstrate high-level skills in recitals, ensembles or music research

The Master of Arts degree in Cultural Foundations explores education through a range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives: philosophy of education, history of education, sociology of education, comparative/international education, anthropology of education, gender studies, multicultural studies and religious studies. Students examine the social contexts of education, with particular emphasis on structural inequalities, issues of access, and the distribution of educational opportunity, normative considerations about the purposes of education, and the transformative potential of education.

The degree program promotes students' responsibilities as change agents in a range of educational settings, including schools, cultural and religious institutions and civic associations. Graduates of the program have the knowledge and skills to interpret and critique educational policies and practices and to promote innovative practices in a variety of educational settings, domestically and worldwide.

Students in the M.A. degree write a thesis on an educational topic of their own choosing. Thesis students work closely with their academic supervisor to generate a thesis topic and design a research study or undertake a scholarly analysis of an issue of interest to the student.

Program Learning Outcomes
Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the social, cultural, economic and political assumptions shaping educational policies and reforms in the United States and other societies.
• Understand the nature of the democratic challenge for schooling in answering such foundational questions as: "What should be taught?" "Who should be taught?" and "Who should teach?"
• Demonstrate an understanding of the convergence of social class, race, gender, sexual orientation and disability as barriers to and opportunities for educational change, domestically and internationally.

The Bachelor of Integrative Studies degree provides maximum freedom for students who wish to take a multidisciplinary, individualized approach to the design of an educational program while maintaining a focus on career and professional goals. The Integrative Studies major has a General concentration, and a Two Minors concentration. These concentrations may have the most appeal for students near the end of their academic careers (senior-level students) who are re-evaluating their academic and career choices. It is a program in which the student undertakes the responsibility for the research and design of their program, in consultation with an advisor.

The Integrative Studies-General concentration allows students to choose a minimum of 30 credit hours from interrelated programs that support their career aspirations.

The Integrative Studies-Two Minors concentration allows students to complete two university-recognized minors and/or certificates. A minimum of two academic departments in which to select courses are chosen and a rationale for the ways in which these courses support the student's career goals is developed.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Communication Design prepares students for design and illustration professions. Students develop technical proficiency and design expertise in the organization of imagery and typography to communicate information in two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms using interactive media, environments and motion design. Students produce work for print, video, screen and interactive experiences, as well as package design, exhibition design and environmental wayfinding.

This major leads to a professional degree and focuses on intensive work in the visual arts. The B.F.A. degree consists of approximately two-thirds of the coursework in the creation and study of the visual arts, with the remainder in liberal/general studies. Because of the greater emphasis on upper-level studio courses, the B.F.A. degree allows students an opportunity to build greater expertise in a given area of the field. The B.F.A. degree program is for students planning to pursue a career in visual communication design and want to leave Kent State with a strong portfolio.

There are many study abroad/away opportunities. For more information contact the Office of Global Education or coordinator of the college's International Study Programs.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the ethics (and legal issues) closely associated with fields of visual communication.
• Demonstrate an understanding of traditional hands-on skills relative to craftsmanship. Students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic use of digital technologies as they relate to their areas of study.
• Demonstrate an ability to create visual response to communication problems, including understanding of hierarchy, typography, aesthetics, composition and construction of meaningful images.

The Master of Arts degree in Biology is for students wishing to gain additional knowledge in any area of the biological sciences. This is a non-thesis master's degree designed for secondary school science teachers, individuals looking for additional background or preparation for professional school (e.g. medicine, dentistry or Ph.D. programs) and those seeking employment in life science industries in a non-research capacity.

The Biology major includes the following concentration:

• The Cellular and Molecular Biology concentration provides a heavy focus on cell-to-cell interactions and signaling pathways to give students a deep understanding of the cellular and molecular processes that occur within cells and physiological systems.

Students who declare the Biology major with no concentration will select their area of specialization in consultation with an academic faculty advisor.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

• Understand advanced biological concepts beyond the scope of the typical undergraduate degree and to increase the depth of their knowledge through coursework and hands-on experiences.
• Apply scientific principles and appreciate work outside of their particular field.
• Effectively communicate about science with colleagues as well as those outside of the student's area of expertise.
• Develop the necessary laboratory skills that will allow testing of hypotheses.