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Macon State's bachelor of science in biology is designed to meet growing occupational demands in two areas.
The applied biology major is designed for students interested in health and science-related careers of various kinds. This track is designed to provide students with the necessary undergraduate course work to prepare them for graduate or professional programs in such areas as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacology, and physical therapy. Also, graduates of this track could apply their undergraduate degree toward careers in medical lab technology and dietetics.
The biology education major prepares students to become state certified to teach biology at the high school level. But students earn a degree in biology, not in biology teacher education, thus providing them a stronger foundation in biology content.
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Our Business & Information Technology degree provides a traditional foundation in business theory and practice supported by an understanding of the effects of new information technologies in the workplace. Students will take core courses in business and information technology, and then select from these major tracks:
The accounting major helps students find employment with private institutions, government agencies, and not-for-profit institutions with positions in financial or managerial accounting.
The management major involves the study of production and operations management, organizational behavior, quantitative methods, labor relations, and human resource management.
The marketing major involves the study of consumer behavior, marketing research, advertising, and promotion.
The general business major provides students with knowledge in each of the functional areas of business: accounting, management, and marketing. The general business major will appeal to students who desire a broad background in all areas of business.
The production/operations management major involves the study of areas related to the provision of goods and services to both external and internal customers. Students learn about business process analysis and design, inventory management, production and service planning, quality management, Lean manufacturing, Lean administration, Six Sigma, quantitative and qualitative analysis tools, theory of constraints and other related areas. Graduates of this program are prepared for careers in manufacturing and service firms in both the public and private sector.
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The Communications & Information Technology degree offers two tracks of study:
The New Media major, which includes disciplines that utilize electronic communication tools for business, cultural, journalistic and educational purposes.
The Cross Cultural major explores the nature and theory of cultural communication, focusing in particular on the ways that information technologies both reflect and define cultures.
The CIT program explores the many ways in which information technology has affected the production, publication, consumption, understanding, and significance of language, art, and culture in the contemporary era. The two tracks provide graduates with the knowledge and skill necessary to succeed as professionals in a global, technological economy. Both tracks emphasize writing, critical thinking, and hands-on technology projects.
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Macon State offers a bachelor of science degree with a major in early childhood education. This program is innovative in that it enables students to earn certification in early childhood education and special education. With a background in both, teachers have the necessary skills to reach children with different learning styles. Graduates may choose to become certified in just one area, although Macon State expects most will seek certification in both early childhood and special education to increase their professional marketability. The degree program is offered at our campuses in Macon and Warner Robins.
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In the Fall of 2009 the college will launch a bachelor of science in education program with a major in middle grades education (although students can begin taking core courses now to gain admission to the middle grades program later). Like the early childhood program explained above, this program is innovative in that it enables students to earn certification in middle grades education and special education. With a background in both, teachers have the necessary skills to reach children with different learning styles. Graduates may choose to become certified in just one area, although Macon State expects most will seek certification in both middle grades and special education to increase their professional marketability. This degree program will be offered at our campuses in Macon and Warner Robins.
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Macon State’s bachelor of arts in English degree is designed for students who desire a teaching career, wish to become conversant with great writers and their works, and seek command of analytical and communication skills.
The English education major prepares students to teach English at the high-school level. The track offers Central Georgia's prospective teachers a combination of content knowledge and pedagogical expertise to address the need for well-qualified English teachers in the region's high schools.
The traditional English major prepares students interested in careers requiring a foundation in language and communication skills, such as business, the arts, technical writing, public relations and law.
Job opportunities for bachelor of science graduates in health information management are increasing dramatically across the nation. HIM professionals are responsible for gathering, analyzing, integrating and managing the information that steers America's health-care industry. Each year, more and more of the information generated by medical practitioners and the business side of the health industry is being digitized and used to improve the quality of patient care and the efficiency of delivery systems.
The degree includes study in medical science, information systems management, personnel management and health care data management. This mix of disciplines is important for the preparation of managers who will work in every sector of the health care industry - wherever information is collected, utilized or maintained.
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The health services administration degree gives students a solid background in the organization, financing and delivery of health care services, along with a strong foundation in management principles. This program program places special emphasis on the manager's role in ensuring quality services for patients and supporting community health education.
Health services administrators are involved in planning, managing and coordinating activities in many health care environments including hospitals, health maintenance organizations, public health agencies, clinics, extended care facilities and rehabilitation centers, as well as in private practice settings.
Links for additional information:
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Macon State’s bachelor of arts in history degree is designed for students seeking a traditional history program of study, or one which prepares students to become a history teacher.
The traditional history major is aimed at students interested in careers in the arts, law, government and community service, historical interpretation and curator-ship, as well as graduate education. Students in the history track undertake a program of study that provides them with the skills, knowledge and training necessary to be effective in the 21st century workforce.
The history education major prepares students to teach history at the high-school level. According to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission, the social sciences, which includes history, was the state's third highest teacher-shortage area in fiscal 2005. The history education track offers Central Georgia's prospective teachers a combination of content knowledge and pedagogical expertise to address the need for well-qualified history teachers in the region's high schools. (The education courses for the degree will be offered once the PSC approves the curriculum.)
The bachelor of science in information technology degree has experienced explosive growth since its creation in 1997, when it began as a charter class of just 57 students, and now has several hundred. The majors in this degree program include:
- Digital Media
- Information Assurance
- Network and Network Administration
- Application Development
- Informatics
Information Technology programs prepare graduates for critical roles in technology transfer, with responsibility for interpreting emerging technologies and integrating them with an organization's changing needs. The capacity to identify, assess and apply new technologies makes the IT graduate an important part of the management team.
