Bachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences with Emphasis in Environmental Geology

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

The MFA in Creative Writing at NAU is an interdisciplinary, full-time, two-year program in fiction, creative nonfiction, or poetry. Students participate in writing workshops, undertake coursework in literature, and study critical theory. MFA candidates present a creative thesis of between 45 to 120 pages, depending on genre. Our program’s vibrant literary culture includes the literary journal Thin Air and the robust weekly Narrow Chimney Reading Series. Graduate teaching assistantships are available to a select number of students.

The Bachelor of Arts Degree in International Affairs provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to understand and participate in the political systems of the world.  This degree has an interdisciplinary global focus that will prepare students to take meaningful roles in our increasingly interconnected world.

This degree builds a strong foundation in the basic knowledge of the international political system, and enables them to use key concepts and analytical approaches from U.S. Government and Politics, Comparative Politics and International relations.  This degree grounds students in a wide range of factors shaping the international system and international politics, including history, religion, culture, and language.

Building upon this fundamental knowledge, our curriculum ensures that students can define, design, and implement effective research projects in international political science.  In addition, they will be able to make clear and effective presentations of their work in writing and in public presentations.  Students will also leave this program ready to understand, and be able to meet, the expectations of professionalism and citizenship.  Students will also leave with an ability speak, read, and write in a second language.  They will develop a broad perspective on the experiences and realities of the entire international system.

The BS in Biological and Natural Resource Sciences (B&NRS) provides applied, cross-disciplinary training to prepare students to take part in scientific research and discovery using the scientific method and core knowledge in biology and the natural sciences. Students gain this knowledge through their individual research or internship experiences and coursework in ecology, evolution, genetics, molecular biology, and the physical sciences.  The BS in B&NRS program's rigorous training in the biological and natural sciences prepares graduates for successful careers in industry, government agencies, and research institutions. Our graduates can successfully communicate science at different levels of engagement from research scientists to the general public on a wide range of currently relevant biological topics. The B&NRS curriculum trains students how to describe and perform empirical research and analysis. The research and practical skills gained by B&NRS students help them continue to expand their knowledge long after they graduate from the program. This training and experience helps our graduates assume leadership roles in biological and natural science fields. Finally, the BS in B&NRS program prepares students for entry into graduate and professional programs in the biological sciences, medicine, veterinary science, pharmacy, dentistry, and other related fields if they choose to continue in an academic track.

A Bachelor of Arts in History provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to succeed in civic life, in graduate study, and in a variety of careers.  Our program emphasizes the complex tensions and synergies between human agency and larger historical forces in order to inform honest debate on past and current events as members of engaged, critical, and dynamic communities.  Historical perspective is an essential component of responsible and informed citizenship and provides significant advantages to students in a multicultural world and workplace. Our graduates attain the writing skills, research methods, and critical and analytical thinking necessary not only for history professions, but for a wide variety of career paths, such as management, law, and education in both academic and public settings.
 
Our curriculum trains students to find, evaluate, and employ primary and secondary sources as evidence to frame and answer questions through analysis, interpretation, and critical engagement. Students therefore learn to reach sound judgments and construct persuasive arguments through research rather than by relying on hearsay or presumptions. Students further develop appreciation for the diversity of the human experience and consciousness of how local and global histories inform one another in both past and present, and how historical research can transform those relations. To this end, students also acquire proficiency in a language other than English to facilitate interaction with communities different from their own.

The Environmental Science program at NAU constructs an interdisciplinary base of knowledge and skills to explore and develop real-world solutions to environmental problems.

Our program provides a firm grounding in the natural and social sciences to ensure all students understand how chemical, physical and biological processes maintain life, and the complex relationships among humans and the environment. Students work together and individually in the classroom, field and laboratory to practice applying the scientific method to address environmental problems and explore creative solutions that apply cutting-edge technologies.

The broad range of emphases available within our program allows students to delve deeper into a specific knowledge base, then work individually and often together in Environmental Science courses to solve problems by applying the perspectives and knowledge they developed in their emphasis with students from other emphasis areas. To culminate the learning in the program, students develop an individually designed research project or internship addressing an environmental issue of importance to them, which in turn, is expected to further prepare students for a range of professional or graduate opportunities.

