Krieger School of Arts & Sciences > Academics > Fields of Study > tech, data, and analytics

Linguistics

Students can: Minor

Linguistics is fully integrated into the Department of Cognitive Science. We offer basic and advanced training covering core areas of linguistics including phonetics and phonology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics, psycholinguistics, acquisition, and fieldwork.

A minor in linguistics is available to undergraduates majoring in any department, except for cognitive science majors who choose linguistics as a focal area. Students intending to minor in linguistics should declare their intention, preferably by the beginning of junior year.

Natural Sciences Area

Students can: Major
Degrees Offered: BA

The Natural Sciences Area major allows students to combine appropriate upper-level courses in two different areas of natural science. Students may bridge biology and chemistry, chemistry and physics, or some other combination as long as the curriculum forms a coherent whole. The major prepares students for careers in various health sciences, such as medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, and more, providing that the introductory courses chosen by the student include those prescribed for admission to these professional schools.

Writing Seminars

Writing Seminars
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, MFA

Johns Hopkins University was, in 1947, among the first major academic institutions in the United States to create a degree for writers.

The department of the Writing Seminars, distinguished by 60-plus years of teaching by prominent American writers, is characterized by the quality of its faculty, small classes, and a broad liberal arts curriculum as part of the major. More than 30 introductory writing classes are offered each semester, with an additional 20 reading seminars and writing workshops for majors and non-majors.

For the BA, students work primarily in fiction and poetry but may take courses in nonfiction prose, editorial writing, screenwriting, playwriting, and science writing. An array of internships and a visiting writers’ reading series offer wider opportunities.

For the two-year MFA, students concentrate in either fiction or poetry. The Writing Seminars’ success at all levels is confirmed by an extraordinary record of prizes for, and publications by, our alumni.

What can you do with your degree?

Write! With skills learned at The Writing Seminars, countless students have gone on to publish novels, short stories, poetry collections, and nonfiction articles and books. Our graduates also excel simultaneously in fields such as teaching, editing, arts administration, and a variety of other professions ranging from law to business to medicine.

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Cognitive Science

Cognitive Science
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, MA, PhD

Johns Hopkins is one of a few universities with a Department of Cognitive Science. Cognitive science is the study of the human mind and brain, focusing on how the mind represents and manipulates knowledge and how mental representations and processes are realized in the brain. Cognitive scientists explore functions such as perception, memory, and language using a variety of methods, such as behavioral studies, functional neuroimaging, linguistic analysis, and computational modeling.

The department provides theoretically oriented research and training opportunities in a focused environment that is dedicated to the multi-disciplinary intellectual challenge of integrating contemporary approaches to the study of the mind/brain.

Programs in cognitive science at Johns Hopkins University reflect the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, requiring students to approach the study of the mind/brain from several different investigative perspectives. The programs in cognitive science draw on courses offered by several other departments, as well.

What can you do with your degree?

Graduates of the Department of Cognitive Science typically go on to graduate, medical, law, or business school, or directly into jobs in health care, information technology, or other fields.

The major provides excellent preparation for PhD programs, not only in cognitive science, but also in psychology, linguistics, computer science, philosophy, neuropsychology, and speech pathology.

Either before or after additional study, our graduates pursue careers in academia, health care, information technology, law, technical writing and publishing, government agencies, and non-profit organizations.

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Mathematics

Mathematics
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, BA/MA, PhD

The goal of every program of the Department of Mathematics is to provide the highest quality education in mathematics at all levels, including the most recent developments and discoveries in mathematical research.

Johns Hopkins has a long history of preeminence in mathematics research and education, dating back to its founding in 1886 by J.J. Sylvester. In fact, the oldest running mathematics journal in the Western Hemisphere, the American Journal of Mathematics, is directed and edited by the Department of Mathematics and is published by the Johns Hopkins University Press.

Today, a vibrant scientific environment continues through the interaction of our faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, and visiting mathematicians. Our areas of expertise include analysis, partial differential equations, algebraic/complex/differential geometry, mathematical physics, number theory, and algebraic topology. Seminars take place weekly and address a range of topics, and lecture series and conferences bring in top experts from around the world. The department is also home to the Japan-U.S. Mathematics Institute, which sponsors visitors and seminars throughout the year.

Whether you are in our undergraduate BA program, our four-year bachelor’s/master’s program, our doctoral program, or our Future Scholars Program (for outstanding high school students), you will engage with internationally renowned department faculty, two of whom were recently awarded Simons Fellowships, and nine of whom are Fellows of the American Mathematical Society.

What can you do with your degree?

While our PhD graduates go on to conduct research at major institutions around the country, undergraduate math majors at Johns Hopkins finish with a degree that prepares them for PhD programs in mathematics, as well as a wide spectrum of career opportunities. Our graduates have worked in fields as diverse as business and management, education, operations research, data mining, and finance. Our undergraduate program, when supplemented by courses in other departments, also prepares students for graduate or professional programs in other fields, such as economics, physics, engineering, and medicine.

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Chemistry

Chemistry
Students can: Major
Degrees Offered: BS, PhD

Chemistry is an interdisciplinary subject with natural, robust ties to the other sciences and engineering that, in general, involves the study of matter and the changes it undergoes. Advances in chemistry will be required to meet global challenges of clean air, safe water, healthy food, dependable medicine, advanced materials, eco-friendly products, and sustainable energy.

Our understanding of the fundamental nature of the world is grounded in chemistry. Molecular transformations are central to the production of food, medicines, fuel, and a countless array of materials. Chemists seek to understand the fundamental nature of matter and the changes it undergoes on a molecular or atomic level. While this goal was once limited almost exclusively to chemists, there is an increased effort toward molecular-level characterization in most areas of science and technology. Chemistry has therefore emerged as the "central science."

