Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry

at Shorelight Group - Southwestern University USA

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.

Majoring or minoring in biology is your gateway to a richer understanding of living organisms, from the molecules within cells to the biosphere that encompasses all of Earth’s ecosystems. At Southwestern, you’ll deepen your knowledge of molecular processes, ecological diversity, genetics, the human body, and evolution through our rich and wide-ranging curriculum. You’ll engage in thoughtful assignments and projects while gaining hands-on experience in our state-of-the-art on-campus laboratories. You will have opportunities to conduct research and collaborate with our engaged and enthusiastic faculty on a range of projects, such as studying

• The diversity and distribution of snails using genetics and field sampling
• DNA repair and mutation
• The development and progression of breast and uterine cancer
• Gene expression within bacteria
• The complexities of antibiotic resistance
• The relationship between natural selection and gene evolution
• The ecology of local amphibians
• The development of neural circuits in the brain

Majors may choose to pursue either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science. Our students often take courses in SU’s robust environmental studies program or elect one of our new interdisciplinary minors, such as animal studies, health studies, and data science. In addition, SU offers preprofessional pathways in the areas of pre-medicine, pre-dental, and pre-veterinary medicine that will provide you with personalized advising and other helpful resources that will prepare your for advanced study. No matter which path you choose, you will have numerous career choices to choose from. Our alumni have gone on to successfully complete graduate and professional programs in the dental, medical, medical technology, nursing, optometry, pharmacy, and veterinary fields. They’ve also enjoyed satisfying careers in industry, government, nonprofit organizations, public health, and education.

Together with its commitment to high-impact learning practices such as faculty-student research, study abroad, internships, and senior honors theses, the Department’s rigorous academic programs represent the best in liberal arts education. Featuring a global orientation and wide chronological scope, our curriculum offers students a wide array of approaches, methods, and themes in their courses while allowing them maximum flexibility to pursue their particular interests and concerns.

Students seeking a major in History must complete nine courses. The major is flexible to allow each student to follow their own interests and schedules while ensuring that all students gain chronological breadth, geographic diversity, and a shared set of historical tools and skills. 

The flexibility of the History major makes it ideal for students seeking a double major. Additionally, the History Department has paired major options with Art History, English, Feminist Studies, and Political Science. (Check your current course catalog for details.)

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 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 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.).

Kinesiology, the study of human movement, can be traced to the ancient Chinese, Egyptian, Indian, and Greek civilizations. Kinesiology has evolved to become a discipline focusing on movement as it relates to physical activity, health and disease prevention, exercise, and sport.

The Kinesiology Department at Southwestern University is committed to developing students into active participants in their community and the world. We offer a selection of courses to fulfill requirements for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees, with a major or a minor in Kinesiology.  The Kinesiology major includes courses that are pre-requisites for graduate study in the discipline and professional programs in clinical and health-related fields. These courses are also required for teaching certification.

The Kinesiology Department also offers Fitness and Recreational Activity classes in which students develop the knowledge, skills, and physical abilities that contribute to their enjoyment of various sports and activities throughout their lives.

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.).

When you study economics at Southwestern, you become a problem-solver and a decision-maker. You will be equipped to examine complex puzzles, analyze them from multiple perspectives, and develop effective solutions. In economics classes, you will learn about the ways that public policy can affect a country’s economy—and therefore individual lives. You will examine the causes and consequences of poverty, discrimination, and climate change and develop effective solutions to these and other issues.

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.