International Year program (2-Quarter) - Bachelor of Arts in Geography

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.

Physics
Physics is "the fundamental science." Astronomy, biology, chemistry, geology, and engineering all apply the principles of physics to specific problems. Almost all areas of modern technology involve the applications of physics—and undergraduate study in this field provides a solid foundation for further work and study in physics, astronomy, and engineering.

A Physics BS degree can open a variety of doors for jobs in high-tech industries, government labs, and as preparation for graduate school. Many graduates have found the skills acquired in our degree program have prepared them for further academic studies in physics, astronomy, engineering, patent law, medical physics, medicine, and education, to name a few.

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.

Plastics and Composites Engineering
Students in Western's Plastics and Composites Engineering (PCE) program study the relationship between molecular structure, material properties and performance, and the manufacturing of polymers, composites materials, and products. In other words, they either make the products you use, make the materials that are turned into those products, or make the machines that help build those products.

PCE students gain authentic experiences using commercial plastics and composites processing equipment, use advanced materials characterization instrumentation, conduct applied and interdisciplinary engineering research, model technical processes, apply principles of designed experimentation, and learn and practice high-level technical and professional communication skills.

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.

Kinesiology - Exercise Science
The Kinesiology Program provides concentrated study of human movement from developmental, mechanical, motor control, psychosocial, psychological, pathological, and physiological perspectives. This program is appropriate for students who plan to work in the fitness/exercise industry and can serve as a preparatory program for graduate or post-baccalaureate study in the areas of aging, auxology, biomechanics, exercise physiology, health/fitness, motor control/learning, physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, or similar allied health programs, and sport psychology. Supporting courses from biology, chemistry, computer science, psychology, health education, and physics may be 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.

Behavioral Neuroscience
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.

Earth Science — Secondary
Earth Science, or geoscience, is a diverse discipline, incorporating aspects of physics, chemistry, biology, and natural history in the attempt to solve earth-related problems. Want to teach Earth science and geoscience to middle or high school students. This degree leads to teaching endorsement in Earth & Space Science.

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.

Journalism — Public Relations majors at Western study theoretical and practical communications in a liberal arts setting. Students gain practical experience on Western’s award-winning student media, and majors additionally take field internships with newspapers, magazines, broadcast stations, public relations agencies, and other professional organizations. Courses follow News/Editorial emphasis

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.

Biocultural Anthropology
The Biocultural Anthropology Concentration is the most flexible of the Biology/Anthropology combined majors and allows students to gain a broad interdisciplinary training relevant to many professions confronting the challenges of modern society. Anthropology Department faculty members carry out research in Latin America, North America, Asia, The Pacific, and Eastern Europe, and are dedicated to excellence in teaching. The Department faculty have earned awards for distinguished contributions to undergraduate education and research, have written nationally disseminated textbooks, and developed curriculum designed to provide extensive opportunities for students to engage in hands-on learning experiences working with clients in community social-services agencies, and through participatory research.

Students earning a degree in Anthropology will be able to apply their learning to a variety of jobs locally and internationally in the global economy of today’s world.

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.