A general program that focuses on the English language, including its history, structure and related communications skills; and the literature and culture of English-speaking peoples.

A program that focuses on the theory, methods, and skills needed for writing and editing scientific, technical and business papers and monographs.

A program that focuses on the general study of dramatic works and their performance. Includes instruction in major works of dramatic literature, dramatic styles and types, and the principles of organizing and producing full live or filmed productions.

A general program that focuses on one or more modern foreign languages that is not specific as to the name of the language(s) studied; that is otherwise undifferentiated; or that introduces students to language studies at the basic/elementary level.

A program that is a structured combination of the arts, biological and physical sciences, social sciences, and humanities, emphasizing breadth of study. Includes instruction in independently designed, individualized, or regular programs.

A program that focuses on the general study and interpretation of the past, including the gathering, recording, synthesizing and criticizing of evidence and theories about past events. Includes instruction in historiography; historical research methods; studies of specific periods, issues and cultures; and applications to areas such as historic preservation, public policy, and records administration.

A program that generally prepares individuals to master musical instruments and performing art as solo and/or ensemble performers. Includes instruction on one or more specific instruments from various instrumental groupings.

Students of Art History study of the historical development of art as a social and intellectual phenomenon. Art History programs include the analysis of works of art, and art conservation, art history research methods, connoisseurship, the preservation and conservation of works of art, and the study of specific periods, cultures, styles, and themes.

Art and Art Studies is a general, introductory program that focuses on the study and appreciation of the visual arts. Students of these two or four year programs receive instruction in art, photography, and other visual communications media

Learn to apply the power of economics principles to the analysis of the organization and operation of business enterprises. Students complete courses in monetary theory, banking and financial systems, theory of competition, pricing theory, wage and salary/incentive theory, analysis of markets, and applications of econometrics and quantitative methods to the study of particular businesses and business problems.

A program that prepares individuals to manage international businesses and/or business operations. Includes instruction in the principles and processes of export sales, trade controls, foreign operations and related problems, monetary issues, international business policy, and applications to doing business in specific countries and markets.

An accounting program provides the tools to practice accounting and to perform related business functions. This program includes instruction in accounting principles and theory, financial accounting, managerial accounting, cost accounting, budget control, tax accounting, legal aspects of accounting, auditing, reporting procedures, statement analysis, planning and consulting, business information systems, accounting research methods, professional standards and ethics, and applications to specific for-profit, public, and non-profit organizations.

A program that generally prepares individuals to plan, manage, and analyze the financial and monetary aspects and performance of business enterprises, banking institutions, or other organizations. Includes instruction in principles of accounting; financial instruments; capital planning; funds acquisition; asset and debt management; budgeting; financial analysis; and investments and portfolio management.

Generally, this program prepares individuals to plan, organize, direct, and control a firm or organization. To aid them in taking a leading role in business, individuals in this program study management theory, human resources management and behavior, accounting and other quantitative methods, purchasing and logistics, organization and production, marketing, and business decision-making.

A program that prepares individuals to serve as general managers and directors of hospitality operations on a system-wide basis, including both travel arrangements and promotion and the provision of traveler facilities. Includes instruction in principles of operations in the travel and tourism, hotel and lodging facilities, food services, and recreation facilities industries; hospitality marketing strategies; hospitality planning; management and coordination of franchise and unit operations; business management; accounting and financial management; hospitality transportation and logistics; and hospitality industry policies and regulations.

A program that focuses on the theory, organization, and process of information collection, transmission, and utilization in traditional and electronic forms. Includes instruction in information classification and organization; information storage and processing; transmission, transfer, and signaling; communications and networking; systems planning and design; human interfacing and use analysis; database development; information policy analysis; and related aspects of hardware, software, economics, social factors, and capacity.

A program that generally prepares individuals to undertake and manage the process of developing consumer audiences and moving products from producers to consumers. Includes instruction in buyer behavior and dynamics, principle of marketing research, demand analysis, cost-volume and profit relationships, pricing theory, marketing campaign and strategic planning, market segments, advertising methods, sales operations and management, consumer relations, retailing, and applications to specific products and markets

A program that focuses on the scientific, humanistic, and critical study of human communication in a variety of formats, media, and contexts. Includes instruction in the theory and practice of interpersonal, group, organizational, professional, and intercultural communication; speaking and listening; verbal and nonverbal interaction; rhetorical theory and criticism; performance studies; argumentation and persuasion; technologically mediated communication; popular culture; and various contextual applications

Learn how to teach to teach vocational business programs at various educational levels.

