Bachelor of General Studies in Linguistics

at Shorelight Group - University of Kansas USA

The B.A. degree in German Studies offers students a diverse program in the language, culture, and history of German-speaking Europe, including the study of literature, the arts, business, politics, linguistics, and the history and culture of German migrants living in diaspora. The Minor in German Studies provides undergraduate students with a comprehensive introduction to the language and cultural forms of German-speaking Europe.

Chinese
In a few short weeks, CHIN 104: Elementary Chinese language students know their four tones and can speak beautifully about basic topics of daily life. Learning characters, the challenging but fun aspect of Chinese, starts slowly the first year, then accelerates the second and third years of study. Advanced-level students from KU can read newspapers and contemporary fiction by the time they graduate; graduating majors are fluent in Chinese.

Japanese
Often considered the "Gateway to the East," Japan is a center for commerce, trade, education, and culture in East Asia. KU alums with Japanese language skills have followed career paths such as acting for Japanese television, banking in Tokyo, and working as a legal expert for Microsoft, as well as many who pursued graduate work in Japanese culture and history. Beyond the practical advantages, studying Japanese possesses its own intrinsic rewards: learning one of the world's most complex languages exercises the mind in unique ways. Japanese language students are never bored!

Korean
Although Korean has been a spoken language for several thousand years, the development of its phonetic alphabet in 1446, hangul, made it the easiest East Asian language to master. Today Korean is the 11th most spoken language in the world. More than half of Korean's vocabulary can be traced to Chinese, and the structure and grammar are similar to Japanese. KU is the only institution in Kansas that teaches intermediate and advanced Korean language courses.

In philosophy we ask big, important questions. While asking such questions is easy, answering them is difficult. Because these questions are often abstract and vague, it is necessary to use precise reasoning and analysis to clarify what exactly it is we are asking. Only then can we attempt to develop answers. For example:

• What is the morally right thing to do?
• What is the nature of the mind?
• When can we know something, rather than merely believing it?
• Do the sciences exhaust what can be known about the natural world?
• What is justice?
• What assumptions do we make when we try to answer questions like these?
• Plus many, many others...

In studying philosophy, you will learn what others have thought about life's big questions. You will also learn to challenge those views, and to develop your own thoughts in a precise, logical manner. Philosophy will help you develop critical thinking skills, enabling you to analyze the underlying logic and assumptions in arguments about a variety of topics. This is a skill that generalizes to virtually every area of life.

This degree offers students a broad liberal arts education touching on all aspects of Geography. As part of this degree students need to meet the KU Core Requirements and/or requirements set by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. College requirements are the same as those for the Bachelor of General Studies degree, and require a minimum of 33 credit hours in Geography. Course work includes 18 hours of fundamentals courses and 15 additional hours selected from four topical groups: physical, human, techniques and regional.

The Bachelor of Science in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology focuses on the integration of biological systems at the whole organism level, and on how living organisms exist in populations, species, and communities within their environment. Core classes such as genetics, ecology, and evolutionary biology are combined with courses such as statistics, biochemistry, systematics, and organismal diversity to provide a strong foundation in biology. Students choose electives from a diverse set of classes that allow them to focus on areas of interest.

The B.A. in dance offers comprehensive technical training built on a solid liberal arts foundation, allowing our students to double-major or pursue graduate study in a wide number of fields.

The Department does NOT require an audition for entry into the Dance B.A. program. Incoming or transfer students may declare a dance major when they apply or enroll.  At the end of the sophomore year, students will undergo a Sophomore Review (PDF), an evaluation of their academic progress and artistic growth within the program. If a student is in good standing at the end of their sophomore year, they may continue in the B.A. program. If a student transfers into our program after the sophomore year, he or she will be evaluated at the end of the first year of attendance.

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.

The BS program provides intensive training in geology and other sciences. BS majors may emphasize traditional geology, environmental geology (with a specialized track in hydrogeology), engineering geology, geophysics, or earth and space science licensure. The hydrogeology track, the engineering geology option, and the geophysics option combine basic training in geology with training in mathematics, engineering, physics, and geophysics. The environmental geology option combines training in geology with many different sciences.

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.

The bachelor's degree in elementary teacher education at the University of Kansas prepares individuals to teach children in kindergarten through sixth grade. The teacher education program combines general education courses and professional education coursework with multiple field experiences at the elementary level in diverse communities. The KU School of Education and Human Sciences is accredited under the NCATE standards through the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) Accreditation System.