Bachelor of Arts, Major in English

at Northeastern Illinois University USA

The Couple & Family Counseling, M.A., offered through the Department of Counselor Education, fulfills the educational requirements for the two levels of licensure as a professional counselor in the State of Illinois: Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor (LCPC); and two levels of licensure as a Marriage and Family Therapist in the State of Illinois, Associate Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (ALMFT) and the Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT).

Graduates of this program also meet the educational requirements for Clinical Membership in the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. The Couple and Family Counseling program is accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) through the year 2024. In addition, the program’s graduate students are eligible to sit for the National Counselor Examination (NCE) during their last year of study. A passing score on the NCE is one of the requirements for the LPC or LCPC. Graduates from the Couple and Family Counseling Program are eligible to sit for the AMFTRB National Marriage and Family Therapist Exam.

The Bachelor of Science in Earth Science prepares students for graduate study, or a wide range of positions in Environmental Geoscience fields, including industry, consulting, or state/federal agencies. In addition to required and elective ESCI courses, additional courses in cognate fields (math and science) are required for completion of the degree program. All students are urged to plan their program with the help of ESCI faculty advising.

Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGS) is an interdisciplinary field that explores the experiences of women and the many ways that gender works throughout everyone’s lives. Gender shapes our identities, how we are perceived socially and our opportunities in life.

At Northeastern Illinois University, we approach our studies through intersections of feminist, anti-racist, multicultural, global and ecological perspectives. We examine how power is distributed and used along the intersections of race, class, gender, geography, age, abilities and sexualities.

We work together to create an environment of learning and passionate commitment to social justice. Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies is not just about learning facts and theories, but also about praxis—using our knowledge to become practitioners, researchers, learners, leaders and activists. We work to develop and implement meaningful social change within the University and beyond.

The Bachelor of Arts in Music is designed for students who wish to study music in the context of a comprehensive liberal arts experience, immersing themselves in both the practice and theory. The program's flexibility allows for students to pursue specific music topics to augment their interests, as well as broaden their post-graduate career paths.

Students admitted to this program will be enrolled as Music Majors. Participation in musical ensembles is a requirement of all music students, as well as attendance at live performances each semester. All students seeking admission to the program must perform a live audition.

Environmental science integrates a wide range of scientific disciplines necessary to understand the environment and the many interactions among its components.  These interactions include the impact of human activities on the environment and the impact of the environment on humans.

The Environmental Science program promotes the development of problem-solving skills, a broad and solid scientific knowledge base, and it teaches effective team collaboration, because the understanding of and solutions to environmental issues often involve expertise in many scientific areas such as geology, hydrology, biology, chemistry, physics, as well as environmental policy. Team skills, including leadership abilities, are vital to the environmental scientist and are an integral part of the new Environmental Science major. The program will produce graduates who are committed to civic engagement and are qualified for employment with industry, governmental regulatory agencies, environmental consulting firms, and graduate study in Environmental Science or related fields.

This program provides graduate education for students planning careers in industry, business, teaching or planning additional graduate work or professional studies.  Four options in the program are available, the Separation Science Emphasis, the Business-Oriented Separation Science Emphasis, the General Program Emphasis, and the Chemical Education Emphasis. Students in the program can follow the Separation Science Emphasis in order to be prepared for careers in pharmaceutical, cosmetics, nutrients, and food industries. The Business-Oriented Separation Science Emphasis enhance the educational experience of the Separation Science chemists beyond what could be achieved if the Separation Science and the Business Administration were pursued independently.  It serves those who would like to advance into management positions. The General Program Emphasis prepares students to enter professional schools or to continue further graduate work in chemistry. The Chemical Education Emphasis serves in-service middle and high school teachers who attained a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and hold a teaching certification/license to become highly qualified teachers trained in advanced chemistry and pedagogical content knowledge of teaching science in secondary schools. They will also be well prepared to conduct research in the area of Chemical Education or teach at 2-year colleges.

