Master of Public Administration

at Shorelight Group - University of Illinois at Chicago USA

The Department of Communication highlights the role of communication, media, and technology in creating relationships within human societies. Courses range from the personal through the international level and build responsible citizenship.

A degree in communication focuses on social science research, leading to several career paths, including market research, corporate relations, human resources, event planning, advertising, media writing, teaching, and government.

The core courses introduce fundamental concepts, theories, issues, and statistical methods in a variety of settings and build skills in reasoned argument, research, and critical thinking.

Subsequent courses integrate analysis and research, emphasizing observation, production, and consumption as critical processes in which students continually engage, while also emphasizing systematic inquiry that involves students in research activities. The courses foster critical understanding of the ways that individuals, groups, and societies create meanings about their worlds through communication.

The Department of Germanic Studies offers language and culture courses at the beginning, intermediate, and advanced levels. Courses at all levels emphasize the development of language fluency and cultural competency, as well as critical-thinking and effective writing skills. Course offerings cover a wide array of topics including film, Business German, and contemporary media.

Courses in Yiddish language, literature, and culture are also offered.

The department offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Arts with Majors in Germanic Studies and Germanic Studies with a Business Minor, as well as the BA in the Teaching of German. A minor is offered in the Germanic Studies as well.

Students who major or minor in Germanic Studies may use their training in a variety of occupations, including teaching, translation, international marketing, banking and commerce, diplomatic service, and journalism.

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 Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Management will equip students with the necessary skills to successfully manage human capital within organizations. A focused curriculum will cover topics that include building effective teams, compensation, global human resources, personal leadership skills, diversity and inclusion, recruitment, training and development, labor laws, and consulting.

Mathematics is the abstract study of number, pattern, quantity, systems, and space, as well as the language of science and all fields in which patterns and systematic processes are analyzed. Taking courses in the mathematical sciences helps students learn to conceptualize abstract structures and provides them with the framework and analytical tools necessary for understanding our technology-based and data-intensive society. The MATH major prepares students for graduate study in pure mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, and mathematical computer science. Both the MATH major and minor sequences help prepare students for a wide range of opportunities in the natural sciences, social sciences, business, finance, and government; for professional schools, such as law school; and for almost any job or career in which strong analytical and communication skills are valued.

The Information and Decision Sciences program at UIC Business is grounded in a research-based curriculum and corporate-sponsored project courses that give students the proven experience firms are looking for. IDS majors explore the potential of new technology to alter business operations, analysis and strategy. Students leave our program ready to meet the growing demand for business technologists.

IDS students are in top demand because of the skills they learn here at UIC Business. Bridging the gap between technology and business, IDS prepares students to analyze, design and implement information technology systems.

Students gain conceptual knowledge in how information is used effectively throughout all areas in the business cycle. They also gain practical experience in more technological based courses such as Business Database Technology, Advanced Spreadsheet Analysis, Business Data Mining and Business Systems Analysis and Design. IDS students are given the tools to become proficient professionals, capable of putting their technical, analytic and critical thinking skills to use in a real-world setting.

At UIC Business, we help students find their dream careers. Some students may choose a “specialization” for their studies that lead to certain career paths in IDS. These include Management Information Systems; Business Analytics; and Operations and Supply Chain Management.

Political science is the systematic study of politics and its connection to human life as a whole. It focuses on the way people are governed and govern themselves in a wide variety of settings—including the state, the workplace, schools, and the family—and the way in which governance in those settings affects their life chances and shapes their sense of self. Students who elect this major examine, among other things, the relationships between law and political institutions, economic and political power, and culture and political identity. They develop the analytical, interpretive, and critical methods necessary to understand these relationships at local, national, regional, or international levels, and thus, to act as responsible citizens at those levels. They also learn to write well. In short, political science is central to a well-rounded liberal arts education.

Political science also provides excellent preparation for careers in law, government, teaching, journalism, business, and the nonprofit sector.

In addition to the BA with a Major in Political Science program, the department offers two concentrations: the Concentration in Law and Courts and the Concentration in Urban Politics.

The MCS curiculum fosters the development of logical and analytical thinking and is designed to provide a basic foundation for a career in the forefront of computing. Emphasis is given to the mathematical theory of computer science and computational methods. The program concentrates on both the practical and theoretical aspects of computer science such as numerical computing, super computing, programming languages, algorithms, complexity, coding theory, combinatorics and graph theory. The curriculum is intended for students who seek careers in systems and/or mathematical computing.

Note that while the major is “Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science” the MCS rubric for courses stands for “Mathematical Computer Science”.

The software engineering concentration emphasizes the knowledge and skills needed to begin a professional practice in software engineering. In addition to the fundamental areas of computer science, including programming, data structures, discrete mathematics, algorithms, formal languages, computer architecture, and operating systems, students study key topics such as software cost estimation, large-scale software development, and risk management.