Bachelor of Arts in Art Studio

at Shorelight Group - Southwestern University USA

The department is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and offers an option for students to pursue an ACS-certified BS degree in chemistry. For students who wish to enter graduate school in chemistry or a related field upon completion of their degree, the ACS-certified chemistry major offers a strong foundation in all fields within the chemical sciences. 

The flexibility of the chemistry degree program allows students to prepare for a number of career options including graduate or professional school, or obtaining a position in government or industry. Students should consult with their academic advisers to determine the best course choices within their individual degree plan. 

In addition to their regular course work, chemistry majors are strongly encouraged to become involved in laboratory research during their junior and/or senior years. Members of the department’s faculty are available to consult with chemistry students about research programs available at Southwestern and other universities. All chemistry majors are required to complete a capstone experience based on a laboratory research project. In addition, all chemistry majors must participate in a literature seminar course to prepare them for their capstone experience.

Art history is a gateway to other cultures and encompasses almost all human activity. The study is highly interdisciplinary, engaging with topics from politics, economics, and social structures to religion, history, and philosophy.

Southwestern University’s Art History Department is defined by four teacher–scholars who are immersed and actively pursuing research in international environments. Collaborating with faculty whose expertise lies in the art, archaeology, and architecture of the classical Mediterranean, East Asia, pre-modern Latin America, and modern Europe and America, you will become adept at synthesizing a wide range of worldviews. You’ll learn how to think visually, exploring how form, shape, and color can influence or even manipulate one’s thoughts and emotions. You’ll also think verbally, developing well-honed arguments about the design and effects of art in various contexts. Because art history requires both visual and verbal thinking, you’ll acquire superior communication skills and the ability to think about familiar things in innovative ways.  

Fulfilling Southwestern’s commitment to promoting lifelong learning while preparing students for the careers of tomorrow, art history teaches you how to think outside the box in a surprising number of professions. Art history’s emphasis on both visual analysis and written communication prepares students to design their own careers as well, from fine-arts consulting and costume design to art therapy and sustainable design.

The Computer Science Department provides an integrated approach to solving complex, open-ended problems—a skill necessary for succeeding in the digital age and beyond. When you major in computer science, you will be empowered to make a positive impact on the world. More than just learning how to code, you will theorize about systems while developing algorithms and gaining hands-on experiences with database management, taking advantage of the power of the cloud.

Beyond taking dynamic courses such as Artificial Intelligence and Operations Research, you can combine your interest in computer science with community engagement or your passion for the arts. Our recent students have

• Created computer systems that “breed” artistic animations
• Improved video game play using the generative adversarial network (GAN) machine learning model
• Partnered with Upward Bound and GirlStart to improve their websites and databases
• Analyzed users’ sincerity when using meeting scheduling apps, such as Doodle Poll

In addition to designing independent research with faculty, you will have the opportunity to present your work at regional, national, and international conferences and publish coauthored articles in peer-reviewed journals. You will also get support as you participate in national competitions, such as the Association for Computing Machinery’s International Collegiate Programming Contest. By graduation, you will be prepared to succeed in top-tier graduate programs as well as fulfilling careers, from network and test engineering to front- and back-end development.

The Anthropology major is designed to develop a critical awareness and understanding of the diversity of peoples and cultures, and of the relevance and application of anthropological perspectives and methods to contemporary issues. The program specializes in the Caribbean, Latina/o’s in the U.S. and the U.S-Mexico Borderlands, and is anchored by a faculty member each in Anthropology and Feminist Studies. Courses cover issues central to our contemporary global society: questions of race, class and gender; environmental (in)justice; and the making of religious and spiritual forms and identities. Additionally, contributing courses from Political Science and Religion address politics and social change in Latin American and Caribbean societies, gender in/and religions, spiritual traditions in native America, pilgrimages and more. Anthropology majors acquire solid grounding in both the social and cultural theory employed and generated by anthropologists and the ethnographic methods that define our discipline and conduct and present a paper based upon their own independent research.

Students seeking a major in Anthropology complete the requirements for the BA degree. Students are required to complete a period of in-depth ethnographic research during which they collect data for their capstone. This research period must be completed by end of the fall semester of their senior year and must entail a minimum of four weeks of intensive research or its equivalent. Students are encouraged to conduct this research during a study abroad experience with an appropriate study abroad program (see approved list of study abroad providers). Students may also complete this research through extending a project begun in the Theory and Method course, or otherwise developing a project. 

Fulfilling Southwestern’s commitment to interdisciplinary learning, the Math Department empowers you to discover new ways of seeing and engaging with the world around you, from predicting national healthcare expenditures and determining the best position for viewing a painting to analyzing traffic accidents and visitations to a national park. With the guidance of faculty mentors and the ability to complement your studies with interdisciplinary minors such as data science and design thinking, you will have the flexibility to tailor your elective courses to suit your career goals.

