Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature

at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee USA

The Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Theatre Practices supports engaged theatre practice that meets the social and cultural challenges of our twenty-first century society.

Our innovative curriculum invites students to begin by building core theatre skills, then gradually applying them to a range of projects, settings, and populations. This culminates in in-depth application of these skills through internships, community placements and a Capstone. The BA in Theatre Practice supports a professional track for students seeking a Wisconsin Theatre Teaching license in K-12 Theatre Education. It also offers students the option to earn a Cultures and Communities (C&C) certificate and is the home of the Arts and Social Entrepreneurship (A&SE) Certificate Program.

The BA in Theatre Practice engages students in focusing their study on educational and social justice theatre, devising and performing new work, storytelling, dramaturgy, directing, playwriting, and arts and social entrepreneurship.

Atmospheric Science is the study of short-term weather and long-term climate, involving activities such as weather forecasting, climate projections, air quality modeling, data analysis, and basic and applied research.

Some universities may call this major "Meteorology." We call it Atmospheric Science because our program is much broader than just weather forecasting. Students in our program will obtain a solid foundation in the mathematical modeling that forms the basis of analysis not just of tomorrow's expected weather but also long-term climate change, storm impact and predictability, pollution patterns and impact, and the consequences of weather to people and organizations.

The STEM-Designated MS in Management—Professional Accounting (MS-PA) program is the logical capstone degree in accounting for a student with an undergraduate degree in accounting. Students are advised to enter the program immediately after earning their undergraduate degree in accounting to in order to build on their current knowledge.

This concentration is designed for the music student who wishes to concentrate primarily on the major performing skill.

Applicant proposing concentration in Music Performance String Emphasis must demonstrate outstanding performance skills. An on-site audition is required; in extreme cases, recorded examples of an applicant’s performance may be accepted in lieu of an in-person audition. Applicant should contact faculty in the appropriate performance area to inquire about specific audition repertoire and procedures.

Women's and Gender Studies is a discipline that critically examines gender and women's issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and challenges many traditional assumptions and theories. It examines the practice and expression of gender in different societies and at different historical moments.

Regardless of your gender, Women's and Gender Studies is crucial and relevant for anyone interested in working in criminal justice, social work, the non-profit sector, the arts, politics, business, and more. Students learn to look at the world and history through different perspectives and think about how gender and our perceptions of it impact culture, society, and daily interactions. It is a traditional liberal arts discipline where the knowledge and skills developed in the program can be applied to all types of career paths. Work experiences during college through internships, part-time jobs, and volunteer positions often shape career paths after graduation.

The finance major provides the needed tools to work in investment management, corporate financial management, and banking. Position titles for finance majors include loan officers, mortgage review officers, stockbrokers, bond and security analysts, and ultimately, chief financial officers. Finance majors are increasingly taking and passing the Chartered Financial Analysts (CFA) examination. Thorough training in finance and related fields provides the practical and theoretical background needed to succeed in the fast-paced and fascinating world of domestic and international finance.

The Master of Architecture, the first professional degree offered by the Department of Architecture, is accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). The degree program requires two to three years of graduate study, depending on the applicant’s previous academic background and qualifications. It offers a wide range of courses, with particular strengths in the areas of architectural design and integrated practice, ecological/sustainable design, digital design and fabrication, preservation, urban design, and design as a response to the physical, cultural, and social environment.

Actuarial science is the quantitative analysis of risk. In addition to mathematics and statistics courses, students in actuarial science take classes in finance, economics, and computer programming.  

What Do Actuaries Do?
Actuaries help individuals, businesses and society manage risk by evaluating the likelihood of future events and creating plans to reduce the negative financial or emotional impact of undesirable events. Some of the questions that actuaries address on a daily basis include:

• What price best balances an insurance company’s risk tolerance with various risk parameters such as age of the insured, health status, place of residence, and other risk characteristics?
• What would be the economic loss in the event of a flood, and how can these costs be covered?
• How large a fund is needed for a company to provide pensions for its employees?
• How likely is it for someone to be hospitalized? What is the average duration of a hospital stay, and how can the costs associated with each day of hospitalization be provided for?
• In the event of a merger, how can the employee benefits plans of the different organizations be reconciled?
• How should an investment portfolio be balanced to maximize return and minimize risk?
• Actuaries also must take this information and convey it to their companies and customers clearly and concisely through written reports, graphs, charts, or other visual or oral presentation formats.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences offers graduate programs of study in mathematics with specializations in the fields of algebra, analysis, topology, applied mathematics, probability and statistics, actuarial science, industrial mathematics, and atmospheric science.

The programs of study at the master’s level are designed to suit both the student intending to continue toward a PhD as well as the student who wishes to begin a professional career upon completion of the master’s program.

The student may prepare for a career in teaching at the secondary or college level and for a career in research in the academic, industrial, government, or business communities.

Foundations of Advanced Studies
This option is designed to prepare students for advanced-level graduate programs. It is structured so that students with basic preparation from their undergraduate institutions can complete the option in no more than two years. Some students with a higher level of preparation may transfer up to 12 graduate credits from the courses they completed previously; such students may advance more quickly through the program and complete the degree in only one year.

The counseling program in the Department of Educational Psychology offers two distinct concentration areas:

• Clinical Mental Health Counseling
• School Counseling

Given UWM’s location in the largest urban area in Wisconsin, the counseling faculty is committed to training multiculturally competent community counselors and school counselors to serve clients in urban environments. Both concentrations share a core preparation in the areas of counseling and educational psychology. As students make progress in their program of studies, their focus will take on a more specialized training with content specific courses and field placements where they will refine their counseling skills in practical settings.

The concentrations train counselors to work with a diverse group of clients in urban settings and to deliver services in an ethical manner, as outlined by professional codes of conduct. They share in common courses comprising an Educational Psychology core of studies, a general Counseling core of studies, and a Concentration core. The Educational Psychology core provides knowledge for understanding research and professional scholarship, techniques of educational and psychological measurement, and typical human growth and development across the life-span. The Counseling core courses provide training in basic helping processes and relationships, career development, social and diversity issues in counseling, group work, appraisal of client issues, counseling theory, and the role of family systems. The Concentration core provides training in advanced strategies for helping clients change, and opportunities for increasing competency with specific populations through field placement. Pre-Practicum, Practicum I and Practicum II provide 700 hours of supervised clinical training which involves the refinement of more advanced and sophisticated counseling skills in placements in actual counseling settings.

Students are required to spend 20 hours each week during the semester at their placement site (an exception to this hour requirement is described below for students interested in seeking experience in dual concentrations).

The Clinical Mental Health Counseling concentration prepares students for work in a variety of community settings such as mental health clinics, community agencies, counseling centers, colleges and universities, and business and industry. Students arrange their program of studies in consultation with their advisors so that the 60 credits earned toward a master’s degree will meet selected state certification requirements.