Master of Science in Geology

at Northern Arizona University - Flagstaff Campus USA

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.

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’s in Justice Studies provides online and distance-learning students with a professional, criminal justice-focused education that prepares students to ethically work and lead in the fields of criminal justice and intelligence studies.
 
To help students reach their education and career goals, all Justice Studies faculty members have advanced degrees and extensive experience in the criminal justice or intelligence fields, specializing in areas, such as, criminal justice investigations, police leadership, community policing, drug investigations, federal law enforcement, corrections, intelligence-led policing, military intelligence, cyber crime, and the law.
 
Students complete core courses in ethics, leadership, criminal justice, criminology, the justice system and effective writing. They then move on to tailoring their degree to their individual interests by selecting elective courses in criminal justice administration or intelligence studies.

Emphasis in Criminal Justice Administration

The emphasis in Criminal Justice Administration ensures students develop an in-depth knowledge of their areas of interest within the criminal justice system as well as an understanding of the current, critical issues impacting the criminal justice field. This emphasis also helps students use critical thinking to connect theoretical concepts with practical criminal justice situations; a necessary skill for practitioners to succeed in the criminal justice field.

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.

 Management Core

• Analyze management principles from a global perspective
• Engage in strategic, critical and innovative thinking
• Examine organizational ethics
• Engage in effective Managerial Communication
• Examine Leadership as it relates to Organizational Management
• Manage financial resources to support the fiscal health and strategic goals of an organization
• Analyze technology management and applications
• Examine the inextricable relationships between operations and the global movement of goods and services-supply chain
• Marketing to a global economy
• Recruit and manage talent as part of a strategic business plan.

This degree builds on a strong set of core requirements, then sends students through a well orchestrated curriculum that includes private lessons, a performance exam, and major ensemble experience.

The purpose of the Bachelor of Arts degree program is to provide students with a background in music and musicianship that prepares them for a wide range of further educational and vocational activities that include music as a component.  Students are also prepared for further study at the graduate and/or professional level.

Data science is systematic way to discover, quantify, and understand relationships hidden in data. A data scientist is an expert in acquiring, storing, accessing, and manipulating data; visualizing and modeling relationships in the data; and drawing actionable conclusions from the data. Data science is a tool applied to other areas of study such as biological sciences or business, and emphasizes the holistic process of “thinking with (real) data.”
 
The required course work is in statistics and computer science with the upper-division statistics courses utilizing the program competency acquired. Students are encouraged to pursue a minor in another field of interest in order to gain deep understanding of the challenges and needs that can be addressed by data science.

Composition Emphasis

• Students develop composition skills preparing them for careers as composers or for further study at the doctoral level.
• Refine music research and writing skills, including the ability to locate, assess, and synthesize a wide range of research materials related to music; create a bibliography; and write effective expository prose on music and related topics.
• Acquire advanced skills for analyzing traditional tonal music, including the ability to create Schenkerian graphs of musical excerpts and pieces.
• Learn advanced methodologies for analyzing post-tonal music, including pitch-class set theory and twelve-tone theory.
• Acquire detailed knowledge of post-World War II music.
• Increase compositional skills, leading to the production of a large-scale musical work as well as a full-length master’s recital featuring the live performances of several original compositions
• Acquire knowledge of music theory pedagogy, including diverse techniques and strategies for teaching musical fundamentals, tonal harmony, and ear training at the high school and college levels.

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 Engineering Design emphasis take specialized coursework in engineering design and art.  This allows students to learn how to design for practical specification and utility while also learning the aesthetic foundations of design and creativity.  This emphasis is intended to support students interested in becoming product or industrial design engineers.

The B.S. in Electrical Engineering will prepare you to work in a diverse discipline that applies the principles of mathematics, physics, and science for the analysis, design, test, manufacture, and maintenance of electrical and electronic systems.  Electrical engineers work with other engineers and scientists to develop innovative sensors and instrumentation, communication systems, radar systems, control systems, power generation and storage systems, navigation and guidance systems, and much more.
 
Coursework and learning experiences in our program provides students with professional preparation in the study and application of the underlying principles of electricity and electromagnetics to the design, manufacture, and implementation of electrical systems.  Our curriculum also provides you with a solid foundation in problem-solving, analysis, design, project management and preparation for professional licensure. Students have multiple opportunities to learn and practice design starting with our introductory engineering design class and culminating in a Capstone experience that involves engineering design, project management, teamwork and significant client communication.

If literature is your passion, the Master of Arts in English - Literature might be for you. The degree is designed to broaden and refine your knowledge of literary traditions in English. Our program's flexibility allows you to follow your own interests while experiencing the best of curricular innovation and established traditions. We offer courses and a curriculum that maximize your opportunities for the future, whether that is teaching at the community college level, working within publishing, or studying further at the PhD level.