Master of City Design

at Shorelight Group - University of Illinois at Chicago USA

Philosophy (from the Greek “love of wisdom”) originated as the search for understanding concerning the most basic features of reality, the natural world, and human life. The discipline prizes and develops the skill of engaging effectively with arguments on a tremendous range of subjects. In ancient times, philosophers pioneered the study of topics from the physical cosmos to the gods to human conduct. They debated not only the character of fundamental reality but also questions of how we can attain knowledge of it. To this day, philosophy engages with questions drawn from every part of our life and experience. For example: Is there such a thing as a purely objective observation? Am I identical with my brain? Is it ever permissible to break the law? Why is there evil in the world? Is death to be feared, and why?

Job candidates and applicants to professional schools can only be helped by being able to examine both sides of a question, think critically, write cogently, and solve very general abstract problems. Moreover, the powers of reflection, imagination, self-expression, and engagement with the ideas of others that philosophy cultivates are in themselves of fundamental value for human life.

The Department of Economics offers a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in Economics. The program provides instruction on economic institutions and a rigorous foundation in the analytical tools and applied areas of economics, relying on mathematical and statistical techniques. Students learn how the price system operates; how consumers, firms, and government institutions allocate scarce resources; and the determinants of national output, inflation, unemployment, economic growth, and international trade. Laws, regulations, and institutions that influence economic activity are also studied. After learning the basic tools of microeconomics and macroeconomics in the introductory courses, students go on to study various applied areas of economics in the more advanced courses.

The program provides a strong grounding for many careers in banking, data science, insurance, service and manufacturing firms, government agencies, and not-for-profit organizations. It also gives an excellent background to students who intend to continue their education. In particular, it provides a solid preparation for law school, an MBA program, and graduate studies in economics, business, public administration, and public policy.

Students are encouraged to contact the director of undergraduate studies of the economics department for further information on the field of economics and career options for economics majors.

The Bachelor of Science in Management from UIC Business will equip you with the necessary skills to successfully lead and manage people and organizations. With a varied curriculum encompassing management consulting, leadership and managerial skills and managerial logistics, you’ll gain the skills to excel in and lead teams, negotiate conflict and develop strategies to help a business succeed.

Management students can opt for a concentration in management consulting, leadership and managerial skills and managerial logistics.

Chemical engineering answers the question of what chemistry can do to improve the world around us. Chemical engineers are problem-solvers who take raw materials and turn them into useful materials. Our undergraduate program includes a thorough immersion in the core concepts of chemistry—general, organic, physical, and analytical—followed by a series of upper-level chemical engineering courses that develop your ability to apply these concepts to develop new, innovative solutions to engineering problems.

The coursework in our program culminates in the Senior Design course, in which student teams, working with industry mentors, put their knowledge to work on a real-world issue that matters to them. Recent projects have focused on creating biofuels from wood chips, reducing greenhouse-gas emissions by using chemical solvents to capture carbon dioxide, and meeting an increasing global demand for the chemical propylene. Senior Design projects offer a true opportunity to pick a cause you are passionate about and spend two semesters working on it—and the experience often proves valuable when applying for full-time jobs.

UIC chemical engineering also is home to a concentration in biochemical engineering, which is of particular interest to students who love not only chemistry, but also biology. This concentration helps to position students for jobs or further study at the intersection of bioengineering and chemical engineering.

The MA in Applied Economics program at UIC is designed for students who desire an MA degree in economics as either a stepping stone to a Ph.D. program or a career that requires such preparation, but have not extensively studied economics in an undergraduate program. We provide analytically rigorous training in economic theory and statistical analysis that is accessible to students with less preparation in mathematics than is required for enrollment in an Economics Ph.D. program. Importantly, we condense this accelerated program into three semesters, including summer, so that students can complete the entire program in ten months. This substantially reduces the cost and enables students to matriculate to a Ph.D. program or enter the job market after only a single year of study.

We have structured the program to meet the needs of and engage students with diverse backgrounds and interests. The core economic theory and statistical methods courses are analytically rigorous but do not require extensive training in mathematics and do not focus on mathematical derivations or proofs. However, students with the requisite training in mathematics may substitute courses from our Ph.D. program in place of the corresponding Applied MA course. This enables these students to engage the material at a more mathematically sophisticated level and demonstrate their knowledge to Ph.D. programs and employers.

The UIC Economics Department has historically been strong in applied research and econometric analysis, particularly in the areas of health and education economics and policy. Applied MA students have the opportunity to take elective courses with leading young scholars in these areas. Students also have the opportunity to take courses outside of the Economics Department or in other areas that fit with their interests, or to take additional mathematics coursework that may be needed as preparation for a future Ph.D. program. Finally, all students have the choice to write an MA thesis or to complete additional coursework.

Bioinformatics develops methods and computing tools for understanding biological data. As an integrative field of science, bioinformatics combines computer science, statistics, mathematics and engineering to analyze and interpret biological data.

A Bachelor of Science in Marketing from UIC Business prepares students for careers in advertising and social media marketing, marketing research, product management, retailing and sales leadership. Our classes, which are led by faculty with experience from both research and industry, provide both a theoretical foundation for understanding a range of marketing topics, as well as hands-on experiences to allow you to put your skills into practice.

The Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts and Sciences, Major in Integrated Health Studies is a collaborative program of the College of Applied Health Sciences and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The program will be jointly supported by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Departments of Biological Sciences and Psychology and administered by the Department of Biological Sciences.

The Major in Integrated Health Studies provides students the opportunity to explore the complexity of human health, from the level of the gene to society, by providing a diverse, interdisciplinary curriculum that includes core content spanning the life sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, and the humanities. As a more holistic perspective of health has evolved, the training of health professionals has evolved as well. Students will graduate with a broad understanding of human structure and function in health and disease across the lifespan; a broad understanding of how human health and disease are impacted by culture, the environment, society, and personal behavior; and an appreciation for health issues that are unique to the urban environment and to the global society. Upon completion of the bachelor’s degree, graduates will be competitive for admission into professional and graduate health-related programs or entry into health-related careers.

Engineering is an application of scientific principles to solve real-world problems. Engineering physicists are engaged more deeply on the scientific end than most.

With UIC’s engineering physics major, you will develop a command of physics that will make you especially competitive in roles that require an understanding of science and theory, such as research and development positions.

Engineering physics majors take nine physics courses. After completing General Physics I (which focuses on mechanics) and General Physics II (which is about electricity and magnetism), EP majors delve the scientific method, quantum theory, waves, thermal physics, quantum and theoretical mechanics, experimental physics, and other topics.