Bachelor of Arts in Physics

at Shorelight Group - University of Kansas USA

The B.A. Biology degree at KU is the broadest major available in biology.  This major provides students with much flexibility in their major course choices.  Several core course options include ecology, microbiology, organismal physiology, and biochemistry.

The Mathematics Department offers two undergraduate degrees: the B.A. in Mathematics and the B.S. in Mathematics. The B.A. has fewer mathematics course requirements and more general education requirements. The B.S. requires more mathematics courses, an applied mathematics concentration, and fewer general education courses.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Industrial Design program is a four-year interdisciplinary course of study. Graduates of KU’s Industrial Design program are particularly attractive to potential employers because of our well rounded and rigorous curriculum. Our students find career opportunities in a wide variety of disciplines including product design, furniture design, exhibit design, package design, human factors, design research and product planning. Check out a selection of student work.

The variety of products and systems that fall within the potential scope of an industrial designer's work is extremely broad. Examples range from household appliances to aircraft interiors and from furniture to major electronics equipment, transportation vehicles, and myriad other product areas. Consequently, some industrial designers choose to specialize in particular area, e.g., automobile or furniture design, while others prefer to divide their efforts among several product areas that fall within their own design interests.

Practice is directed toward the creation and development of concepts, designs, and specifications, that optimize the value, function, convenience, safety, utility, and appearance of manufactured products and systems for the mutual benefit of both users and manufacturers of those products.

While not the oldest science, Physics has evolved over the last four centuries into the most fundamental.  From Aristotle through Newton to Einstein, the science has developed into our primary means of probing the forces that serve as the foundation for everything that happens on all levels, from the subatomic to the large-scale structure of the Universe. Physics, like all the sciences, draws individuals who love a challenge, who find problem-solving and complex puzzles motivating factors for getting up and going to work every day. Critically, the puzzles within Physics often challenge our intuition and demand that we rethink the way we perceive the Universe. Ultimately, all of the physical and biological sciences can be reduced to a form of applied Physics.

Biochemistry focuses on the structure and function of biomolecules—proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids—and encompasses all the chemical processes of organisms.  The B.S. Biochemistry major includes one year of biochemistry with laboratories, a semester of analytical chemistry with a laboratory, a semester of biological physical chemistry, as well as upper-division courses in gene expression and related elective courses.

The department offers a broad range of courses that provide a basic understanding of human language and communication. Linguistics courses examine features of language that underlie the human capacity to express concepts and communicate ideas. The courses address the connections between language, brain, culture, mind, and history. The major gives students a basic understanding of the human capacity to acquire, perceive, and produce language and of language’s role in contemporary society.

Linguistics is a superb preparation for careers that require expertise in the use of language as a means of communication, e.g., business, communications, personnel administration, teaching, health care, and social service. Many majors pursue graduate study in education, law, psychology, computer science, speech and hearing sciences and languages.

Undergraduates in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing: Sciences and Disorders study the basic processes of human communication. Programs are designed for the student who seeks a career in speech, language, or hearing or is interested in normal communication development and communication disorders.

Beginning with the undergraduate experience, you'll find stimulating course work, clinical observation, and a variety of hands-on laboratory projects. To practice as a speech-language pathologist, you will need to earn a master’s degree. Plan to pursue doctoral studies if you want to practice audiology or do research in speech, language, and hearing processes and disorders.

The undergraduate program in the Department of Chemistry has two primary missions. One of these is to help its majors attain a mastery of the discipline in preparation for further study in chemistry or a chemical science, or for immediate employment in chemistry. The other is to provide an opportunity for students majoring in other disciplines to acquire a basic knowledge of the fundamental areas of chemistry.

The program for majors is designed to enable students to develop in-depth understanding of chemical principles; a working knowledge of the properties of chemical substances; a familiarity with the use of the chemical literature; skill in basic laboratory methods, including modern instrumentation; the ability to observe, record, critically interpret, and communicate experimental results; and a facility in analytical and logical problem solving.

A bachelor’s degree in law and society provides undergraduate students with a strong background in how law works in practice in public administration, courts, the non-profit sector, policy, policing, and the justice system. Students learn about legal history and legal policy, how law shapes managerial processes, how it shapes government and the system of justice, and how it affects ordinary people in every walk of life.

Graduates of the program will be ready to work in a variety of settings, including criminal justice organizations, non-profits, policy think tanks, and political institutions. There’s significant demand for this type of degree among the region’s police departments.

The law and society program is designed for students who have earned an associate's degree or equivalent hours and are looking to complete the final two years necessary for a bachelor's degree in law and society.

Astronomy is often called the oldest science -- in many ways, it is also one of the newest! Astronomers today rely on cutting-edge technology and  computer programming skills to generate and analyze the enormous data sets we use to examine the universe around us. Our business is studying the physics of objects like exoplanets, stars, gas, black holes, and galaxies in the observable universe, which is why we are sometimes referred to as astrophysicists. Because the objects we study are too distant and too large to bring back samples or replicate them here on earth, astronomy is very different from most other experimental laboratory sciences. Astronomers that work with data are called observers, as the only experiments we can run consist of pointing our telescopes at different parts of the sky to gather information about new objects that will test our hypotheses. We rely on the information we can infer just from light (color, temperature, velocity, and chemical composition) to get insight into the formation and evolution of objects ranging from extrasolar planets to stars to entire galaxies.