Environmental Geology Emphasis

• Quantify selected aspects of the Earth system using foundations of mathematics and physics.
• Explore Earth system concepts, such as plate tectonics, the rock cycle, and geologic hazards on geologic time scales, and through collaborations with those of other disciplines and viewpoints, apply this information to generate sustainable solutions to environmental problems.

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.

Chemistry is a diverse discipline that encompasses living processes, inorganic interactions, and analytical methods. Chemistry deals with the basic laws of the physical world and the composition and properties of matter. Students trained in chemistry enter careers in academia, research, pharmacy, forensics, medicine, the environment, space exploration, and national defense. Students can select an emphasis that best prepares them for their chosen career path.

The breadth of the field of chemistry requires a wide range of knowledge and skills. The goal of the NAU chemistry degree program is to ensure that our graduates:

• Are well versed in the fundamental principles of chemistry: the atomic theory of matter, the quantum nature of the atom, and the principle laws of thermodynamics;
• Are knowledgeable about frequently encountered elements, compounds, and reactions;
• Understand biosynthetic pathways and modes of action of biomolecules;
• Understand factors controlling the mechanisms of chemical reactions;
• Are knowledgeable about synthesis strategies and can successfully conduct synthetic sequences in the laboratory;
• Understand the principles of chemical analysis and are proficient at using modern instrumentation to carry out analysis;
• Are adept at solving problems independently and contributing to a team effort;
• Able to communicate their scientific results orally and in writing.

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 Energy Engineering emphasis take specialized coursework in EE, ME, and ECO, which allows them to engage in engineering design problems related to energy capture and storage as well as energy policy and critical thinking.  This emphasis is intended to support students who are interested in working in the energy sector and especially at the intersection of mechanical and electrical engineering practice in this area.

The purpose of the Northern Arizona University Bachelor of Business Administration Program is to provide excellent business management and related higher education using the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award standards for education as applied through the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP) accreditation. We seek to be a premier provider of Baldrige-Quality business management and related higher education with an emphasis on value and accessibility. We focus on core business competencies within a global context.

Students will be able to demonstrate the ability to:

• Think creatively, analyze and synthesize data from multiple perspectives
• Analyze and use financial information
• Solve problems using decision-making tools and theories,
• Engage others through effective interpersonal skills
• Communicate effectively in oral and written formats,
• Work well in team settings
• Design and implement effective strategies for the global marketplace, and
• Discern the underpinning ethical issues in local and global business decision-making, including those involving social responsibility, environmental sustainability, and profitability.

The global context for the core competencies will be addressed in all relevant classes across the curriculum. We provide online and hybrid classes for learning through the application of technology, as well as opportunities to study as part-time students. We provide opportunities for students to apply leadership skills through Phi Beta Lamda, as well as competitive challenges involving other business programs in Arizona and nationally. We collaborate with other universities globally and within the region to provide direct international experience. We facilitate regional business development through our innovative incubator program.

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.

Motion Design Emphasis

• Knowledge and skills in the use of basic principles, concepts, tools, techniques, procedures, and technologies sufficient to produce motion graphics from concept to a finished product that communicates ideas and/or stories to a viewer or to an audience. This includes, but is not limited to, the ability to use the competencies listed in items below in professional contexts as appropriate to the needs of specific projects.
• Knowledge of the principles of motion design, including its visual, spatial, sound, motion, and temporal elements and features, and how these elements are combined in the development of motion graphics.
• Functional understanding of and ability to use narrative, non-narrative, and other information/language structures (linear, non-linear, thematic, cinematic, interactive, etc.) to organize content in time-based media.
• Ability to use concepts and processes for the development, coordination, and completion of motion graphics (examples include, but are not limited, to concept, visual, and character development; the use of scenarios and personas; and storyboarding, flowcharting, and layout).
• Functional understanding and ability to use the characteristics and capabilities of various animation methods and technologies in creative and project development contexts (examples include, but are not limited to, stop motion, 2D Digital, 3D Digital, etc.).