Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies

at Northwest Missouri State University USA

The Middle School Education major at Northwest is a state-certified program that prepares students to teach grades five through nine. Faculty focus on ensuring students are proficient and highly qualified in content areas and understand how kids learn. Graduates of the program are equipped with the best methods to incorporating technology into the classroom, understand the development and psychology of middle school students, and know how to use assessment to improve learning outcomes.

Biology/Psychology majors at Northwest study the brain and how it functions and controls human behavior. Faculty focus on three areas: genetics, evolution and neuroscience or the study of the brain. Genetics courses concentrate on the inherited factors that influence behavior such as mental illness and behavioral traits; evolution courses emphasize the significance and benefits of the size of the brain; and courses about the brain focus on the functions, malfunctions and brain disease.

Comprehensive communication majors emphasizing in rhetoric at Northwest learn to research, create and deliver persuasive messages and listen critically to these messages. In this major, students study the core areas of communication theory, public speaking, writing, group behavior, persuasion and interpersonal communication. Additional areas of study include intercultural communication, argumentation and classical, modern and postmodern rhetorical theory and method as applied to an American issue.

Professionals in the field are civically engaged, critically analyze how people develop persuasive messages as well as how those messages affect public perception of the subject. They identify logical and ethical problems within persuasive messages, or with their effects on particular groups or communities and intervene to increase awareness and understanding.

Agricultural Education majors at Northwest learn about the fundamentals of agriculture in secondary education (middle school and high school). This major must be completed as part of the Bachelor of Science in education to align with Missouri teacher certification standards. A minor is not required as agricultural education is considered a comprehensive major. Recent graduates have obtained teaching positions in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri, yet the particular certification for each state varies.

Students learn skills in the fundamentals of the agricultural education program and adult education while gaining an understanding of techniques within the teaching profession. This includes classroom management, lesson planning, special education and technology for classrooms.

A comprehensive degree in Social Studies: History at Northwest prepares students to teach history, geography, economics, political science/government and behavioral science in secondary education (high school). This major must be completed as part of the Bachelor of Science in Education to align with Missouri teacher certification standards. A minor is not required as social studies is considered a comprehensive major. Recent Northwest graduates have obtained teacher positions in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and  Missouri, yet the particular certification for each state varies. Students learn the content of history, geography, economics, political science/government and behavioral sciences while also gaining understanding of the techniques of the teaching profession. This includes classroom management, lesson planning, special education, technology for classrooms and other related skills.

Comprehensive communication majors emphasizing in public relations learn methods to understanding targeted audiences, and explaining products, services and missions to a specific audience. Faculty focus on oral, written and verbal communication skills as well as problem-solving skills to effectively meet the needs of management and the targeted audience.

All faculty members teaching public relations classes have professional experience, providing practical knowledge as well as professional contacts in the field.

Marine biology majors at Northwest study marine organisms and their ecology, habitat and interaction. Faculty focus on ecology, or the study of organisms and their habitats; diversity, in organisms; and adaptations of organisms and diatoms, or the unicellular life of oceans. Students also learn best practices for surveying marine organisms.

Wildlife ecology and conservation majors at Northwest study wildlife populations to understand patterns of distribution and abundance, and how these patterns may be used to manage and conserve populations. Faculty focus on ensuring students understand the natural history and ecology of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians; gain the ability to conduct scientific experiments and surveys to monitor wildlife populations; learn techniques used to manage and conserve wildlife populations; and balance the needs of populations with people’s needs.

Agronomy majors at Northwest gain fundamental training in the study of crop and soil management. Faculty focus on three core areas to ensure student success: fundamental principles of producing healthy, bountiful and sustainable crops; science of soil as a natural resource and component of agro ecosystems; and methods of determining and implementing solutions to crop and soil management systems.

This major offers three different areas of focus:

• Crop Science
• Horticulture
• Soil Science

A degree in English education prepares students for meaningful careers in middle and high school classrooms. As an English education major at Northwest, students learn the skills to be successful in the classroom – classroom management, differentiated instruction, professionalism, practical strategies for teaching reading and writing – but they also learn about the teaching of English as a craft and an art.

Through books, English teachers expose students to other cultures and time periods, giving insight into how others think and have thought. Through writing instruction, English teachers give students a voice of their own and the means to express themselves to their world. Often, English teaching is associated with spelling, punctuation, grammar and other basic skills. As an English education major, students learn how to teach those skills, but also promote social justice and give kids the tools to thrive in an evolving world through reading and writing.