Bachelor of Science in Mass Media - Broadcasting and Production

at Northwest Missouri State University USA

Art majors with the emphasis in sculpture learn about traditional and non-traditional approaches to the sculptural process. Faculty challenge students to think about space and objects in different ways. Students learn professional vocabulary to methodically discuss their art in terms of principles and elements of design and for the purpose of writing an artist statement.

Students learn technical skills that include welding, basic woodwork, and medal and mold-making. Students use traditional and new processes.

The digital media major at Northwest is an interdisciplinary program involving an emphasis in computer science, art or mass media. The courses offer a cross-section of skills in design as well as written and visual communication. The major produces graduates who are proficient in art, photography, design, communication, computer programming and legal or ethical considerations as they relate to media.

The new media emphasis focuses on content creation, coding and design. Students learn HTML, CSS and study methods businesses use to create winning digital strategies like social media, search engine optimization and digital advertising sales.

Finance majors at Northwest focus on three areas: financial services, corporate finance and finance management.

• Financial Services prepares students for the financial services industry. This comprises the professions of brokerage, insurance, real estate, and banking. In this business sector the students will need to understand the products customers purchase and how to relate this information to the customer.
• Corporate Finance provides students with the tools to work within the corporate structure under the chief financial officer, where accounting and financial information is used to make corporate decisions. Students will communicate with both the financial and accounting personnel and identify accounting information and financial models for decision making.
• Financial Management permits students to prepare for a position in management rather than a staff position in finance under the corporate treasurer. This option blends the knowledge of finance and management so the student is prepared to make management decisions that require an understanding of finance. Almost all decisions in business require a balance of interests from all functional business areas, using the decision-making process and the tools of finance to guide the corporation to the achievement of its goal.

Biology Education majors at Northwest study the curricular content as well as methods to apply it into a classroom. This major prepares students to teach all biology courses at the secondary education level (grades 9-12).

Students take courses in the biology curriculum that focus on botany, zoology, physiology, cell (molecular) biology or bio-chemistry, evolution and diversity, genetics and ecology. Faculty incorporate practical teaching knowledge where students learn to implement a curriculum in the classroom, create a positive classroom environment, methods of effective communication, and techniques of assessing learner’s progress in the classroom.

Theatre performance majors engage in a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to performance. Students learn through improvisation and script analysis; acting techniques that include knowledge through a variety of historical and physical styles including Greek, Elizabethan, restoration and 20th century “isms”; as well as techniques to increase vocal and physical awareness of the actor. Students gain hands-on experiences through classroom work, work-shopping, internships and on-stage productions from seasoned professionals in performance theatre.

Physics is the study of basic principles that govern the universe such as the underlying laws of matter, space, time, etc. Physics majors at Northwest get hands-on learning opportunities while using experimental equipment using the gamma ray spectroscopes to study nuclear physics and electrical circuits to study and understand the components and how they work.

Physics emphasis areas include:

• Biological Science
• Computer Science
• General
• Geological Science

Earning a Political Science degree at Northwest prepares students for multiple employment opportunities in public service and private sectors including federal, state and local government, law, criminal justice system, municipal planning, city management, urban affairs, education, non-profit administration, campaigns and elections, public policy analysis and internal development and relations.

The major has three areas of emphasis: the american institutions (formerly criminal justice) emphasis provides an understanding of legislatures, police prosecutors, public offenders and courts and corrections; the public administration emphasis focuses on the decision making process and job opportunities in public organizations and local, state, federal and international agencies; and the global affairs emphasis studies the global trends and events, and enhances intercultural understanding.

The biomedical science major emphasizing the chiropractic track is designed for students who want to enter the chiropractic field.

With more chiropractic schools requiring a bachelor’s degree, Northwest offers a unique program that provides students with foundational knowledge in biomedical sciences for three years. During the fourth year, students attend a chiropractic school, gain hands-on experiences, and return to Northwest to finish their bachelor’s degree. Northwest has articulation agreements with Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa, and Logan University in Chesterfield, Mo.

Northwest faculty focus on teaching students human anatomy, the positioning and function of bones and muscles, and their relationships within the human body; human physiology, interrelationship between organs and organ systems, and the fundamentals of physical and life sciences.

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.

The environmental geology major teaches students about geology as it relates to human impacts on the natural world. Faculty focus on three core areas: hydrology, natural disasters and geology and natural resources.

Hydrology relates to water and water resources. Students learn where and how water is distributed, the definition of “good” water, and how to retrieve and protect the good water. Students study natural disasters and how human activities influence these disasters. Geology and natural resources is the study of the production of gas, metal and stone, and the relationship between natural resources and modern society.