Bachelor of Arts in Music

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

The Bachelors degree in Communication Studies offers coursework that enables students to construct, convey, and interpret communication in diverse contexts. The major prepares students to enter professions requiring proficiency in relational, group and public communication. Courses combine theory and practice to enhance the student's ability to communicate well in both career and personal life. Students develop their capacities in ethical and critical thinking, improving their abiility to articulate and defend their opinions as engaged citizens in a diverse world.

The Bachelor of Science degree in Psychological Sciences enables students to develop an understanding of and knowledge about human behavior from several perspectives in psychological science, the ability to apply and synthesize that knowledge within specific psychological domains, and the research methods skills necessary to become critical evaluators and producers of knowledge of human behavior. The BS in Psychological Sciences is distinct from the BS in Psychology because it provides students with the opportunity for focused study in behavioral science through four emphases and one certificate program, and trains students in the more advanced research skills necessary for scientific inquiry within this discipline and for entry into a Ph.D. program in Psychology, if a student chooses to continue in an academic track. Psychological Sciences majors complete a core sequence of courses including introductory psychology, a set of lower division breadth courses, introduction to statistics, research methods in psychology, a set of upper division depth courses, and a capstone course.  Psychological Sciences majors also receive additional research training through completion of an advanced research methods course and a minimum of 6 units of research experience. Additionally, Psychological Science majors have the opportunity for in depth study in a specific area of psychology through completion of a certificate in human resource management, or an emphasis in social/personality, neuroscience, clinical/health, or developmental psychology.

Developmental Psychology
Students will complete advanced coursework and engage in research on human growth and lifespan changes, including the intersection of physical, cognitive, social, intellectual, perceptual, personality and emotional changes across time and context. Graduating students will be able to:

• Demonstrate depth in their knowledge and application of psychological concepts and frameworks to complex problems in developmental psychology.
• Demonstrate mastery of critical thinking and research skills through completion of a research placement in the area of developmental psychology.
• Produce a research study or other psychological project related to developmental psychology that meets writing standards of the profession, explain scientific results, and present information to a professional audience.

This bachelor of science degree in Strategic Communication offers a strong core of advertising, public relations, and communication courses, to engage students in a variety of professional communication environments. Students may pursue one of two emphases to allow deeper skill mastery in advertising or public relations.

Communication develop an understanding of communication theory and how messages are spread among groups of people. They apply analytical skills to the development and evaluation of communication plans. They also master practical skills needed for the implementation of those communication plans.

Upon graduation, students emphasizing one area of strategic communication will often find themselves working closely with other professionals focusing on skills in other areas of Strategic Communication. However, the emphasis areas tend to differentiate from each other in the following broad ways.

Advertising emphasizes the use of paid media in communication efforts and will often focus more on specific calls to action. These students focus on advertising campaigns for digital and heritage media. They will develop skills relevant to planning ad campaigns and important aesthetic concepts in advertising.

The Bachelor of Science in Multidisciplinary Engineering provides students learning opportunities in multiple engineering disciplines and complemented by other disciplines across campus. The program supports a customizable curriculum that includes a capstone experience focused on multi- and inter-disciplinary teamwork. Specific combinations of coursework are formulated in several named emphases that provide unique opportunities and inspires students to build their own unique engineering pathways.

The core of the program is a design sequence with loose commonality across most of NAU’s engineering programs.  All students, regardless of emphasis, engage in contextualized engineering design and project management courses. This core is supported by foundational math, computer science, and physics coursework.  The design sequence also becomes the scaffolding for integrating and synthesizing coursework across several disciplines and content areas.

Students who do not select an emphasis area may work with either an advisor or a faculty mentor to select course work in the plan that supports their own personal engineering aspirations and interests. Students who get an MDE degree have many general engineering career opportunities.  This includes areas such as engineering sales, engineering management, engineering communication, or an engineering technician.

Students who select the Audio Engineering emphasis take specialized coursework in electrical engineering, computer science, and media production that prepares them to work as an audio engineer or a broadcast engineer. These students learn the foundation broadcast communication theory and engage in actual media production practice that builds on an engineering foundation.  This curriculum is intended to support certification preparation for the society of broadcast engineers.

The MA in Communication provides students with advanced skills in communication analysis, problem solving, critical thinking, research, theoretical application, argumentation, and written communication.  Students choose from either the MA in Communication (with no emphasis) or the MA in Communication with an emphasis in Documentary Studies.

The MA in Communication provides a foundation of the basic research methods, theories, and standards of argument in the academic study of communication.  Students explore theories and research in a variety of communicative contexts with an emphasis on the application of concepts, theories, and research to real-world issues.  Students will be able to access, understand, evaluate, and apply research, concepts, and theories.  Students will engage in original research and/or the application of existing research, concepts, and theories to specific situations for the purpose of problem-solving and/or evaluation, including effective message design.  Students will learn the expectations of academic argument in communication as well as how to effectively communicate their findings to diverse audiences.  The MA in Communication (with no emphasis) will be of relevance to working professionals in a variety of fields, educators, activists, and those preparing to pursue a PhD in Communication, Communication Studies, Rhetoric, or related disciplines.

The Documentary Studies emphasis
The Documentary Studies emphasis provides a solid grounding in the theoretical, critical, and practical traditions that inform documentary work.  Students engage in intensive research and fieldwork, professional production skills in storytelling, and learn to critically analyze media in terms of both content and craft.   Particular attention is given to the role of documentary as social critique and bringing untold, under-reported, and under-represented issues and peoples into the public eye.  The program is ideally suited to prepare students for today's world of cutting-edge multimedia journalism, documentary work, as well as preparation for PhD programs in cinema and media studies.

