Bachelor of Arts in African and African American Studies

at Wright State University USA

Help design your own degree program—one broad in scope, narrow in concentration, and flexible enough to draw courses from all of the departments and programs in the College of Liberal Arts. The liberal studies degree is ideal if your interests encompass more than one liberal arts field and you desire greater flexibility in your program. If you want to change your major but still graduate in a timely manner, or if you are a transfer student who might benefit from an interdisciplinary curriculum, consider liberal studies.

Crime and justice studies (CJS) is an interdisciplinary and incredibly varied field of study. Knowledge specific to the discipline relies upon research from fields as varied as sociology, law, history, psychology, and political science. It encompasses analysis of federal, state, and local entities that seek to understand, control, and deter crime. The principal agencies charged with these responsibilities are law enforcement, the judiciary, and corrections. More fundamentally, however, crime and justice studies examines questions of social justice—concerns related to equality, fairness, freedom, security, and social order. If you are interested in understanding the causes, responses, and consequences of crime for the individual as well as the larger society, consider this program.

Crime and justice studies is a liberal arts degree and therefore, our focus is on providing you with a well-rounded, critically engaged, and scientifically informed understanding of the field. While practical experience is a vital component of our curriculum, our larger mission is that, when you graduate, you will be an innovator and leader in your chosen occupations and will utilize scientific reasoning and sharply honed analytical skills on your path to success. You will be prepared for positions in a variety of occupations, including local and federal law enforcement, probation and parole, civil, criminal and juvenile courts, research, corrections, teaching, forensics, and a variety of other fields.

While crime and justice studies is an exciting and challenging major, it is not for everyone. Unfortunately, if you have a prior criminal record or a drug or alcohol dependency it will be difficult for you to obtain employment in the field once you graduate. Further, it is a field that generally requires not only keen analytic and technical skills but also the ability to empathize, establish strong interpersonal boundaries, and, most importantly, maintain fundamental respect for the rights and dignity of others.

The mathematics component of the Bachelor of Arts program surveys the classical areas of mathematics—analysis, algebra, and geometry—and their history. Courses in statistics and in computer science provide a taste of two relatively young branches of the mathematical sciences. In addition, a broad choice of electives allows you to either pursue greater depth in one of these areas, or to sample a broader range of courses in mathematics, statistics, and computing.

The Bachelor of Arts program features breadth and flexibility. For instance, there is a Related Course Requirement specifically designed to accommodate subject matter outside the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, and even outside both the College of Science and Mathematics and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Other elective courses can be chosen with essentially no restriction. To examine the remarkable variety of possibilities

The Bachelor of Arts degree in music is designed for students who want to study music but do not necessarily plan a professional career in music. Students will get a much broader, more general education than students seeking a Bachelor of Music degree. Required courses are kept to a minimum. Consequently, students must work closely with an advisor in selecting course electives. For graduation, students must complete level III in the applied music concentration.

You can harness the power of music and its ability to express and communicate while studying music at Wright State. You will develop knowledge, technical skill, and the use of technology in our multifaceted curriculum. After graduation, pursue a career as a performer, composer, arranger, teacher, cultural administrator, or community leader. Graduates of Wright State’s music programs have proven successful in all of these fields.

Program Learning Outcomes:

• Learn to develop a degree of musicianship that will enable him or her to function as a performer.
• Develop an understanding of the principles and processes of music as it occurs within a variety of cultural and historical settings.
• Demonstrate a broad, general education in music rather than one of intensive musical study leading to a professional degree.
• Achieve proficiency in a foreign language and expand their appreciation of global perspectives in music.
• Demonstrate critical thinking and problem solving through a more diverse selection of liberal arts course offerings.
• Cultivate an understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods

The Organizational Leadership major and minor are multidisciplinary, focused on the people side of organizations and managing others. An education in organizational leadership can provide you with a broad perspective to prepare for complex social, cultural, and professional issues that are sure to be encountered.

Organizations have an increasing demand for those who have mastery in:

• Interpersonal communication
• Problem-solving
• Building effective teams
• Critical thinking
• Decision-making
• Coaching and training
• Conflict management

Economics is a social science that studies how people manage resources and how they can make the best use of available resources.  Economics majors learn to make decisions that are vital to the success of government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits.

An economics degree is widely regarded as one of the most versatile of all collegiate majors.  Economics students are well prepared for a wide array of occupations, giving them many career options and tremendous flexibility on the job market.  This versatility is especially valuable in a constantly changing world and is demonstrated by our graduates’ ability to be placed and pursue careers in many occupational fields including economics, government, financial services and banking, marketing and demand forecasting, management, analytics, and supply chain management.  Some graduates pursue graduate studies in economics, business, law, or public administration.

Economics students learn a logical and ordered way of looking at problems faced by individuals, private organizations, government, and society.  The field of economics teaches students critical and analytical skills that are valued by most professions.  Studying economics also exposes students to a broad spectrum of economic and social issues, providing a valuable perspective to their professional and personal lives.

Economics graduates are able to make or help make most of the key administrative decisions that are faced by modern government and business organizations.  Examples include: leading a cultural nonprofit to maximize its community impact; balancing resources for a county’s poverty programs; improving the production efficiency of a small business; or initiate a large company’s effort to identify new markets for its products.

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers two master’s degree programs-the Master of Science and Master of Science in Teaching (Earth Science). The Master of Science program prepares students for careers as professional earth scientists in industry, government, or education, or for continued graduate study. Current research focus areas of the department include Aquatic Biogeochemistry, Hydrogeology, Geophysics, Geospatial Analysis and Remote Sensing, Complex Earth Processes, Paleoecology and Sedimentary Environments, and Earth Science Education. The department is widely recognized for its applied and multidisciplinary programs and maintains a strong emphasis on practical field applications.

The Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering offers a graduate program leading to a Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.) in materials science and engineering and a Ph.D. in Engineering with a focus in materials and nanotechnology. The graduate programs are broad in scope, emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of the field of materials science and engineering. The program is built around processing, structure, properties, and performance of advanced materials relevant to numerous areas of application, such as biomedical, energy, aerospace, environmental, and manufacturing.

Continue your education with a Master of Science in Computer Engineering degree. This program covers hardware and the integration of hardware and software. You can explore the subject by choosing our thesis or non-thesis options.

We have a mixture of courses available during the day, evening, or online, making it easier for working professionals to pursue this degree. When you graduate, you will be able to use current computer engineering techniques to solve a broad range of problems.

Program strengths include:

• Faculty expertise
• Well-equipped laboratory facilities
• A curriculum that combines theory, software, and hardware
• Opportunities to work with faculty members on research projects

The Bachelor of Science in Mathematics is Wright State University's standard college mathematics program. Select this program if you wish to study mathematics per se, rather than statistics, computing, or applications of mathematics.It may also be the program you choose if you intend to pursue mathematics (or closely related disciplines) at the graduate level. If you wish to prepare for entry into the job market, you can do so in this program by wisely choosing among the many available electives.

Modern mathematics has several major branches. The three most commonly studied by undergraduate mathematics majors are algebra, geometry and topology, and analysis. Well-prepared freshmen will have sampled parts of the first two of these in high school algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. In college, mathematics majors encounter the beginning topic in the third branch—analysis—in their calculus classes.