Macon State also offers the WebBSIT program, which is designed for people who want a bachelor's degree in Information Technology, but whose lifestyles make it difficult to attend traditional classes on campus.
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The degrees in interdisciplinary studies may be popular among students just out of high school who want to study a wide variety of subjects and be able to design a program around their academic and career goals.
Likewise, current or former students who have postponed their studies or changed their majors a time or two will find within the new programs the flexibility they need to build on their existing course credit to earn a bachelor’s degree.
These degrees prepare graduates for occupations and careers requiring a four-year college education and a strong background in critical-thinking and communication skills. The degrees also prepare students for graduate education. The degrees include concentrations in English, history, political science, business, information technology, management and marketing.
All interdisciplinary studies majors take 30 hours of core courses in subjects ranging from professional communications to literary studies to comparative cultures. The core courses require students to explore a number of ethical and cultural issues in the context of the global environment. Knowledge of these issues and knowledge of how they emerge, develop and connect - both on a national and international level - allow students to see how ethics and culture find expression in social, political and artistic forms.
Depending on what concentrations they choose, interdisciplinary studies graduates will be awarded either a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree.
For more information about these degrees, call the School of Arts and Sciences at 478-471-5748 or email Dr. Robert Kelly, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.
Macon State's bachelor of science in mathematics is designed to meet growing occupational demands in two areas.
The applied mathematics major prepares students to enter professions requiring foundations in analytical training and qualify them for positions as statisticians, actuaries, operations research analysts, cost estimators, science technicians and similar careers . In Central Georgia, Robins Air Force and the aerospace industry have extensive needs for graduates with a strong mathematics background.
The mathematics education major prepares students to become high school teachers and help address shortages of secondary mathematics educators in Central Georgia. However, the degree differs from many traditional secondary education programs in that students who complete the requirements earn a bachelor's degree in math, rather than a degree in education. Students take 24 semester hours of education classes that will make them eligible to become certified to teach, but they take more mathematics classes than are generally offered in traditional mathematics education degree programs.
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Macon State has received approval from the state Board of Regents to offer the bachelor of science in nursing, which is often referred to as the “pre-licensure” BSN degree. It differs from the RN to BSN program (explained below) in that it is structured more like other traditional four-year degrees and is designed for students not yet licensed as RNs.
For this “pre-licensure” BSN degree, students would typically spend their first two years or so taking the core curriculum, then continue with nursing major coursework for the third and fourth years. Graduates of the program will be awarded the B.S. in nursing and, once they pass the licensing exam, become RNs. In addition to working as an RN, this degree opens up additional career options, as graduates are qualified for many nursing management positions, and the degree also is a prerequisite for graduate school, where students may pursue additional instruction to become a college-level nursing instructor.
The pre-licensure BSN will likely have the most appeal to younger students just out of high school who are looking for a more traditional college experience, although the program also may attract people who already have bachelor’s degrees in another major and are interested in nursing as a second career. Instead of getting an associate’s degree in nursing, these students, who already have the core curriculum under their belts, could earn a second bachelor’s in nursing, using their previous educational experience in a new way.
Macon State expects to launch this new degree in Fall 2009, once the Georgia Board of Nursing has approved the curriculum, although students could begin as soon as Fall 2007 taking the core courses they’ll need for their degree.
Macon State's School of Nursing and Health Sciences offers an associate of science degree in nursing that makes students eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination to become a Registered Nurse.
From there, students can advance their career by completing a bachelor of science degree in nursing through Macon State's RN to BSN Completion Program. Registered nurses who are graduates of hospital diploma programs may also apply to the RN-to-BSN program.
This RN-to-BSN Completion program will provide Central Georgia health care facilities with baccalaureate-prepared nurses. Macon State is committed to offering a flexible schedule of courses with classes being taught in Macon and Warner Robins during daytime and evening hours.
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Macon State's bachelor of science degree in Public Service, with a major in human services, is targeted toward students with career interests in the "helping professions" associated with public or private agencies. The degree is designed to prepare students for entry level professional positions. Most of these jobs are in local, state, and federal government; public and private agencies; and enterprises established to provide social services.
All students in the Public Service program will take courses specifically designed to meet current and future job requirements. Students, in consultation with the program coordinator, design their programs to suit individual academic and occupational goals.
The degree is excellent preparation for students interested in pursuing graduate level study, law school, and other professional endeavors. The fields of law, health and business provide opportunities for other entry-level human services positions for which the degree is appropriate training.
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The bachelor of science in respiratory therapy allows practicing respiratory therapists who hold associate’s degrees and certification as Registered Respiratory Therapists to work in specialty care arenas. The bachelor’s degree allows graduates to assume the leadership and research roles necessary to continue advancement of the profession.
According to the American Association of Respiratory Care, more respiratory therapists with bachelor’s degrees are needed because, among other reasons, clinical work has become more technically complex. The association also believes those in the field need to keep pace with nurses and other medical professionals who are increasingly entering the field with bachelor’s degrees or are returning to school to complete a degree after beginning their careers.
In a recent survey, 47 percent of respiratory therapists in Central and South Georgia who were asked said they would begin a bachelor’s degree program right away if it was available. Another 44 percent said they would begin one within two years.
For more information, call Charles Matson, the respiratory therapy program director, at (478) 471-2783, or send him an email.
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