Master of Science in Computer Science

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

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 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 accelerated MBA program is focused on students with a core business education seeking graduate studies in management theory and practice and those seeking accounting certification. Our primary goal is to prepare students to make valuable contributions to their chosen profession and their communities. Our secondary goal is to provide high-quality, business-related training, education, consulting, and information to the Arizona community.

In pursuit of these goals we commit to the following:

• Foster a sense of community and promote diversity among our students, staff, faculty, and alumni,
• Offer a rigorous, current, AACSB-accredited curriculum,
• Integrate advanced technologies into the curriculum,
• Support and encourage our faculty in their creative and personalized delivery of our curriculum and their counseling of our students,
• Maintain and nurture an ongoing faculty commitment to a broad array of intellectual contributions that includes pedagogical research, contributions to practice, and discipline-based scholarship.

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 Rhetoric and Professional Writing Emphasis engages students with a curriculum that prepares them as writers and scholars. The program emphasizes the importance of critical reading, reflection, writing, digital media, and spoken language to educate knowledgeable citizens who understand and appreciate their civic, professional, and personal responsibilities in an increasingly global community. We specialize in preparing students for intercultural and interdisciplinary communication practices in digital and traditional work settings to further global engagement, diversity, and social participation. Students gain experience with rhetorical theory and persuasive argumentation, social media literacy and multimedia writing, and professional workplace writing through theory-based application projects. In addition, our courses provide a foundation for M.A. programs in rhetoric, writing, digital media, communication, and composition studies.

The online B.S. Health Sciences Allied Health program provides an innovative "3+1" curriculum that prepares students to advance their careers in health-related fields. These programs are specifically designed for students who have completed their associate’s degree in an allied health discipline from a regionally-accredited program and who have successfully obtained the related professional license.  Our programs provide students with foundational knowledge of health promotion, disease promotion concepts, and understanding of the interconnectedness of personal, family, organizational, community, and societal health.  Our students will use this knowledge to work collaboratively to provide comprehensive patient-centered care. While completing this degree, students will expand their critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills and enhance their ability to communicate effectively with others in order to provide excellent care for their patients.  We specialize in preparing students in enhancing their careers with an understanding of the importance of leadership and inter-professional teamwork among health professionals, as well as skills to sustain personal health and well-being.

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/BA 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 Master of Arts in Applied Sociology prepares students for applying sociological theories, methods and skills in researching and analyzing social lives, behaviors and aggregations, for instance, groups, societies, organizations and institutions, for the purpose of understanding social structures, power, and transformations, and building strategies to solve social problems. The Program expands its scope to both the national and global levels, and puts emphasis on NAU three themes of global learning: diversity, environmental sustainability, and global engagement.

The Program includes three optional concentration areas. First, the Sociology of Health concentration area focuses on the impact of social life, including all its dimensions: political, economic, cultural or otherwise, on rates of morbidity and mortality. This concentration area includes medical sociology as well, where students study patients-practitioners relationships within the context of medical organizations. Second, the Women, Gender and Race concentration area focuses on the social construction of gender and racial identities, as well as their relationships with other social identities, and their shifting positions in social structures of power. Third, the Environment, Sustainability and Globalization concentration area keeps pace with the shifting boundaries of sociology to study the interdependencies of the social, economic and ecological dimensions of life, the emergence, structures and dynamics of the global society, and the massive social consequences that result from environmental changes.

Through these concentration areas, students study a variety of social issues, such as, health inequality, sexuality, racial and ethnic conflicts, environmental justice, global social movements, the network society, sustainable communities, etc.

The Master of Arts in History prepares students for careers in academia as well as the public and private sectors. Many of our students have continued for the PhD and now serve on university faculties across the country. Others have pursued careers as foundation or government historians.  Still others have used their degree to excel as public historians, including museum curators and cultural interpretation specialists at historic sites and parks.

The Bachelor of Science in Sociology program provides students with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to enter the world of social and government services, business, industry, and organizations. The sociological perspective is essential for succeeding in today’s multiethnic and multinational work force. Our sociology major stresses an awareness of social factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, age, education, and social class that both influence and are affected by social structures. This perspective is an excellent preparation for a wide variety of occupations.
 
This degree builds a strong foundational knowledge in the study of social life, social change, diverse communities and their interactions. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that students have a strong substantive understanding in one of our concentration areas: social justice and inequality; culture and community; environment, globalization, and sustainability; or, health. Our curriculum further ensures that students can use scientific methods to find empirical answers to complex social questions. In addition, they will be able to make clear and effective demonstrations of their work orally and in writing. Students will leave this program with an ability to make sense of the shifting social world and contribute solutions to difficult social problems.

Sociology graduates are critically informed, value diversity and equality, and use their knowledge of sociology to pursue careers that promote these ideals.