A general program that focuses on the role of foods and nutrition in human health and wellness. Includes instruction in nutritional care and education, the planning and provision of food services, the development of consumable food products, life-span nutrition and wellness, the principles of nutritional assessment, and food safety and food composition.

A general program that focuses on activities and principles that promote physical fitness, achieve and maintain athletic prowess, and accomplish related research and service goals. Includes instruction in human movement studies, motivation studies, rules and practice of specific sports, exercise and fitness principles and techniques, basic athletic injury prevention and treatment, and organizing and leading fitness and sports programs.

A program that prepares individuals to evaluate the speaking, language interpretation, and related physiological and cognitive capabilities of children and/or adults and develop treatment and rehabilitative solutions in consultation with clinicians and educators. Includes instruction in the anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing; biomechanics of swallowing and vocal articulation; communications disorders; psychology of auditory function and cognitive communication; language assessment and diagnostic techniques; and rehabilitative and management therapies.

Athletic Training program can be two or four years in length. Individuals in these programs work under the supervision of physicians to prevent and treat sports injuries. This major program includes topics in the identification, evaluation, and treatment of athletic injuries and illnesses; first aid and emergency care; therapeutic exercise; anatomy and physiology; exercise physiology; kinesiology and biomechanics; nutrition; sports psychology; personal and community health; knowledge of various sports and their biomechanical and physiological demands; and applicable professional standards and regulations.

A program that prepares individuals to develop, plan, and manage health care operations and services within health care facilities and across health care systems. Includes instruction in planning, business management, financial management, public relations, human resources management, health care systems operation and management, health care resource allocation and policy making, health law and regulations, and applications to specific types of health care services.

A program that prepares individuals to serve as facilitators, advocates, and referral professionals linking health care and related social services with affected recipient communities. Includes instruction in public and community health, human and social services, health services administration, group counseling, health education, group advocacy, cross-cultural and multilingual communication, and applicable laws and policies.

A program that generally prepares individuals in the knowledge, techniques and procedures for promoting health, providing care for sick, disabled, informed, or other individuals or groups. Includes instruction in the administration of medication and treatments, assisting a physician during treatments and examinations, Referring patients to physicians and other health care specialists, and planning education for health maintenance.

A program that focuses on the contemporary social and public policy ramifications of science and technology, the interrelationship of science and engineering with the public policy process, and the social and ethical dimensions of scientific and technological enterprises

Students in this program study general biology at an introductory level. This major provides students with a broad overview of biology and includes instruction in general biology and programs covering a variety of biological specializations

A general program that focuses on the analysis of quantities, magnitudes, forms, and their relationships, using symbolic logic and language. Includes instruction in algebra, calculus, functional analysis, geometry, number theory, logic, topology and other mathematical specializations.

A general program that focuses on the scientific study of the composition and behavior of matter, including its micro- and macro-structure, the processes of chemical change, and the theoretical description and laboratory simulation of these phenomena.

A program that focuses on the scientific study of the earth; the forces acting upon it; and the behavior of the solids, liquids and gases comprising it. Includes instruction in historical geology, geomorphology, and sedimentology, the chemistry of rocks and soils, stratigraphy, mineralogy, petrology, geostatistics, volcanology, glaciology, geophysical principles, and applications to research and industrial problems.

A general program that focuses on the scientific study of matter and energy, and the formulation and testing of the laws governing the behavior of the matter-energy continuum. Includes instruction in classical and modern physics, electricity and magnetism, thermodynamics, mechanics, wave properties, nuclear processes, relativity and quantum theory, quantitative methods, and laboratory methods

A program that focuses on the general study of human social behavior and social institutions using any of the methodologies common to the social sciences and/or history, or an undifferentiated program of study in the social sciences.

A program that focuses on the systematic study of human beings, their antecedents and related primates, and their cultural behavior and institutions, in comparative perspective. Includes instruction in biological/physical anthropology, primatology, human paleontology and prehistoric archeology, hominid evolution, anthropological linguistics, ethnography, ethnology, ethnohistory, socio-cultural anthropology, psychological anthropology, research methods, and applications to areas such as medicine, forensic pathology, museum studies, and international affairs.

A general program that focuses on the systematic study of the production, conservation and allocation of resources in conditions of scarcity, together with the organizational frameworks related to these processes. Includes instruction in economic theory, micro- and macroeconomics, comparative economic systems, money and banking systems, international economics, quantitative analytical methods, and applications to specific industries and public policy issues.

