Category: School

Two students and a professor working on a weather balloon.

Atmospheric Sciences

Welcome to the Department of Atmospheric Sciences

Small class sizes, virtually unlimited access to faculty, and a challenging yet rewarding curriculum make UNC Asheville an ideal place to earn your degree in atmospheric sciences. You’ll have the chance to learn about the atmosphere and conduct research alongside faculty specializing in severe weather, atmospheric modeling, air pollution, climatology, observations, tropical meteorology, and weather unique to Western North Carolina.

Asheville is home to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)—one of the nation’s largest weather data centers—and UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC). These organizations and nearby National Weather Service forecast offices and television studios offer atmospheric sciences majors unique internship opportunities and career connections.

Our Curriculum

The Department of Atmospheric Sciences offers a Bachelor of Science degree in three concentrations: weather forecasting, climatology, and broadcast meteorology. Each concentration prepares students for employment upon graduation or for further studies at the graduate level. All concentrations fulfill federal civil service requirements for employment as a meteorologist. Unlike larger institutions, our department and university focus completely on undergraduate success. Our small classes are taught by faculty members, not teaching assistants. The knowledgeable and dedicated faculty members emphasize a quality undergraduate education with close student–faculty interaction.

Learning Outcomes

Our graduates will discover:

  • accurate scientifically-based conceptual models of atmospheric structure and evolution on multiple spatial and temporal scales,
  • an understanding of mathematical devices applied to governing laws that determine the evolution of atmospheric structures,
  • an ability to communicate these conceptual models orally and through writing to a variety of audiences ranging from the layperson to experts in the atmospheric sciences,
  • an ability to make a significant contribution to a team-based research effort,
  • the necessary problem-solving skills to address new and interesting challenges presented by atmospheric structures to a smoothly-functioning society,
  • a curiosity about the natural world that motivates the student to continue their learning in graduate school and beyond the years immersed in formal education, and
  • an ability to recognize disagreements among scientists—being able to identify points of contention, analyze evidence, and respectfully address differences between competing scientific theories.

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Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Who We Are

UNC Asheville’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) program questions and challenges assumptions and constructs about gender and sexuality that affect all lives around the globe. Emerging from an activist tradition, WGSS provides resources to the university and the community by offering an array of co-curricular activities for students and community members. We regularly bring renowned artists, academics, and activists to campus, and also host our annual F-Word Film Festival (“f” for feminist) and our biennial Queer Studies Conference.

What You’ll Learn

WGSS is an interdisciplinary program, offering core courses in WGSS and related electives from a variety of departments, including anthropology, political science, psychology, sociology, history, literature, philosophy, and more. Courses investigate the role of culture, social institutions and policy on perspectives of women, gender and sexuality in psychological, biological, social, political, literary and humanistic terms. Students are encouraged to apply their academic understanding to community action through the internship course, service learning, and volunteerism. Our students are prepared for careers in business, education, journalism, law, politics, public policy, and many other fields that require strong analytical and communication skills.

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Economics

Why Economics?

We ask the big questions: How long does it take for a city’s investment in renewable energy to pay off? Is it less expensive to eat locally-produced food? How does the NBA determine ticket prices? From social issues to the business world, economics touches almost all aspects of our lives, and these are just a few real-world topics our students have researched. As North Carolina’s public liberal arts university, UNC Asheville offers unique opportunities to economics majors, including small, collaborative classes, faculty mentorship, and the chance to apply economics to contemporary concerns, like the environment, human diversity, and globalization.

What You’ll Learn

Within the general major in economics, students can focus on their interests in areas such as environmental economics, international economics, monetary economics and finance, and beyond.

All economics majors undertake a research project, and many graduates use this research as a stepping stone to graduate school or a career in a variety of fields, including finance, small business, education, the nonprofit sector, government, and more.

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Biology

Who We Are

UNC Asheville's Department of Biology is a great place to learn about life, from microscopic cells to organisms to complex ecosystems. We are a small department with gifted faculty specializing in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, botany, herpetology, ecology, evolution, animal behavior, human anatomy and physiology, animal and plant physiology, cellular and molecular biology, microbiology, and genetics.

Our curriculum for biology majors provides a broad background for students who seek awareness of the living world and their role in it, as well as training preparatory to professional schools, graduate schools, or science education careers. With a robust advising program, we provide students with information on what they must do to qualify for admission to schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, dentistry, optometry, and nursing, as well as Master's and Ph.D. programs in basic and applied research, offering all of the courses that a typical undergraduate should take to gain admission to these programs.

What You’ll Learn

While you can spend time working closely with your professors in our state-of-the-art research labs, we also offer ecology courses in the deserts, tropics, or coast. And with over one million acres of national parks and forests within an hour drive of campus, the opportunities for hands-on ecological fieldwork are endless.

Studying biology at our liberal arts university also gives you the chance to explore areas of interest outside of biology. From fine literature, drama, and music to technological applications, our students learn that knowledge from all fields relates in some way to the study of and improvement of life.

Biology majors can also receive scholarships and conduct research alongside faculty through the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Scholars Program or the UNC Asheville biology scholarship.

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Anthropology

Who We Are

UNC Asheville is an excellent place to explore and inform your interest in sociology and anthropology. In our department you’ll find a diverse and interdisciplinary group of faculty who have carried out research on five continents and who are dedicated to helping students find ways to understand and engage with the world’s complexities. We believe our disciplines are intimately related, yet distinct, each involved in documenting and understanding the varieties of human experience.