NEIU offers a Master of Arts degree for those individuals seeking an advanced degree in Community and Teacher Leaders. The program is designed to develop knowledge, dispositions, and skills to foster reflective, collaborative and transformative leaders in both community and school settings. Specifically, students will learn to harness the collective knowledge of community members and educators to have a positive impact on community and school success in both traditional and non-traditional settings; promote collaborative governance and leadership in communities and schools with a consistent focus on improved outcomes; model excellence in community leadership and teaching with a strong foundation in transforming the climate; and provide coaching, mentoring, and support to educators and community members to promote and influence change.  Instructional strategies include research, inquiry, analysis, and evaluation as well digital literacy and technology skills.  

Students may select one of two concentrations: community leadership or school-based teacher leadership. While both the Community and Teacher Leaders concentration lead to a Master of Arts degree, the Teacher Leader concentration also leads to a Teacher Leader Endorsement as recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education. Teachers who already have a Master's degree and an Illinois teaching license may take a subset of these courses to earn only the Teacher Leader endorsement. This school-based teacher leader concentration provides knowledge and skills related to leadership and mentoring, professional development, promoting school culture that focuses on student learning, using data to improve educational outcomes, and building collaborative relationships with stakeholders. The community-based leader concentration provides knowledge and skills that foster leadership in ethical and culturally sensitive public engagement, acknowledgement and consideration of the complexities of local and global communities, and leverages community assets to promote social justice.

The B.A. in Physical Education K-12 Licensure prepares students to be a certified teacher in the state of Illinois. The degree program covers the most up-to-date scientific and pedagogical content knowledge relevant to the daily activities of a physical education teacher. The program combines lecture-based courses with hands-on practical clinical experiences in a variety of diverse setting throughout the program. Based on these quality experiences, students will be able to teach in urban and suburban schools. Finally, the program will allow students to create, communicate and utilize unique ideas in K-12 Physical Education.

The Physical Education K-12 bachelor's degree is accredited by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education.

Students in the program will be able to:

• Interact with faculty who are known for their expertise in physical education pedagogy, motor behavior, fitness, and adapted physical education
• Gain experience in diverse field settings within the Chicago area
• Access laboratory settings and gain experience in exercise science and motor behavior
• Utilize a variety of resources, including faculty, peers, facilites, and equipment

Physical Education majors, upon successful completion of the program and graduation from Northeastern Illinois University, are entitled to the Illinois Professional Educator License (PEL), endorsed in Physical Education K-12. Students are encouraged to complete the minor program in Health Education.

The master's degree program in gerontology is a multidisciplinary degree intended to provide both breadth and depth in the study of aging. The required portion of the 36 credit program consists of three parts: The classroom component consists of seven required courses (21 credits), the experiential component consists of an internship (3 credits) and the capstone component involves a thesis (3 credits). In addition to the internship, a practicum is required for those students who do not have prior experience in the field. The thesis may be in basic or applied research or may be a theoretical integration of a topic area.

The combination of required and elective courses prepares graduates to assume positions of responsibility in direct service, administration, social policy, and research with, or on behalf of, older people.

By design the program is part-time, with courses offered in the evening and Saturdays. A student may complete all but the thesis in three academic years by enrolling in one course in the first semester and two courses each semester thereafter. The thesis is the final course and is usually taken after all classroom work is completed.

The Master of Public Health (MPH) is a 42-credit hour program that offers a broad, interdisciplinary training in public health. The MPH program prepares students to lead, conduct research in, serve, and work in a variety of public health settings. Settings may include public and private health care organizations, health research facilities, social service and environmental health agencies, and government institutions dedicated to public health policy, programming, and services. Additionally, students will be prepared to pursue terminal degrees in the behavioral health, epidemiological, or environmental health sciences, as well as health-related law and policy, health care administration, and health communication.

Northeastern’s generalist Master of Public Health is unique in the greater metropolitan Chicago area. The program is taught by a team of faculty across disciplines. Similarly, students will have the opportunity to select six credit hours of electives from a wide variety of disciplines; therefore they are not limited to a concentration area, but rather a wide variety of topic areas related to public health.
Student Learning Outcomes

Students are expected to demonstrate foundational public health knowledge in:

• The profession and science of public health
• Factors related to human health

Students are expected to demonstrate foundational public health competencies in:

• Evidence-based approaches to public health
• Public health and health care systems
• Planning and management to promote health
• Policy in public health
• Leadership
• Communication
• Interprofessional practice
• Systems thinking