International Year program (1-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Politics/Philosophy/Economics

at Study Group - Western Washington University USA

Geophysics involves studies in the application of physics as a means of understanding a range of geological processes.

Western’s Geophysics major is distinct from geology in that a more intensive set of math and physics courses, and applications of these skills, are required. Students are strongly encouraged to complete a senior thesis project as part of this degree, providing them with an excellent capstone experience.

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.

Humanities: Religion and Culture
The BA in Religion and Culture provides a scholarly, critical, nonsectarian study of religions. Students study religious beliefs, practices, identities and organizations, and how they have influenced and been influenced by other aspects of society and culture. The degree program includes a broad survey of several world civilizations as a basis for understanding their religious traditions, both as they developed historically and with their modern interactions and transformations. Students study the origin, history, and methods of the academic study of religion. They are introduced to methodological issues in the study of religion and learn to use methods appropriate to different kinds of problems. The department’s curriculum includes some courses called “Humanities” (HUMA) and others called “Religion” (REL).

The small size of classes and seminars in the Religion and Culture BA program encourages close relationships between students and faculty. Working closely with faculty, students learn to formulate problems clearly, to consider and evaluate different methods and concepts, to do efficient and thorough research, and to write clearly, concisely and effectively, culminating in work in rigorous senior seminars, with the option of writing an individually advised senior thesis.

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.

History — Elementary
The History-Elementary major is designed for students who plan to become elementary school teachers. In their history courses, History-Elementary majors learn how to locate and access a wide range of sources, to analyze historical evidence, including textual and visual sources, to evaluate historical interpretations, and to develop and support their own interpretations. The quantity of writing and discussion required in history courses also helps students to develop effective communication skills.

This major satisfies the academic major requirement for teacher certification with an endorsement in elementary education and must be accompanied by the professional preparation program in elementary 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.

French with Teaching Endorsement Option
In keeping with the aim of providing the skills needed to learn about a culture in depth, the Department of Modern and Classical Languages trains in two areas: language structure and literary analysis. Language structure is taught both holistically and analytically. Holistic language learning is facilitated by modern methods and multimedia technology, as well as study abroad opportunities. The department supports the analytical instruction of language skills courses, as well as a significant number of courses in Linguistics. Literary analysis is essential to a student’s understanding of the highest achievements in aesthetic expression of a culture’s values.

The department provides instruction in history and culture, as well as literary theory, with an end to enabling the student to gain access to the intellectual life in the culture. The department imparts skills to future for world language teachers so that they may similarly enable high school students to begin the acquisition of world languages.

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.

Computer Science
Computer science is an exciting, growing, challenging field that is critical to many aspects of everyday life. You can make an impact on the advancement of medicine, clean energy, entertainment, communication for the disabled, climate research, and automotive technologies to name a few. For some, the most motivational aspect of being a computer scientist is being involved in creating the next great technology that will help people the world over.

Western's program provides the problem-solving and analytical background that ensures programmers and systems analysts can produce creative programming solutions. The program is composed of core classes organized around the study of design and analysis techniques used to write software in various application domains along with details about the internal workings of computers and networks. Elective classes in areas such as artificial intelligence, mobile device programming, robotics, graphics, web programming, bioinformatics, computer security, and video game programming allow students to explore areas of individual interest.

Behavioral neuroscience explores the role of the nervous system in normal and abnormal behavior, thought, and emotion. This major emphasizes an understanding of nervous system structure and function from the molecular/cellular level to the systems level. For example, behavioral neuroscientists study the neurobiological basis of normal learning and memory, psychiatric illnesses such as depression, schizophrenia, and drug abuse and neurological illnesses such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s Disease.

Western's Behavioral Neuroscience program, offered through the Department of Psychology, provides students with the specialized preparation, research opportunities, and technological sophistication critical for success in entry-level research and healthcare positions and postgraduate training in neuroscience, medicine, dentistry, and related disciplines.

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.

Sociology
Sociologists examine subjects encompassing a vast array of human behavior: crime and punishment, the formation and dissolution of families, bureaucracy in organizations, conflicts between classes, and global inequalities. Sociology focuses on the way individuals’ lives are embedded within multiple social contexts that facilitate and constrain the range of possible actions. These contexts include generation, occupation, gender, religion, sexual orientation, family, health, nation, race, and ethnicity among many others. Students study and examine these phenomena with a variety of scientific tools, including collecting and analyzing statistical data and conducting surveys, focus groups, and in-depth interviews.

Western’s combined Economics/Social Studies major provides students with a thorough grounding in both economic theory and a broad based study of anthropology, sociology, geography, history, and political science. The major is open to any student but is specifically designed for pursuing a career in teaching.

Elementary Education students and Secondary Education students who wish to be endorsed in Social Studies may choose this major. However, the Economics/Social Studies degree does not require that a student pursue a teaching certificate. Completion of this combined major leads to an endorsement in Social Studies.

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.

Industrial Design
Industrial Design is a professional service of creating and developing concepts and specifications that optimize the function, value, and appearance of products and systems for the mutual benefit of both the user and the manufacturer. Launch your dream career and learn to design, model, manufacture, and package products used in everyday life. From utensils to furniture and appliances, discover how to create beautiful and practical products. View Western students’ work and projects in the Industrial Design Gallery.

Western’s award-winning Industrial Design program prepares you to work as a practicing industrial designer in corporate, consulting, or entrepreneurial positions. Beyond basic skills courses, you will learn a design process that encourages craftsmanship, original ideas, personal expression and aesthetics. Western’s industrial design degree teaches problem solving methodologies, marketing principles and usability research along with three dimensional model-making techniques. Additional subjects include manufacturing processes, ergonomics, materials and design principles. The depth of training will provide you with the skills necessary to carry projects from conception to working prototypes.

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 - International Business
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.

As globalization persists, people who can conduct international business are vital to organizations now more than ever before. The International Business Concentration provides students with the skills global companies are seeking. Often combining training in language and other business areas, students learn to manage business relationships across borders in a variety of capacities. Here are some comments from alumni from the program.