The Northern Arizona University Dental Hygiene Department offers the only Bachelor’s Degree in Dental Hygiene in the State of Arizona. With a national reputation for educating dental hygiene professionals since its inception in 1973, the program offers a high-quality education. Students complete two years of prerequisite didactic instruction in preparatory areas such as human anatomy and physiology, chemistry, microbiology, nutrition, human behavior and statistics and then apply to the program. Once students enter the program, a strong emphasis is placed on gaining extensive clinical experience.  Regular clinic rotations require students to provide dental hygiene care at the NAU Dental Hygiene Clinic, the Hopi Health Care Facility, the Yavapai Apache Dental Clinic, Flagstaff Medical Center, and at North Country Healthcare. Faculty connect these field experiences to coursework, so students actively apply their knowledge of Oral Pathology, Oral Medicine, Pharmacology and Periodontics to their work with patients in the clinic.  In addition to regular clinical rotations, students must complete a minimum two-week summer externship in a dental public health facility serving American Indian, military, or underserved populations throughout Arizona, in selected sites outside Arizona,  or Internationally. Graduates are prepared to practice in diverse settings with special emphasis on rural communities and other underserved populations through a curriculum centered in public health. Their capstone project requires the origination of a public health project that requires exhaustive assessment and planning. Projects are then implemented and outcomes are evaluated in a final written report.  This public health emphasis specifically prepares graduates to write grant proposals and serve in public health administrative roles. The future of dentistry is moving towards the development of a dental therapist; a new Masters prepared dental midlevel provider. Students graduating from NAU’s Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene are optimally poised to enter advanced dental therapy programs, work in independent practice, and/or work in affiliated practice.

The B.A. in Comparative Cultural Studies is a 49-58 credit degree whose aim is to provide students with a comparative, integrative and global approach to the study of human culture in its diversity and interconnections. The different emphases in the CCS B.A. degree introduce students to the complexities of diverse human cultures, both past and present; in the process, they develop the skills of analysis, interpretation and communication crucial to both their academic and professional development.

The core of the educational mission of the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice is to provide both undergraduate and graduate students with the theoretical, methodological, and analytical skills to think critically and systematically about the nature of crime, the meaning of justice, and the efficacy of crime control policies and practices.
 
The Master of Science in Applied Criminology is an integrated program of study designed to provide graduate students with the theoretical perspectives, substantive knowledge and practical research skills needed to engage in independent, critical investigation of social justice and criminal justice issues, problems, and policies. The MS degree prepares students for professional employment in applied local, national, and international justice contexts or to pursue further education at the doctoral level.
 
The program’s core courses are designed to ensure that students acquire a graduate-level understanding of advanced theory and methods in criminology, justice system processes, and contemporary policy debates regarding crime and crime control. The graduate curriculum examines justice-related issues from a variety of criminological, social justice, and global perspectives and emphasizes three broad substantive areas of specialization:  transnational crime and justice, communities, health, and justice, and law, policy and social change.  Throughout the curriculum, students are expected to apply their core methodological and theoretical knowledge to analyze real-world justice challenges
 
The applied nature of the MS program is particularly emphasized in the diverse completion options available to students. Depending upon their career goals, our program facilitates experiential learning and the development of subject area expertise via a student designed project focused on research, teaching, or an internship in a justice agency. The opportunity to complete an independent project offers student-centered flexibility while also preparing students for their chosen professional career within the field of criminology. Applied Criminology graduates are critically informed citizens who value diversity and social justice and apply their methodological and theoretical knowledge to advance the cause of justice.

The Bachelor of Arts in English prepares graduates for any future that demands proficiency in literature, language, and writing, as well as general excellence in resourceful, well-informed communication. Our graduates recognize the close weave of logical thought and effective expression, strive for more persuasive or more creative uses of English, possess the sense and insight to appreciate the value and quality of literature, have developed their historical and cultural imaginations by studying the marks of other times and diverse peoples in language and text, and recognize the global contexts of English as well as the social, civic, and environmental responsibilities that come with a liberal education. Our graduates have attained the high-level literacy skills and have practiced the research methods needed to compete in graduate and professional schools and to succeed in the workplace. With our help, they have prepared themselves to become productive, responsible members of the communities in which they live and work.

The Comprehensive Emphasis encourages students to explore multiple exciting fields of English study. Students practice creative, linguistic, literary, and rhetorical modes of analysis, and they have opportunities to engage with digital media studies and professional and technical writing. The Comprehensive Emphasis offers a well-rounded undergraduate experience and allows students to select their own path of study.

The Personalized Learning Bachelor’s degree in Management is built around workplace competencies and prepares students to pursue management careers in a broad spectrum of opportunities in corporate, non-profit, public service or military settings. The curriculum is designed in consultation with business leaders and competencies identified by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs and the Society for Human Resource Management to ensure students a comprehensive and relevant educational experience.

 Healthcare Emphasis

• Review the state of US healthcare organizations
• Analyze healthcare operations, obligations and delivery
• Research legal and policy issues that govern the healthcare organization and workforce
• Evaluate quality management and risk management in healthcare
• Examine statistical methods used to inform management decisions
• Integrate and apply learning through a Capstone project