Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

The Bachelor of Arts in Modern Languages provides students with a socio-cultural and historical background as well as linguistic abilities to engage with French, German, Japanese, and Spanish speaking populations from around the world in a variety of social and cultural contexts. Through linguistic, literary and cultural approaches to the study of the French, German, Japanese, and Spanish language, our students develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that allow them to understand and interact effectively with diverse cultures. Throughout this process the students develop cognitive skills in critical thinking and analysis and recognize the importance of being able to function in a global society. With their linguistic abilities in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, they are better able to compete for career opportunities in the domestic and global job markets and are prepared to become productive, responsible members of the local, national and international communities in which they live and work.

Emphasis in Japanese

• Create with language to express meanings orally on concrete topics relating to work, school, home, and leisure activities using all major time frames (present, past, and future). They can interact with native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-natives, and handle complicated or unexpected communicative tasks. (Speaking skills)
• Identify and use main ideas and details from connected aural discourse involving description and narration in different timeframes or aspects, and about a variety of topics beyond immediacy of the situation for communicative purposes. (Listening skills)
• Identify and use main ideas and details from authentic, connected, longer, written texts involving description and narration in different formats about a variety of topics for communicative purposes. (Reading skills)
• Create with language to express meanings in written form about familiar topics using the major timeframes with some control of aspect. (Writing skills)
• Think critically and analytically in response to socio-cultural, historical, and linguistic issues and/or classic and contemporary literary texts related to the culture of the target language. (Critical thinking and analytical skills)
• Understand the cultural, political and artistic diversity of perspectives, practices and products of the target language populations including how racial and ethnic diversity relates to those perspectives, practices and products. (Globalization - Diversity)
• Recognize, investigate, and produce written and oral discourse in the target language communicating findings about historical and contemporary issues important to life in countries of the target language.
• Explore how historical, political, religious and economic forces have shaped the current world system with its power inequalities and efforts to address them with a focus on the culture of the target language. (Globalization – Global Engagement)
• Analyze the structure and use of the language at the sound, word, and sentence level.
• Summarize different linguistic features observed in different dialects in terms of historical change, geographical location and social variables.
• Explore and analyze the role of human interactions with the environment and its relation to the root causes of many global problems focusing on those occurring in the culture of the target language. (Globalization - Environmental Sustainability)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Visual Commuication is designed to produce graduates who are skilled in using art, design and technology to creatively communicate ideas and transform messages into visual communication. Through the rigorous coursework, students will develop skills in using aesthetic and conceptual judgment, color, type, symbols, digital images, multi-media, interactivity, motion graphics, photography, and project management to produce messages that clearly inform, effectively communicate brand experience, and persuade viewers.

Graphic Design Emphasis

• The ability to solve communication problems, including the skills of problem identification, research and information gathering, analysis, generation of alternative solutions, and prototyping.
• The ability to describe and respond to the audiences and contexts which communication solutions must address, including recognition of the physical, cognitive, cultural, and social human factors that shape design decisions.
• The ability to create and develop visual form in response to communication problems, including an understanding of principles of visual organization/ composition, information hierarchy, symbolic representation, typography, aesthetics, and the construction of meaningful images.
• An understanding of tools and technology, including their roles in the creation, reproduction, and distribution of visual messages.
• An understanding of design history, theory, and criticism from a variety of perspectives, including those of art history, linguistics, communication and information theory, technology, and the social and cultural use of design objects.
• An understanding of basic business practices, including the ability to organize design projects and to work productively as a member of teams.

This degree is for students who are fascinated by questions of how life has evolved and how organisms function in the nature. Students will have the opportunity to apply knowledge of ecology and evolution to environmental and societal problems and to experience fieldwork among the diverse habitats of the Colorado Plateau. Opportunities to specialize include any of the diverse areas of expertise of our faculty from wildlife to plants to microbes and from evolutionary genetics to population ecology to ecosystem ecology.

This degree is offered by the Department of Biological Sciences, ensuring a well-rounded foundation in the understanding life of earth. In the course of this major, students will identify, describe, and apply the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, and empirical findings in ecology and evolution. Students will master the theory of evolution; examine the genetic and environmental bases of variation in organisms; and describe how populations are regulated, species interact in communities, and the major nutrients cycle in natural ecosystems.

If you have completed or will complete an associate degree from a community college, you may pursue the Bachelor of Applied Science (BAS) at Northern Arizona University.

Our goal in offering the BAS degree is to provide you with a general knowledge of management, organizational, and policy issues and to advance your communication, computer, and quantitative skills. This degree also offers you the opportunity to complete a specialization that will broaden your career horizons, promote life-long learning, and enrich your life. Northern Arizona University offers this degree at selected campuses throughout Arizona.

The study of Theatre Arts is an integral part of a liberal arts education. As such, Northern Arizona University Department of Theatre seeks to give the undergraduate theatre student the broadest possible understanding of the art and craft of theatre through the creative, critical, and applied practice of theatre, and provide opportunity through performance and production for the student to learn their art by doing their art in a learner centered environment. The program seeks to prepare students for the global society by creating an awareness of the “other”, practicing empathetical thinking, and sustainability with a global perspective.

