Undergraduate Academic Accelerator Pathway (2-Term) - Bachelor of Science in Communication

at Shorelight Group - The University of Utah USA

Rhetoric is the study of effective speaking and writing: it is the art of argument and persuasion. Through the Writing and Rhetoric Studies program, you will become a strong analytical thinker and proficient writer. Students of this program learn rhetorical analysis and the ways that culture and society shape what we define as “literacy,” giving you critical thinking skills and social awareness that can be applied to a number of pursuits. Students in the program choose courses from topics such as under-represented rhetorics, rhetorics of gender, writing poplular non-fiction, professional discourse, grammar and stylistics, digital storytelling, writing as a social practice, and others. The culminating experience of the program is a senior seminar, synthesizing all of the student's undergraduate work into a portfolio piece. Employers consistently rank written communication skills as among the most-desired abilities in job candidates, and strong writing and argumentation abilities are excellent assets for graduate-level coursework.

Conflict exists both within ourselves and in our interpersonal relations: with friends, families, or our community, locally and globally. If you want to be able to recognize and peacefully resolve conflict, consider the Peace & Conflict Studies program at the University of Utah. Offered collaboratively by the College of Humanities, Department of Communication, and College of Social and Behavioral Science, Peace & Conflict Studies will give you the knowledge, skills, and values you need to be a peacemaker in the world. Students in this program choose one of three themes for their studies: Conflict Resolution, Social Justice, or Global Perspectives. Regardless of emphasis area, students take courses in topics like negotiation, poverty and inequality, international affairs and human rights, world religions and politics, and the economics of race and gender. The culminating experiences of the program include a capstone course, seminar, and required internship. Through your studies, you will develop your communication, social awareness, and critical thinking skills, enabling you to pursue careers in a number of fields.

Study product design through the Multi-Disciplinary Design program at the University of Utah. This exciting curriculum uses product design as a vehicle to investigate a number of broader concepts in design and creativity, such as: design research, human-centered design principles, interface development, articulation of product forms, materials, and digital manufacturing principles. Students complete courses from four areas of design: Studio, Technical, History/Theory, and Practice. Through classes on design, graphics, visual communication, and other topics, students will understand the connections among cross-disciplinary design specialties. As a multi-disciplinary design student, you will help map the future of design through production, research, strategy, entrepreneurship, and applied futurism, preparing you for an exciting career in the industry.

Anthropology is the study of human beings; their cultures, biology, behaviors, and their changes through time (evolution). Because we study all aspects of humans, anthropology is said to be holistic and inter-disciplinary, that is anthropologists work hand-in-hand with other sciences such as biology, physiology, sociology and psychology—just to name a few.

At the University of Utah, the Anthropology Department is divided into four main divisions: Cultural, Biological, Evolutionary Ecology, and Archaeology. Cultural anthropology focuses on human cultures and how they vary through time and space—around the world and back through pre-history. Biological anthropology focuses on ancient and modern human anatomical, physiological, and biological variability. Biological anthropology also concerns itself with non-human primates like chimpanzees and gorillas—by studying them, we hope to learn more about ourselves. Archaeology is the excavation and interpretation of what humans leave behind in order to infer how and why humans have evolved. Evolutionary ecology (sometimes known as behavioral ecology) examines human (and non-human primate) behavior and life-history—why did human beings evolve the way they did?

Ultimately, anthropologists use all four sub-disciplines to describe and explain past and present human diversity. The Department takes a theoretically-driven, empirically-informed perspective focusing on the following specific areas of expertise: archaeology, genetics, behavioral ecology, paleoanthropology, hunter-gatherer behavior, and human and non-human primate behavior.

