Bachelor of Arts in International Studies

at Shorelight Group - Southwestern University USA

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.

All of the courses in the Communication Studies major involve a significant amount of writing, research, and creative work. Several courses engage in the teaching of writing, research, and creative methods and are designated as COM Writing Intensive Courses. 

Majoring or minoring in psychology will help you understand the workings of the brain in its complex control of behavior, emotion, and cognition

You’ll also apply the knowledge you develop in coursework to high-impact learning experiences. For example, our students conduct novel, high-quality scientific research. They engage in internships with local schools, hospitals, police departments, and nonprofits. And based on these experiences, they’ve presented their research at national and international scientific conferences and coauthored scientific publications with faculty on such topics as the neural development of reproductive physiology and behavior, sexuality and relationships, and evolutionary psychology. By majoring or minoring in psychology, you’ll be prepared not only for top-ranked graduate programs but also for a wide range of careers, from medicine and veterinary science to marketing and business.

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. 

The studio art curriculum offers art, design, and architecture courses as expressive media: the primary art media are ceramics, painting, and sculpture, combined with courses in drawing, printmaking, and digital arts (photography, 3D modeling and cybersculpture). The art major is inherently interdisciplinary, so studio art is offered as a pre-professional program within a liberal arts context. It intends that each student should produce artworks with technical proficiency in a principal medium, supported by knowledge of a variety of media processes, as well as liberal arts breadth in critical thinking and verbal skills. In advanced classes, students focus on a body of personally selected creative works, locating their ideas and artworks within a contemporary cultural and theoretical context.

There are two studio art degree options: the Bachelor of Arts, and the Bachelor of Fine Arts. The B.A. encourages a broad based education across the curriculum and the B.F.A. is more focused within studio art.  The latter requires departmental admittance into the program.

The major is preparation both for students intending to apply to Master of Fine Arts programs and work as professional artists; and for students who wish to acquire a liberal arts degree which can lead to work in a wide variety of fields in graduate school both inside and outside the world of art (such as art history, architecture, digital arts, commercial art, design, arts administration, teaching art in elementary and secondary schools, etc.).

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.

We form strong critical thinkers and writers who excel in their careers nationally and internationally thanks to the flexibility and quickness of mind gained from studying language, literature, culture and film.

The German Program also builds diverse perspectives through courses addressing historical contexts, the environment, transnational writing and the European Union. The Capstone experience encourages German majors to go into greater depth and prepare for sophisticated work in many fields. Alumni pursue Master’s and PhD degrees and careers in teaching, business, management, international affairs and public health. 

The Feminist Studies curriculum exposes students to the large and ever-growing body of knowledge that makes up the broad category of feminist and gender studies, combining feminist theory with analyses of feminist activism, identifications, and practices.

Our program provides a critical exploration of how prominent categories of difference—gender, race, class, sexuality, disability, age, religion and nation—are constituted, challenged, and altered across time and place.

Part of this project involves revising the findings of traditional disciplines to include knowledge generated through a variety of feminist methodologies.

Students with an academic focus in feminist theories and methodologies are well prepared to succeed in a variety of fields, including non-profit and social services, law, journalism, theology, public policy, health care, cultural studies, education, and numerous other traditional disciplines within the academy.

Latin American and Border Studies at Southwestern University is an interdisciplinary program designed to increase understanding of Latin American and Latina/o histories, cultures, languages, economies, and political forms. A central part of the program is the critical evaluation of the ideological borders that constitute nations, states, and peoples, as produced from outside and from within Latin America. Recognizing Southwestern University’s location in Central Texas, the program emphasizes the collaboration of a diverse faculty and student body who seek both academic and activist responses to central questions while examining different disciplinary approaches to the study of Latin America and Latina/o identities. 

Students will familiarize themselves with Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States borderlands through a mixture of academic study, specialized training, civic engagement, study abroad, and discussions with affiliated faculty and visiting scholars.

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.