What You'll Learn

Cultural anthropology is one of the most international of all the social sciences. A diverse but comprehensive discipline, anthropology investigates the social and cultural life of human beings in all times and all places. A concentration in anthropology provides students with an appreciation of other ways of life, different systems of belief and knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, a better understanding of the world in which they live. Students majoring in sociology are prepared for careers in social work, criminal justice, non-profit agencies, business and government as well as graduate study in sociology, anthropology, criminology, social work, law and various other fields.

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Art student Kristen Sorensen hangs a self portrait in her studio

Art

Who We Are

Bring your creative visions to life at UNC Asheville. With a faculty of acclaimed artists and art historians within the thriving arts scene of Asheville, UNC Asheville’s art and art history programs offer rigorous training in the creative sector. Our close-knit, supportive department encourages imagination and experimentation while challenging you to integrate content, concept, and technique to discover your own unique voice. Studio art majors can choose from six areas of concentrations: ceramics, drawing, painting, photography, printmaking, or sculpture. Related majors include art history and arts management and entrepreneurship.

What You'll Learn

Context and communication are key to learning how to be an effective artist, so you'll begin your art education by building a foundation of technical and writing skills in art history, design, and drawing. Through class critiques, you’ll learn how to give and receive valuable feedback on your work from faculty and classmates. Most of your time will be spent working in our facilities, which include six art concentration studios, firing kilns, dark rooms, and digital labs. Our newest interdisciplinary makerspace, STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, Math) Studio, exemplifies UNC Asheville's liberal arts mission by bringing art and science together to create collaborative pieces of art and technology.

We also have multiple galleries across campus to host student, faculty and visiting artist exhibitions. All senior-level students produce a major body of work in the form of a solo or group exhibition and portfolio, which serves as strong preparation for postgraduate work. All students are also encouraged to learn outside of the studio and gain professional experience through internships at local museums and galleries.

Visit the Department of Art and Art History Website Here

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Curriculum & Guidelines

students looking at art in owen hall

Student & Faculty Work

Aerial shot of 5 students sitting under a tree on UNC Asheville's Quad

Sociology

Who We Are

UNC Asheville is an excellent place to explore and inform your interest in sociology and anthropology. In our department you’ll find a diverse and interdisciplinary group of faculty who have carried out research on five continents and who are dedicated to helping students find ways to understand and engage with the world’s complexities. We believe our disciplines are intimately related, yet distinct, each involved in documenting and understanding the varieties of human experience.

What You’ll Learn

Cultural anthropology is one of the most international of all the social sciences. A diverse but comprehensive discipline, anthropology investigates the social and cultural life of human beings in all times and all places. A concentration in anthropology provides students with an appreciation of other ways of life, different systems of belief and knowledge, and perhaps most importantly, a better understanding of the world in which they live. Students majoring in sociology are prepared for careers in social work, criminal justice, non-profit agencies, business and government as well as graduate study in sociology, anthropology, criminology, social work, law and various other fields.

Your class time will include discussion of a range of issues (e.g. gender and sexuality, queer theory, race and ethnicity, labor, globalization, disability studies, deviance and social control, poverty). Research methods, field work, internships, service learning opportunities, and working with faculty on an undergraduate research project will help you build skills to meet your career goals. The fields of sociology and anthropology also pair well with other disciplines at our liberal arts university. Whether you’re interested in politics, social change, poetry or art, sociology and anthropology invite you to find meaningful engagement with the larger world.

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New Media

Student Equipment Rental Form
Please complete this form to rent equipment. Questions: email kkmichau@unca.edu

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New Media Studio Reservation Form
Please complete this form to reserve a Studio. Questions: email kkmichau@unca.edu

Student Reservation Form

 

Who We Are

Created with code and inspired by traditional art and design, New Media at UNC Asheville encompasses software art, science visualization, robotics, virtual reality, and augmented architecture. Student and faculty work includes two- and three-dimensional animation, stop motion, video, audio/visual, interactive art and design, 3D printing, web-based platforms, sonic art, performance art, installations, client-driven design, and digital prints. Our department focuses on creativity and innovation in the study of new media within a liberal arts education. We encourage students to think critically, take risks, and collaborate across disciplines.

What You’ll Learn

By studying theory and through hands-on practice, students learn to explore and articulate emerging technological forms of art, design and communication. Not only do new media majors master state-of-the-art tools and software, they also learn how art, media, and culture affect each other and society as they develop their own creative approach. Beyond the classroom, students find inspiration from renowned visiting artists and guest speakers, and they can get a head start on their careers through internships in art and design. From software developers to climate researchers to experimental artists, our graduates have become leaders in some of the fastest growing fields of our time.

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Computer Science

Who We Are

What can you do with a degree in computer science? The question is, what can’t you do? As software engineers, visualization researchers, web developers, system administrators, college professors, and FBI agents, our alumni are shaping the digital landscape across a variety of fields. Our faculty are passionate about breakthrough technologies in the areas of artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, scientific modeling, virtual reality, and more. Our small classes and our liberal arts focus offer you ample opportunities to work alongside faculty on research projects and combine your computer science studies with other innovative areas, like engineering or new media.

What You’ll Learn

The computer systems concentration prepares students for graduate studies in computer science and for careers in scientific and engineering applications, systems programming, and software development, while the information systems concentration prepares students for careers in commercial programming, systems analysis and design, and database management. Eligible students can receive funding, participate in research and fieldwork, and gain teaching experience through our Atmospheric and Computer Science Exploratory Scholars (ACES) Scholarship Program. Join us at UNC Asheville to start your career in computer science.

Computer Science Stories

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NEMAC+FernLeaf Establishes Public-Private Partnership to Promote Climate Resilience

FernLeaf Interactive and UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC)—two inaugural members of The Collider in downtown Asheville—have launched a collaborative public-private partnership.

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