Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences - Public Health

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

Bachelor of Science in Fitness WellnessThe purpose of the B.S. degree in Health Sciences Fitness Wellness degree program is to provide focused educational and practical experiences to those interested in a career in the emerging  fitness/health/wellness industry. Students will be able to design and facilitate fitness programs in a variety of recreational, nonprofit, corporate, and health club settings. The Fitness Wellness program is a combination of general education and core coursework to prepare competent entry-level exercise professionals with the knowledge and skills to assist individuals across the lifespan in adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors that lead to increased fitness, wellness, and optimal health. Students engage in a variety of labs, simulations, and other course work and application activities that prepare them to design and implement exercise programs; understand biomechanics and motor development in the physical domain; develop health and wellness programs in the workplace setting; facilitate independent lasting healthy behavior change; teach and demonstrate exercises; and conduct fitness assessment and health screenings. As a culminating experience, students engage in an immersive and hands-on internship in the field of fitness and wellness.

Instrumental Performance Emphasis
Students develop skills in instrumental performance that prepare them for a career as a performer in a variety of contexts or for further study at the doctoral level.

• Develop the advanced technical, musical, and artistic skills necessary for professional success on the primary instrument in solo and ensemble contexts.
• Apply knowledge of historical performance practices within specific instrumental repertoire.
• Apply professional standards in oral and written communication such as utilizing proper etiquette for phone interviews or video consultation and composing well-designed letters of inquiry regarding job opportunities.
• Listen to and respond thoughtfully and thoroughly to work by other MM instrumental performance students in order to hone the critical, intellectual and analytical skills, and practice providing and receiving critique.
• Use critiques and insights from others to hone one’s performance craft. Investigate the world of the performance industry in order to discover suitable venues to perform.
• Actively participate and network in a community of musicians and cultivate a professional identity through performing one’s work frequently in recitals and master classes.

The Bachelor of Arts in Spanish provides students with a socio-cultural and historical background as well as linguistic abilities to engage with 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 Spanish language, out students develop speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills that allow them to understand and interact effectively with diverse Hispanic 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 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.

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.

The purpose of the Athletic Training graduate program is prepare students to work with physically active individuals in a variety of settings to provide injury prevention and care services. To succeed in this, we emphasize both classroom (didactic) and clinical education every semester in our program. This provides our students with not only the necessary knowledge and skills to become Athletic Trainers, but also the practice to perfect their skills prior to becoming nationally certified. Our program is tailored toward students who want to be involved in both healthcare and sports, working with athletes to both prevent injuries and to provide a continuum of care to get them back to participation after injury.

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 Theatre Studies

• 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 Theatre.
  • Demonstrate a depth and breadth of knowledge about the numerous facets of Theatre by successfully participating in various positions in the process of making Theatre.
  • Successfully complete coursework from a wide variety of Theatrical sub-fields
  • Apply knowledge of select Theatrical positions in theory and practice.
  • Recognize the literary, theoretical, and historical practices of global Theatre by taking courses in Script Analysis, Modern Drama, and Theatre History.
  • Synthesize knowledge acquired through the study of Theatrical history, theory and criticism in order to articulate their own stances on the global stage of Theatre.
• Value and apply an understanding of and experience with Theatre as a collaborative art to the scholarship and practice of Theatre.
  • Practice effective communication within a collaborative environment through the hands-on process of Theatre-making.
  • Value and understand professional and ethical boundaries within the collaborative Theatrical process.
  • Apply active listening skills.
  • Evaluate and apply an appreciation of various areas of Theatre to effectively work in a specific area.
• Apply knowledge of theory to practical work in Theatre.
  • Identify and engage in the professional practices of the Theatre through successful completion of courses in either Stage Management or Theatre Management.
  • Recognize, characterize and implement an understanding of the human body and its relationship to narrative and expression through successful completion of performance courses.
  • Identify, implement, and critique the technology and processes used in the professional Theatre, both historically and contemporarily, through the successful completion of courses in Technical Theatre and Design.
• 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.
  • Engage in effective digital communication practices through successful completion of course work and practical work in the making of Theatre.
  • Demonstrate understanding and practice of effective written communication and research skills in the literary, theoretical, and historical practices of global Theatre by successfully completing courses in Script Analysis, Modern Drama, and Theatre History.
  • Practice effective verbal and non-verbal communication skills through successful completion of performance courses as well as practical application on stage.
  • Implement effective visual communication skills through the successful completion of courses in Technical Theatre and Design.
• Apply effective problem solving through creative and critical thinking.
  • Articulate the creative process through the successful completion of a Capstone defense.
  • Demonstrate the facility to synthesize and apply their liberal studies to the practice of Theatre.
  • Recognize and analyze Western and non-Western Theatrical practices through coursework and practical application.
  • Apply culturally-aware comparative critical analysis of diverse practices and theories.
  • Synthesize knowledge acquired throughout their academic experiences on and off of the stage.
  • Articulate personal positions on the global state of Theatre.
• Demonstrate the facility to synthesize and apply their liberal studies to the practice of Theatre.
  • Apply awareness and comprehension of the scope of university coursework taken in order to critically analyze historical and contemporary texts and practices.
  • Integrate university course work into analysis and discussion of historical, social, aesthetic, and political contexts for Theatrical practices and texts.
  • Aarticulate arguments about and analysis of the diversity of stories found in the Liberal studies curriculum.
  • 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 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.

