International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in English - Literature

at Study Group - Western Washington University USA

The Biology—Molecular and Cell Emphasis major is part of an interdisciplinary program between the Biology and Chemistry departments. Cell biology is the study of cells at the biochemical or molecular level. Molecular Biology investigates the interactions among DNA, RNA, and protein synthesis to understand how these interactions are regulated using the tools and principles of genetics and bioinformatics—it is among the most rapidly growing fields, and is making strides with recent accomplishments such as the sequencing of the entire human genome.

The B.S. degree in Molecular and Cell Biology places emphasis on the molecular biology and biochemistry that control cell functions. Students take courses in math, physics, and chemistry, along with the core biology curriculum. Once in 400-level biochemistry and molecular biology courses, students get to pursue their specific interests.

The integrated conceptual foundation in biology, the critical thinking skills, quantitative problem-solving abilities, leadership with team-building skills, and scientific research skills that students obtain from lecture and laboratory courses in Western’s Molecular and Cell Biology curriculum are ultimately critical for post-baccalaureate studies and for future job performance.

Manufacturing organizations are responsible for creating the vast array of products used in our modern world. The process of creating products starts with the identification of a need followed by a systematic sequence of engineering activities that include the design of the product, the manufacturing processes, the equipment and tooling, and the production systems necessary to produce the final product.

Western's Manufacturing Engineering program develops industry proficiencies with the help of intensive laboratory components spread throughout its courses. Through laboratory experiences, students learn to apply theoretical knowledge learned in the classroom to solve practical, application-based problems in manufacturing.

The Manufacturing Engineering curriculum is based on the Society for Manufacturing Engineering's Four Pillars: Materials & Manufacturing Processes; Product, Tooling & Assembly Engineering; Manufacturing Systems & Operations; and Manufacturing Competitiveness. Students in the program choose an emphasis in CAD or Robotics, and the subsequent courses are designed through close collaboration with a committee of industry experts, preparing graduates to be professionally competitive upon graduation.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Chemistry
Western's Chemistry program provides close student-faculty contact and relatively small classes, direct access to modern laboratory equipment and instrumentation, and opportunities for cutting-edge research under the direction of a faculty advisor. Within the department, faculty are active in many research areas including biofuels, protein engineering, computer modeling, catalysis, nanomaterials, materials for solar cells, electrochemistry, polymers, thin films, protein structural analysis by nuclear magnetic resonance and x-ray crystallography, and organic synthesis.

The Department of Chemistry, in addition to its core of fundamental studies in Analytical, Biochemistry, Inorganic, Organic and Physical Chemistry, has added a variety of elective courses that offer diversity in training, study, and research at the undergraduate level.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Kinesiology — Pre-Healthcare Professions Specialization
This major provides a concentrated study of human movement from mechanical, physiological and pathological perspectives. The program is appropriate for students who plan to work in the fitness/exercise industry or any other field such as coaching or rehabilitation, where human movement and exercise prescription are the focus. Additionally, this degree can serve as the gateway degree to the allied health professions (i.e., physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician assistant) or preparation for post-baccalaureate study in other areas such as exercise physiology, health/ fitness, biomechanics, nutrition, and human growth and motor development. Supporting courses from biology, chemistry, computer science, communication studies, health education and physics are included to provide more in-depth analysis of principles associated with human structure and function.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Financial Economics
The financial economics degree provides an understanding of core economic concepts and the functioning of the economy and financial markets. An emphasis is placed on developing critical thinking skills to apply economic and financial analysis in problem solving resulting in rigorous training in economic and financial theory and applications.

Why Financial Economics?
Finance and economics complement one another in a number of ways and studying these two fields in combination can be especially beneficial to students who would like to work in corporate finance, financial analysis, insurance and real estate, or in government positions.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Business Administration - Management Information Systems
Western's Business Administration majors explore leadership roles in business and the community, providing students with the perceptual and analytical skills necessary to make decisions and evaluate policies in business, and develop an understanding of the social, economic, and regulatory environments in business. All students earning a degree in Business Administration develop significant understanding of management information systems and computing.

In the Management Information Systems (MIS) Concentration students learn how information technology can contribute to an organization, and how to develop and apply information technology based business solutions. The concentration teaches students to combine their understanding of business, information systems, and technology to help organizations compete more successfully by streamlining current operations.

Linguistics, the science of language, is an interdisciplinary field which relates to the diversity of the cultures and languages of the world. It is an integral part of most serious pursuits dealing with aspects of language study and analysis. As the boundaries of the world change, an understanding of individual languages and cultures becomes increasingly important. Communication in this complex society requires knowledge of the workings of languages, as well as their interrelationship within their respective cultures. 

All linguistics majors are expected to acquire knowledge of the functions of language at various levels and knowledge of the techniques and methods used in language analysis. A student of linguistics will thereby significantly advance their appreciation of linguistic and cultural diversity.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Special Education — P-12 plus Content Endorsement (Dual Endorsement)
Special Educators need to have extensive knowledge in four areas: they need to know about students and how they learn; they need to know about effective instruction; they need to know about the content of the lessons they will teach; and, they need to know about the context (social, legal, and political) in which they will work. Therefore, training to become a Special Educator will include work in each of these areas. The program includes coursework and extensive supervised practicum experiences in the public schools. The program is rigorous and the expectations are high. However, the rewards are also high. This program will prepare you to be an excellent teacher in whatever position you eventually choose. Our graduates are actively recruited by school districts to work in a variety of rewarding special education and general education settings.

There are two definitions of Special Education. One is the education of students with disabilities. The other is the application of exceptional teaching. We in the Special Education Program at Western Washington University believe very strongly in the second definition. We think that it is our mission to prepare exceptional teachers and, while students who have disabilities often require the services of such teachers, we also believe that there are many other students who can benefit from high quality instruction. We also think that there is much satisfaction to be gained from the acquisition of the highest levels of teaching skill and that the teachers trained in our program benefit professionally and personally from the acquisition of these skills. That is why the word “Special” in our title is a source of pride to us and to our graduates.

Journalists are responsible for gathering information, analyzing and editing it for a mass audience, and dispensing it using some form of media platform. Increasingly the methods of distribution have become more complex, but the basic mission of a journalist remains the same: to serve the public by finding, defining, writing, and editing information.

Courses in the Visual Journalism sequence prepare students in the concepts, professional practices and course work applications of visual components of news: photojournalism, information graphics, video and audio clips, mapping, and typography. Visual Journalism majors study theoretical and practical communications in a liberal arts setting.

The International Year program is specially designed to prepare international students with the solid foundation needed to succeed in an undergraduate degree at Western Washington University.

You will learn in a supportive environment to develop your academic and English language skills, while adjusting to living and learning in the USA. After successfully completing the program with the required grades, you can continue your undergraduate degree with the confidence to engage and succeed.

Music Composition
Music composition majors learn a variety of skills enabling them to express their musical ideas in an effective manner that allows for performance of their creations. Each student receives private composition instruction along with instruction in basic music theory, music history, conducting, lessons on their major instrument or voice, and ensemble performance. While composition instruction will cover all modes, genres, and periods, students may elect to concentrate their creativity on one or more specific areas. Instruction will include introduction and advanced courses in the use of computer hardware and software.