Undergraduate Academic Accelerator Pathway (2-Term) - Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies

at Shorelight Group - American University USA

You’ll develop your own artistic direction and self-expression through a liberal arts curriculum that includes hands-on courses in painting, sculpture, video, and digital photography. Here, students exhibit their work in the Katzen Arts Center alongside high-profile artists from around the world. 

If you want to combine your studies in journalism, film and media arts, or public relations and strategic communication with a concentration in French, German, Russian, or Spanish, the bachelor of arts in Foreign Language and Communication Media may be just what you're seeking.

This interdisciplinary degree, offered jointly by the School of Communication and the Department of World Languages and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences, allows you to learn from world-class faculty members whose cutting-edge research activities and professional engagements play key roles in global policy development. Foreign Language and Communication Media students come from across the country and around the world, bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience that further enrich your learning experience.

Our master’s in chemistry emphasizes student research as they  learn to design, conduct, and analyze in our modern and specialized laboratories. First, you’ll build a solid foundation in methods, statistics, and research design. Then, you’ll choose a track that will prepare you for a career in clinical labs, pharmaceuticals, and biodefense, or you can customize your program for further graduate study.

The Arabic Program offers skill level courses, ranging from the elementary to the advanced levels, and topics courses introducing the students to key themes, texts, and figures of the modern and premodern Arab world. Our mission is to help students attain proficiency in reading, writing, listening, and speaking the Arabic language. At the same time, since language reflects culture, we work with our students toward a higher degree of cultural proficiency. We achieve our goals through activities introducing the students to culturally authentic materials and by using a variety of resources, tools, and technologies. Arabic communication between instructor and students is a regular feature in our classes. While the primary focus in our courses is on Modern Standard Arabic, we integrate colloquial Arabic (Levantine or Egyptian dialect) into our language instruction at the skill level courses, in order to help our students develop a broader range of conversational skills.

Philosophy is the passionate study of ideas, concepts, arguments, and ideologies. It is also a practice of critically attending to forms of experience, perspectives, and discourses that shape and express our lives. In this way, pursuing a degree in philosophy offers an opportunity to think differently and to think otherwise. The undergraduate program in philosophy at American University does this by exposing students to a wide variety of philosophical traditions and methods, while helping them to cultivate an attunement to issues of ethics and social justice. As such, our philosophy students grapple with the longstanding mysteries of knowledge and existence in the face of urgent political issues and the state of our world today, while also honing their thinking, writing and communication. Ultimately, the philosophy BA program helps students acquire useful skills for many trades and professions (former students have gone on to careers in academia, business, government, journalism, law, non-profit, public administration, etc.); but above all, it nurtures powers of the mind and heart for future changemakers. 

Combine business and STEM courses to develop an analytical skill set for the modern business world. Learn from top-credentialed faculty interested in your success. Specialize in accounting, analytics, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and technology, international business, management, or marketing. Gain real-world experience by solving problems for local businesses or interning at DC’s many financial institutions, consulting firms, and policy institutes.

Get some insight into how your mind works and improve your understanding of others. You’ll study clinical, social, personality, developmental, behavioral, and cognitive neuroscience, learning, and memory. Much of your learning will happen experientially, in the lab, or in the community. Contribute to departmental research. Internships at one of DC’s numerous mental health agencies is a short Metro ride away. 

The Religious Studies (BA) major at American University prepares students for careers across diverse fields by exploring how religion informs, influences, and directs social action and thought. Because “religion” pervades all aspects of life, our major allows students to focus on specific areas of interest, grounding religion in an historical and pluralistic framework while also bringing the topic into the modern world, recognizing how religion continues to shape politics, international relations, law, education, and economics.

The Religious Studies major is inclusive, investigating religion through diverse methodologies like critical theory, feminism and womanism, psychology, philosophy, and lived religion. Studying religion at American University expands students’ worldview, preparing them to be community leaders and changemakers.

Immerse yourself in the world of performance with the theatre track of our performing arts degree. Develop your intellectual and creative potential through a mix of professional theatre training, performance skills, and classic liberal arts knowledge. Benefit from the seasoned scholars, performers, writers, and directors who make up the faculty, and the diverse performing arts scene of Washington, DC.

Economics is the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth. Students in our bachelor’s program gain the analytic and quantitative skills necessary for research positions and prepare them for masters or doctoral level study in the discipline. We support a pluralistic approach to economics that embraces mainstream and heterodox perspectives and emphasizes policy applications.