The Environmental and Sustainability Studies program at NAU constructs an interdisciplinary base of knowledge and skills that integrates humanistic disciplines and perspectives with natural and social scientific approaches to develop real-world solutions to our environmental and sustainability challenges, from the local to the global.

Our BS degree program begins with a firm grounding in natural systems, to ensure all students understand how physical and biological processes maintain life, and how humans are affecting, and are affected by, the natural world. In addition to the natural sciences, students will also obtain a solid understanding of the environment through focusing on the social sciences and humanities in order to develop a critical appreciation of the historical, political, economic and ethical forces that have shaped our current environmental issues. This will prepare students for work in non-profit, government and community-action organizations.

Students will work together in field and lab environments to apply rigorous qualitative and quantitative methods to environmental and sustainability issues, exploring interdisciplinary impacts and solutions that range across space and time. Interdisciplinary experience is centered around focus areas or specific environmental problems, rather than disciplines. This structure produces students well-trained in both the fundamentals of multiple disciplines as well as specific knowledge needed to understand, analyze and become engaged in particular issues and professions. Additionally for the BA degree, students will attain foreign language competency and experience with cross-cultural communication to better understand the impact of environmental issues on global communities.

The program is designed to provide the foundational skills for continuous learning and to adapt to the fast changing information technology environment.  This program also includes competency-based and hands-on learning modules to enhance acquired business skills.  Parts of the curriculum are designed around highly valued certifications.  Students will also augment their IT skills with the social, verbal and intercultural business skills demanded by today’s work environments.

The mission of Northern Arizona University Social Work Program, grounded in the history, purpose, and values of the profession, is to educate competent generalist social workers for practice with diverse populations and multi-level social systems in local, regional and global contexts.

The generalist practice for which we educate is based on social work knowledge, values, and skills; geared to practice with rural and Indigenous populations of the Southwest; and, focused on addressing poverty, structural racism, and oppression; providing leadership in promoting human rights and social and economic justice; and service with vulnerable and underserved populations locally, regionally, and globally.

The mission of our social work program to educate competent generalist social workers is expressed in the following goals:

• To prepare competent generalist social workers with the knowledge, values, and skills for engaging in individual, family, group, organization, and community planned change processes with diverse rural, vulnerable, and underserved populations locally, regionally, and globally;
• To promote identification with the profession, continued professional development, and enhancement of knowledge, values, and skills for generalist social work practice; and
• To provide service to the community and promote social and economic justice.

The Geology Program offers a thesis-based, multidisciplinary MS degree in Geology with the objective of educating students for success in the private sector, government employment, or further pursuit of graduate studies.  During the two-year program, students use geological, geobiological, geophysical, geochemical, and numerical-modeling techniques to examine geological problems and develop explanations for the processes that produced them.  Students learn to study what is known about a subject and then identify what is not yet understood.  Based upon observations, they develop testable hypotheses about a poorly understood geological  process, design a study to test these, and then carry this study out, learning new analytical techniques along the way. They then write this work into a thesis and present and defend their work in a public session.  In many cases, the thesis is then turned into a published journal article.