Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations

at Roger Williams University - Bristol Campus USA

This course of study expands the student’s knowledge of the environment and how best to live in it, particularly from a chemical point of view. Studies dealing with actual environmental problems in modern society provide students with the logical scientific framework and develop the intellectual power necessary for finding possible solutions and deciding upon the more desirable ones. Emphasis is on laboratory and field studies designed to develop the skills and techniques necessary for analyzing environmental problems.

Housed in RWU’s Marine and Natural Sciences Building, the interdisciplinary Environmental Science program integrates biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics into an understanding of the natural world. Through research and an array of electives in fields like earth sciences, resource management and law, you’ll discover how humans affect nature and learn how to protect the environment in your career as a scientist, policymaker or educator.

Research Opportunities

The Environmental Science major at Roger Williams is an interdisciplinary program designed to provide students with an understanding of environmental processes and issues and an awareness of our role as humans within the environment. Undergraduate research is integrated into the Environmental Science curriculum, with opportunities for students to earn academic credit for doing research, to develop proposals and compete for small grants to fund their projects, and to present their findings at regional, national and international conferences.

Students in our digital-first Journalism program become more than just great writers. Through rigorous coursework and real-world experience at internships, you’ll learn how to gather news, report current events in an ethical manner on digital, print and electronic platforms.

Student Learning Outcomes

Journalism has traditionally been a professional program that trains students in the professional standards required of a journalist at an entry-level position in the news media industries. Our program thus prepares students who, upon graduation, will be able to demonstrate:

• Strong news judgment and ethical news gathering and reporting.
• Knowledge of news media industries.
• An understanding of news media history and journalistic practices.
• The ability to report and write according to the standards of the news profession.
• The ability to record and edit audio-video content for online publication.
• The ability to report on digital media platforms.
• An understanding of media theory.
• Innovative thinking in the application of critical and analytical skills in news production.

A major in history at Roger Williams University will explore the past with an eye toward the future. Budding historians will pursue the truth through a variety of lenses and /or approaches. Students will engage in experiential learning by interacting with the local community. Classes will take part in gaming exercises; students will explore film through an analytical lens and study history in the public sphere. A history student will discover the importance of storytelling, will participate in role play and debate, will interact with the surrounding environs through courses designed to pique their interest and hone critical thinking skills.

Students will walk the path of Roger Williams, hold meaningful dialogue with scholars, study the plight of immigrants past and present, share in the history of indigenous cultures, uncover the lived experiences of those who have remained silent or marginalized in history, enter the world of fantasy, and graduate with the tools necessary to make a difference in the world.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Locate, analyze, and interpret a variety of primary and secondary sources with logic, clarity, and persuasiveness.
• Develop an understanding of historiography, historical methodology, and research.
• Demonstrate historical literacy related to historical time periods and area studies.
• Exhibit a sophisticated appreciation of the complexities and ambiguities in history and culture.
• Address the historical impacts of transnational exchanges.
• Critique how histories are produced by and reimagined in the face of systems of power.

Aquarium and Aquaculture Science are rapidly growing areas within the field of marine biology. There is need for people trained in raising and caring for aquatic animals and the RWU AQS program, one of the first in the nation, effectively fills that void.

Aquaculture of marine and fresh water fish and invertebrates, already important as a food supply, is projected to increase in the future becoming one of the main sources of food for the world.  Aquarium science is a multi-billion dollar, world-wide business that encompasses trade and display of ornamental animals. Diseases of aquatic animals is a limitation in maintaining animals in both aquariums and aquaculture. The AQS degree offers both didactic and experiential, hands-on learning and will prepare the student for entry into this diverse and growing field.

Computer Science is about more than performing calculations and learning specific programming languages. It’s about precision, problem solving and creating technology services and solutions that will work in an increasingly complex future. With coursework that combines solid theory, real-world practice and specialization options, RWU students are ready for high-demand career fields from app developers to large scale software system designers.

The Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science prepares students for professional employment in the fields of computer science and computer programming fields. Students receive a thorough grounding in modern practices and methodologies needed to solve complex problems with computers. Experience is gained using procedural, functional, logic, and object-oriented programming languages to solve problems of increasing complexity.

As one of the oldest programs of its kind in America, Historic Preservation at RWU couples multidisciplinary coursework in subjects like history, architecture, law and economics with rigorous field-based professional workshops and internships. Because preservation is as much about people and place as it is about history, you’ll study historic buildings, landscapes and communities both here in New England and abroad in Florence, Italy.

When you study Economics, you’ll learn the essential economic theories, systems and models that build critical and analytical thinking skills you can apply to any field -- including business, government, law, healthcare and social and community service. At RWU, you can pursue either a B.A. (liberal arts track) or a B.S. (business track), which both offer opportunities for student-faculty research and publishing that can pave the way to graduate studies.

Use your creativity, imagination and interest in computers to solve real-world problems and investigate the subjects that interest you most through modeling and simulation. This program prepares you to participate actively in a variety of employment or research endeavors in medicine, transportation, and other industries, the public sector or academia.

Applied mathematical models running on computers are used to simulate a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological conditions, including weather forecasting, climate change, biological populations, epidemiology, ecosystem processes, and pollution. In this program, you will learn to design and implement models to simulate various situations and gain in-demand skills that are applicable to a wide range of fields both in and outside of STEM.

This interdisciplinary program connects concepts and applications of modeling and simulation with various focused disciplines, such as Environmental Science, Biology, and Economics. Graduates of the major are expected to be highly sought by employers and graduate programs.

Graduates of the program will go on to careers in technical fields, including programming, applied mathematics, modeling, environmental regulation or consulting, mathematical biology, or mathematical economics, or move into graduate study either in computational science or other disciplines such as biology, environmental science, economics, and more.

RWU’s unique and intimate Music program layers the exploration of world cultures on top of a solid foundation in theory, history and composition. All Music students take private lessons, perform with an ensemble and specialize in either technology or culture. With opportunities to take additional coursework in professional fields like business, communication or computer science, you’ll be prepared for a wide range of music careers.

The Music major at Roger Williams University offers a solid foundation in music theory and the principle musical styles in western culture, as well as an introduction to the music of various world cultures. Students study the elements of music and explore their application in various compositional formats. They have the opportunity to study the evolution of popular music as well as the classical forms that have characterized and helped define western culture. A unique aspect of RWU’s Music major that reflects the mission of the University is the exploration of world cultures through music. These courses will focus not only on the music of various world cultures, but also on the ways in which music is a reflection of these cultures.

The Music Major offers two tracks for students to choose from. The “Music & Culture” track highlights performance and world culture through music, and the “Music & Technology” track explores 21st century developments in music, as influenced by new electronic and computer technologies.