A program that focuses on the systematic study of the spatial distribution and interrelationships of people, natural resources, plant and animal life. Includes instruction in historical and political geography, cultural geography, economic and physical geography, regional science, cartographic methods, remote sensing, spatial analysis, and applications to areas such as land-use planning, development studies, and analysis of specific countries, regions, and resources.

A general program that focuses on the systematic study of political institutions and behavior. Includes instruction in political philosophy, political theory, comparative government and politics, political parties and interest groups, public opinion, political research methods, studies of the government and politics of specific countries, and studies 0f specific political institutions and processes.

A program that focuses on the systematic study of international politics and institutions, and the conduct of diplomacy and foreign policy. Includes instruction in international relations theory, foreign policy analysis, national security and strategic studies, international law and organization, the comparative study of specific countries and regions, and the theory and practice of diplomacy.

A general program that focuses on the scientific study of individual and collective behavior, the physical and environmental bases of behavior, and the analysis and treatment of behavior problems and disorders. Includes instruction in the principles of the various subfields of psychology, research methods, and psychological assessment and testing methods.

A program that focuses on the systematic study of human social institutions and social relationships. Includes instruction in social theory, sociological research methods, social organization and structure, social stratification and hierarchies, dynamics of social change, family structures, social deviance and control, and applications to the study of specific social groups, social institutions, and social problems.

A program that prepares individuals for the professional practice of social welfare administration and counseling, and that focus on the study of organized means of providing basic support services for vulnerable individuals and groups. Includes instruction in social welfare policy; case work planning; social counseling and intervention strategies; administrative procedures and regulations; and specific applications in areas such as child welfare and family services, probation, employment services, and disability counseling.

A program that prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state, and federal government; and that focuses on the systematic study of executive organization and management. Includes instruction in the roles, development, and principles of public administration; the management of public policy; executive-legislative relations; public budgetary processes and financial management; administrative law; public personnel management; professional ethics; and research methods

A general program that focuses on computing, computer science, and information science and systems as part of a broad and/or interdisciplinary program. Such programs are undifferentiated as to title and content and are not to be confused with specific programs in computer science, information science, or related support services.

A general program that focuses on the English language, including its history, structure and related communications skills; and the literature and culture of English-speaking peoples.

A program that focuses on the theory, methods, and skills needed for writing and editing scientific, technical and business papers and monographs.

A program that focuses on the general theory and practice of learning and teaching; the basic principles of educational psychology; the art of teaching; the planning and administration of educational activities; school safety and health issues; and the social foundations of education.

A general program that focuses on the design and provision of teaching and other educational services to children or adults with special learning needs or disabilities, and that may prepare individuals to function as special education teachers. Includes instruction in diagnosing learning disabilities, developing individual education plans, teaching and supervising special education students, special education counseling, and applicable laws and policies.

Students in this program learn how to provide adults with remedial skills and employment-related knowledge.

A program that prepares individuals to teach health education programs at various educational levels.

Audiologists diagnose hearing loss and aid patients in selecting hearing aids and other devices. Audiology students are instruction in acoustics, anatomy and physiology of hearing, hearing measurement, auditory pathology, middle and inner ear analysis, rehabilitation therapies and assistive technologies, and pediatric and other special applications.

A program that prepares individuals to apply the theory and principles of guidance and counseling to the provision of support for the personal, social, educational, and vocational development of students, and the organizing of guidance services within elementary, middle and secondary educational institutions. Includes instruction in legal and professional requirements, therapeutic counselor intervention, vocational counseling, and related sociological and psychological foundations

A program that prepares individuals to apply clinical and counseling psychology principles to the diagnosis and treatment of student behavioral problems. Includes instruction in child and/or adolescent development; learning theory; testing, observation and other procedures for assessing educational, personality, intelligence and motor skill development; therapeutic intervention strategies for students and families; identification and classification of disabilities and disorders affecting learning; school psychological services planning; supervised counseling practice; ethical standards; and applicable regulations

Degree Programs at James Madison University

Bachelor's Level Programs

ARTS & HUMANITIES

BUSINESS

COMMUNICATION & MEDIA

EDUCATION

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCE PROFESSIONS

FITNESS, RECREATION AND LEISURE STUDIES

HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES

INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES

LIFE SCIENCE

MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

NATURAL SCIENCES

SOCIAL SCIENCES

SOCIAL WORK

TECHNOLOGY

Master's Level Programs