As a math major or minor at Southwestern, you will be empowered to make a positive difference in the world. You will hone your critical and creative thinking through such courses as Graph Theory and Real Analysis. And you will have multiple opportunities to combine your interests in math with your passion for the arts or community service. Our recent students have

• Used hyperbolic geometry to crochet models of Texas coral reefs
• Analyzed the structure of the Choose Your Own Adventure series using graph theory
• Composed a musical performance modeling how the HIV virus proliferates through the body

Collaborating one on one with our award-winning faculty on innovative research is just one advantage of the SU experience. As mentors and advisors, our professors will also encourage your engagement with the broader mathematics community: many of our current students and alumni have showcased peer-reviewed presentations and posters at regional, national, and international conferences; earned awards; and coauthored journal publications. You will also get to participate in exciting national competitions, such as the Mathematical Association of America’s Putnam Competition, the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP) Mathematical Contest in Modeling, and the Binance Dexathon. Our alumni have gone on to premier graduate programs as well as fulfilling careers in a range of fields, from finance and programming to education and data analysis.

The department is accredited by the American Chemical Society (ACS) and offers an option for students to pursue an ACS-certified BS degree in chemistry. For students who wish to enter graduate school in chemistry or a related field upon completion of their degree, the ACS-certified chemistry major offers a strong foundation in all fields within the chemical sciences. 

The flexibility of the chemistry degree program allows students to prepare for a number of career options including graduate or professional school, or obtaining a position in government or industry. Students should consult with their academic advisers to determine the best course choices within their individual degree plan. 

In addition to their regular course work, chemistry majors are strongly encouraged to become involved in laboratory research during their junior and/or senior years. Members of the department’s faculty are available to consult with chemistry students about research programs available at Southwestern and other universities. All chemistry majors are required to complete a capstone experience based on a laboratory research project. In addition, all chemistry majors must participate in a literature seminar course to prepare them for their capstone experience.

Education courses are designed to provide both a philosophical and theoretical basis for teaching and other education careers. We expose Education students to teaching methodology that is based on the latest research and emphasize developmental characteristics of the learner, learning theories, diverse learners, and assessment. Our professors teach and model analytic, creative and evaluative thinking skills in order to develop lifelong learners who are skilled in the problem solving necessary for the modern classroom. Strong, early field experiences and a closely supervised student teaching placement are integral components of the program.

After graduation, during the critical first year of teaching, the Education Department provides assistance through the Semester of Support (S.O.S.) program. Graduates return to campus to exchange ideas, receive technical assistance from the Department faculty, and engage in evaluation of the Teacher Certification Program. S.O.S. also provides on-site technical support to graduates during their first year of teaching.

Although Education Degrees are awarded by Southwestern University, certification is awarded by the State of Texas. In completing the requirements for their respective degree programs, students must meet the requirements necessary for Texas teacher certification as well as the requirements of Southwestern. 

Students must have completed at least 90 credits including the general education core courses and the courses required for the Applied Physics major before leaving Southwestern. After completing 30 credits of applicable coursework in an ABET engineering program, students must submit their transcript(s) to Southwestern for review by the Physics Department Chair. Upon the Chair’s approval and satisfactory completion of all BA Degree Requirements as outlined in Southwestern University’s Catalog, students may be awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Applied Physics. The work submitted from the ABET-accredited school will be treated as “in residence” coursework. In order to participate in commencement at Southwestern, students in the Pre-Engineering program must complete an Application for Diploma by the date noted in the SU official calendar for their intended Southwestern graduation semester, and they must have submitted a transcript showing that they have successfully completed at least 15 hours of approved courses with the remainder of courses in-progress. The University degree will be conferred only after the final transcript is submitted and approved.

The Classics major exposes students to both languages of the Graeco-Roman world, plus a range of courses in ancient history, philosophy, culture, art, and archaeology.

The major and minor in Latin enable students to study the literature and culture of the Roman world, from the formative years of the Republic to the expansion and power of the Empire.

At the head of Greek literature stand the Homeric epics, followed by equally fascinating literature of the archaic, classical, and Hellenistic periods.

The Classics Program has broad goals, embracing cultural and social issues, critical thinking, language skills, and advanced research skills. Classics majors also have the opportunity to conduct advanced research at the side of a professor. For example, one recent graduate, working in collaboration with Dr. Haskell, produced a paper on the topic of the arrival of Greeks on Crete (published in Athens the following year). Another student “read” and classified a sequence of pottery sherds at an archaeological site in Turkey.

The major features courses that present the historical and cultural range of literary production in English, a deliberate encounter with interpretive strategies under the heading of critical theory, and, under “emergent literature,” a set of courses that exceed established, national canons of literature. Special topics courses (10-304) are frequently offered that, where designated, fulfill these requirements.