The Family, Community and Human Development (FCHD) Major is housed in the Department of Family and Consumer Studies (FCS). The objective of the FCHD major is to provide students with a broad and detailed understanding of the processes of personal development in the context of the family, and as impacted by community and societal forces beyond the family. More specifically, students with a FCHD major will acquire an understanding of:

• The key features of development through each stage of life (infants, children, adolescents and adults);
• How these key features of development are impacted by experience to account for the ways that each of us is unique;
• How family members develop and maintain relationships within and across generations;
• The decisions people make about managing resources such as time, money, and material assets;
• The ways that individual and family well-being are impacted by community and societal forces;
• The impact of local, national, and international policies and laws on individual, family and community well-being;
• How research in these areas is conducted and evaluated, and how the findings from these works may be applied to enhance the well-being of individuals (at every age) and families

In addition to the breadth and depth of our FCHD major as summarized above, our department offers students three opportunities for diving more deeply into specific areas of focus that are both relevant to the broader goals of our major and oriented toward specific career opportunities.

Communication is much more than just the written word. Communication is also verbal or non-verbal, and it takes place at both an interpersonal and mass scale. With the University of Utah’s Communication program, students learn how to be effective communicators for all different types of audiences. Communication is a diverse discipline and offers a variety of skills to prepare students for their careers. Through a combination of theoretical and technical training, the Communication program allows students to develop a comprehensive portfolio to market themselves to the industry. If you want to focus your studies on a particular area, you can pursue an emphasis in one of the following emphases:

• Communication Studies
• Journalism
• Science, Health, Environmental, and Risk Communication
• Strategic Communication

Recreational therapy (RT) is a form of therapy that uses physical recreation and activities to help people with illnesses or disabling conditions achieve mental and physical health. This therapy might include dancing, playing a sport, hiking, cooking, or even playing a video game. If you like being active and want to help others at the same time, consider majoring in Recreational Therapy. This program will give you the counseling techniques and knowledge you need to help rehabilitate individuals and educate them on the support systems and skills needed to maintain their health and happiness. The RT curriculum covers topics in recreational therapy foundations and treatment methods: through a combination of coursework, community programs, and treatment services, students learn how to conduct treatment planning and provide therapy. The culminating experience of the program is a recreational therapy internship through a local agency, preparing you for work in a professional environment. Students of this program graduate well-prepared to apply for licensure to practice as therapists or to find jobs in allied fields.

The field of electrical & computer engineering involves the analysis and design of complex electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software components. Without electrical & computer engineering, things like computers, car power systems, and cell phones would not exist. The Electrical and Computer Engineering department at the University of Utah covers a broad range of disciplines related to computing, sensing, and communicating. The program will prepare you to join the next generation of engineers, capable of becoming a leader in industry, government or academia. The Electrical & Computer Engineering curriculum is comprised of courses in differential and integral calculus, linear algebra and complex variables, basic sciences, computer science, and engineering sciences. Training in these topics prepares students for the analysis and design challenges associated with electrical and electronic devices, software, and systems containing hardware and software components. All students must complete a senior project capstone, further solidifying electrical and computer engineering concepts and preparing you to enter the workforce or graduate school.

If you want to explore the world around you and help make the world a better place, consider becoming a chemical engineer. Chemical engineers take chemistry out of the laboratory and into the real world by applying scientific knowledge, technical expertise, innovation, and creativity to make useful materials; without chemical engineering, things like fertilizers, vaccines, and antibiotics wouldn't exist in the quantities that we need them. With their skills and abilities, chemical engineers can be involved in research, development (taking a process from bench scale to full scale), design and evaluation (deciding how a process should work), plant design (deciding how a chemical plant should be built), plant operation, sales, management, and academics. The University of Utah’s Department of Chemical Engineering is nationally recognized for its research and teaching. In this program, you will complete courses in math, physics, chemistry, and engineering. You can also complete an optional emphasis in Energy Engineering. By the time of graduation, about 50 percent of our graduates have found employment or been admitted to post-graduate programs that include law, medicine, and graduate school in a variety of fields. 

Technology is vital to the success of every business, and companies need professionals who can use technology to meet strategic business objectives. With a degree in Information Systems, you will create efficient information management within organizations, establishing processes that are most helpful to users. As technology continues to evolve, it remains an essential component of business, and professionals in Information Systems are needed to support it. The University of Utah’s degree in Information Systems will give students the tools to manage the technical direction of business, solve technological issues, and implement new technological advances to enrich business operations. Program coursework focuses on the intersection of business and technology: students take classes in not only business concepts but also information systems concepts, such as databases, programming, networking, and web development.