International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Political Science

at Study Group - Western Washington University USA

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 - Marketing
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 to develop 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.

While many people think marketing is all about sales and advertising, that perception is far from what marketing encompasses. Marketing means satisfying the wants and needs of customers by building mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and customers. By creating value for customers, marketers help increase the value of organizations. Marketing tools and strategies are used in both for-profit business and non-profit organizations.

The Marketing Concentration provides students with coursework that is intellectually stimulating and directly useful in today's marketing profession. Students study marketing as it relates to a variety of activities in new product development, pricing strategies and implementation, various communications including traditional advertising, digital media, personal selling, distribution, management of services, and brand management.

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.

Human Services
The Human Services curriculum aligns with national standards in human services education as outlined by the Council for Standards in Human Services Education (www.cshse.org). The Human Services major prepares students to work in a variety of settings as case managers, advocates, grant writers, youth workers, volunteer coordinators, or advocacy specialists.

The program has a social justice orientation, engaging students in critical analysis and reflection as they examine social issues at the individual, group, organization, community, and global level. The program emphasizes community engagement and requires 240 hours of field experience that allows students to integrate theory, knowledge, and skills through work in human services organizations.

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.

American Cultural Studies
American Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field of critical inquiry that investigates power dynamics, inequality, and agency, at the intersection of race, gender, status, religion, class, and ability.

Our courses place particular emphasis on minoritizing and other exclusionary practices shaping limits to national belonging, and how those experiences are lived. We pay attention to the roles of institutions, policies, discourse, and other socio-cultural processes. We educate students in historical and social inquiry, textual analysis and interpretation, and critical theory and practice. We expose students to theoretical foundations in Settler Colonialism, Queer and other Feminisms, Critical Race Theory, Borders, and Transnationalism.

The American Cultural Studies (ACS) major combines the social sciences with humanities to provide students with a rich undergraduate background that is the foundation for careers and advanced study in law, domestic social services, public service, government service, education, and graduate work in American studies, ethnic studies, and the social sciences.

Graduates of the program are especially prepared to go on for further study. Over half of all ACS graduates go on to professional and graduate schools upon the culmination of their undergraduate degree.

The Secondary Education program is designed for students who want to become teachers at the middle or high school level and leads to a recommendation to the State of Washington for a teaching certificate with an endorsement in at least one subject area.

Western’s Secondary Education program is designed for students who want to become teachers at the middle or high school level. The program leads to a recommendation to the State of Washington for a teaching certificate with an endorsement in at least one subject area.

To gain a Teaching Certificate all teacher candidates must complete a teacher preparation program. Woodring offers programs for Elementary, Secondary, and Special Education areas.

An endorsement is the subject area and grade level you are qualified to teach. For example, Earth and Space Science is an endorsement.

Students seeking a bachelor’s degree with teacher certification and an endorsement in elementary education must complete the GURs, an approved academic major, and the professional education course work. 

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.

General Science — Middle Level
The Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Program is a visionary and practical program designed to enrich the training and education of K-12 pre-service teachers and, through them, their students. From a collaboration of the disciplines of Chemistry, Geology, Biology, Physics/ Astronomy, Mathematics, and Computer Science, the Science, Mathematics and Technology Education Program (SMATE) offers an opportunity for teachers and future teachers to gain specific skills and broaden talents within their chosen discipline.

This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and leads to a middle level science endorsement. It must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in elementary education or secondary education.

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.

Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of pattern, structure, and change. Although it is one of the most ancient disciplines, new mathematics is being created every day. It can be found in everything from internet security, to green energy technology, to Wall Street investment strategies.

Classes in the Department of Mathematics emphasize the analytical thinking and problem-solving skills that create a strong foundation not just in mathematics, but in many other careers including law, business, and a range of technical fields.

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.

Biology/Anthropology
Biological or Physical Anthropology is the study of both present and past human variation relative to local ecologies and cultures. Biological Anthropologists specialize in human or primate anatomy, disease ecology, growth and development, forensic anthropology and osteology, medical anthropology, primate behavior, and paleoanthropology. The Biology/Anthropology major concentrates on human biology and behavioral science.

Students interested in health-related careers find this major to be particularly attractive, because it offers greater access to courses in Human Anatomy and Physiology. In addition, it offers elective options in Biology and Anthropology courses, giving students a wide array of courses from which to choose.

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/Biology — Secondary

This major is recommended for students interested in becoming secondary school science teachers and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in secondary education offered through Woodring College of Education. Courses required for a state teaching endorsement must be completed with a grade of C (2.0) or better.

Biology is the study of living organisms. As scientists, biologists have three prime motivations: (1) intellectual curiosity about biological systems, (2) the philosophy that creating and disseminating reliable knowledge has intrinsic worth and (3) the confidence that research into the history of life on earth and how biological systems work can be used to solve problems faced by our society today. Thus, we intend for our intensive academic program to stimulate our students’ curiosity and appetite for life-long learning about biology. 

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 - Finance
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.

The field of finance encompasses many different areas including investments, financial institutions, corporate finance, and real estate. The Finance Concentration includes coursework in each of these areas as well as courses in options and futures, multi-national finance, and insurance. Managing finances requires you to answer intricate questions like: Can we afford to give employees a raise? Is it better to rent or buy office space? How should we finance our business? Typically, a student who pursues a concentration in Finance is good with math, money, inherently a problem solver, and is well organized.