Theatre: Emphasis in Design/Technology

• Evaluate, analyze and apply a depth and breadth of knowledge about the global impact of Theatre history, literature, and practices to the scholarship and practice of the art and craft of Theatre.
  • Synthesize knowledge acquired through the study of Theatre history, theory and criticism, and articulate their own stances on the global stage of Theatre.
  • Analyze knowledge of the history and development of modern design techniques and apply to their own Theatre design.
  • Articulate the cultural relationships and diversity of all aspects of Theatre.
• Value and apply understanding of and experience with Theatre as a collaborative art to the scholarship and practice of Theatre.
  • Practice effective communication within a collaborative environment.
  • Effectively engage in the design and build process with other Theatre practitioners.
  • Value and understand professional and ethical boundaries within the collaborative Theatrical process.
  • Apply active listening skills.
  • Evaluate and apply an appreciation of the different areas of technical Theatre to effectively work in their chosen areas.
  • Practice non-verbal skills to effectively communicate their intentions.
• Apply knowledge of theory to practical work in Theatre.
  • Apply modern design tools and skill sets to various positions in Theatre through the actual practice of Theatre.  
  • Demonstrate knowledge and correct application of discipline-based language, terminology, and vernacular.
  • Effectively communicate with Theatre professionals.
  • Practice effective drafting, drawing, model building, and other practical methods of non-verbal technical communication.
  • Practice effective research and documentation of research in the design process.
• Articulate an understanding of sustainability in Theatre, in all its manifestations.
  • Identify and discuss current professional Theatrical practices aimed at increasing sustainability.
  • Recognize, discuss, and analyze the sustainability of storytelling as an art form that is socially, culturally, and historically contextualized.
• Effectively communicate the theory and practice of Theatre in the following modes: digital, literary, verbal, and non-verbal.
  • Articulate knowledge of the fundamentals of multiple areas of Technical Theatre in various modes of discipline-based communication—in particular digital, verbal, and written forms.
  • Demonstrate comprehension, evaluation, and analysis of modern design tools for various positions in Theatre.  
  • Analyze and evaluate their places in their chosen Design/Technical field
• Apply effective problem solving through creative and critical thinking.
  • Articulate the creative process through the successful completion of a Capstone defense.
  • Critically analyze their own processes.
  • Integrate design challenges to a process in order to find creative solutions.
  • Articulate their processes in relation to production challenges.
• Demonstrate the facility to synthesize and apply their liberal studies to the practice of Theatre.
  • Apply awareness and comprehension of the scope of university course work taken in order to critically analyze their own processes as Theatre artists.
  • Integrate university course work to meet design difficulties and apply this knowledge in creative ways.
  • Articulate process in relation to production challenges by comprehending, analyzing, and synthesizing a diversity of stories, which are the basis of the art of Theatre.
  • Synthesize and apply their knowledge of all areas of Theatre and the liberal arts to effectively complete a capstone project.
• Practice an effective system of preparation and working habits.
  • Implement the Theatrical practice of always being on time, prepared, and ready to work, through successful completion of coursework and practical application in the shops and backstage.
  • Recognize, describe, and implement effective preparation practices for a designer or technician.
  • Apply and recognize the importance of continual preparation, research, and practice in design and technology.
  • Implement effective classroom strategies such as active discussion participation, engagement with course materials, and asking relevant questions.
  • Practice effective and efficient writing techniques, including outlining, peer reviewing, and revision.
  • Collaborate within groups to prepare and present course material.

Philosophy is an on-going inquiry, often in the form of dialog and debate, always willing to deal with the most fundamental questions and to analyze concepts that are elsewhere taken for granted.  The goal is to clarify basic aspects of our existence or our lives as lived in social, political, and physical worlds.  The primary goals of a philosophical education are to instill a disposition to participate in this dialog and to sharpen the skills that make the participation productive.  Philosophical thinking, writing, and discussion must be disciplined, well-informed, and open-minded.  Thus, the mission of the Philosophy BA Program is to provide both a broad basis of information in which to situate the issues and the logical tools that structure the inquiry.

This degree attracts students who desire the knowledge and skills needed to serve as professional emergency managers in the public, non-profit and private sectors.  Students are exposed to the latest information in Emergency Planning (including COOP), Incident Management Systems (IMS), Disaster Recovery and Homeland Security that prepare them to be effective and ethical emergency managers and to protect their communities from emergency events. This plan features a transfer block route designed to aid community-college graduates towards the completion of a bachelor's degree in a concise time frame.

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.

We build a strong foundation in the history, philosophy and ethics of journalism and photojournalism and emphasize how these disciplines serve varied communities and facilitate the free flow of information needed in a democratic society. Students learn to take a global perspective as they critically assess journalistic work from a variety of places and historical periods. By valuing the principles of the journalistic tradition, our students obtain the critical and creative edge to innovate and be relevant in an evolving media world.
 
Built upon the fundamentals of storytelling and nonfiction narrative, our curriculum ensures that students can cover breaking news as well as develop features and deeper, under-reported stories. Our students are informed and curious about their communities, and develop a critical understanding of media forms that allows them to identify audience needs and place stories within context. By honing methods of investigative research, relationship building and interviewing, our students learn to gather the materials needed to craft compelling narratives. Their creative works are refined through individual mentoring from instructors as well as through intensive student peer review.

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 Sustainable Engineering emphasis take specialized coursework in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and environmental sciences, which allows them to engage in environmental engineering practice that focuses on sustainability.  This emphasis is intended to support students who are interested in working at the intersection of environmental engineering and environmental science and practice with a focus on sustainable systems.