The Department of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University has a long tradition of excellence that began with Ira Remsen, the discoverer of saccharin, dating back to the inception of the University in 1876. Today, Hopkins chemistry is made up of internationally recognized faculty involved in contemporary chemical science, including interdisciplinary areas that interface chemistry with the fields of biology, medicine, physics, materials, and environmental science. Chemistry faculty train students interested in pursuing Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees in the classroom and in the laboratory.

What can you do with your degree?

The central nature of chemistry affords its majors more flexibility in careers. Fields of employment include medicine, industry, education, business, law, health services, and much more.

Graduates of the chemistry department have gone on to assume positions of scientific leadership in private industry, as well as in some of the finest academic institutions in the world. The success of the department in attracting and training outstanding students can be measured by the distinguished careers of our recent graduates and postdoctoral fellows.

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Physics and Astronomy

Physics and Astronomy
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, BS, BA/MA, PhD

The Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy combines a strong research program, world-renowned faculty, and state-of-the-art facilities. The instruction and research programs within the department reflect two features which have a long tradition at Johns Hopkins: an emphasis on graduate study and research, supplemented with a strong undergraduate program; and a flexibility that is possible only in a department of our size.

Our undergraduate and graduate courses are purposefully designed to provide a core group of basic subjects at the appropriate levels, which naturally lead to courses in a variety of specialized areas. All students are encouraged to engage in independent work outside of the classroom, such as special projects or independent study. The atmosphere is enhanced by the presence of NASA’s Space Telescope Science Institute—home of the Hubble Space Telescope—located just across the street.

Research in the Department of Physics and Astronomy primarily centers on three areas: astrophysics, condensed matter physics, and particle or high energy physics. The Center for Astrophysical Studies comprises areas within the discipline: cosmology, extragalactic astronomy, galactic astronomy, numerical simulations, large datasets, and instrumentation. The condensed matter physics group maintains active experimental and theoretical research programs at the forefront of both hard and soft condensed matter physics. The particle physics group conducts research in both theory and experiment.

What can you do with your degree?

A degree in physics can lead to many diverse career paths. Many of our students apply and are admitted to graduate school, either here at Johns Hopkins or at another one of the nation’s top universities. Others want to pursue research and teaching positions. Physics and astronomy graduates can also be found in the fields of engineering, law, and medicine. Still others secure employment in government or industrial laboratories.

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Sociology

Sociology
Students can: Major
Degrees Offered: BA, PhD

The Department of Sociology concentrates its teaching and research on two broad areas: global social change, which focuses on cross-national, comparative research; and social inequality, which primarily focuses on family, education, work, race, gender, policy, and immigration.

These concentrations trace back to the department’s founding in 1959 by renowned sociologist James Coleman. The department has since earned a reputation as one of most selective, personalized sociology departments in the U.S. Its small size creates an intimate scholarly atmosphere, in which faculty and students interact and collaborate frequently. Through the department’s two areas of concentration and its honors program, highly motivated students can customize a program of study and engage in self-initiated, original research.

What can you do with your degree?

A major in sociology offers undergraduates a variety of post-graduation opportunities. Graduates from the department have found positions in financial institutions, education, non-governmental organizations focusing on international development, research departments of major corporations, and local government social service agencies. Others continue to graduate school in sociology, public health, law, urban planning, or education.

A major in sociology can also be combined with the pre-medical course sequence, resulting in a medical school candidate who is well versed in the hard science of the human body and the social science of the human experience.

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History

History
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, BA/MA, PhD

The Department of History offers students the opportunity to work intensively in the classroom and with individual faculty to discover the richness and complexity of history. The department emphasizes European history, United States history, and the histories of Africa, Latin America, and China.

Undergraduates begin with general courses, but progress quickly to courses that explore topics in depth and provide experience in researching, analyzing, and writing about the past. Graduate students work independently and with faculty advisers on reading and research in their fields of interest, while departmental seminars bring them together to discuss their research, forging a collegial intellectual culture.

History at Hopkins is both a social scientific and humanistic discipline, and for this reason history courses are coded both "H" (for humanities credit) and "S" (for credit in the social sciences). In practice, students will find that the "hard" side of history (demographic and economic history, and certain aspects of social history as well) mixes quite well with the "soft" side, with its emphasis on cultural and intellectual history.

What can you do with your degree?

The history major offers strong preparation in writing, reading, and the critical analysis of inconsistent information and data. Our graduates find these skills valuable for a variety of careers, including business, law, public service, and teaching.

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Economics

Economics
Students can: Major Minor
Degrees Offered: BA, MA, PhD

The Department of Economics at Johns Hopkins University is one of the leading departments of economics in the U.S., with outstanding strength in its research faculty, graduate program, and undergraduate program.

The department offers a focused approach that sets it apart from other economics programs around the world. Faculty and graduate students engage in the exploration of five economic disciplines: applied microeconomics, economic theory, macroeconomics, econometrics, and finance.

Economics students at Johns Hopkins receive the kind of unique, intensive, and mutually respectful education that routinely places the department among the highest ranked economics programs in the United States.

The opportunity to learn directly from innovative thinkers draws students to the department. Faculty at the forefront of their fields incorporate the results of recent research into courses in microeconomics, econometrics, monetary economics, investments, managerial economics, mathematical economics, uncertainty, forecasting, and game theory.

The university’s proximity to Washington, D.C., draws to campus experts from institutions such as the Federal Reserve Bank and think tanks such as The Brookings Institution. The location also provides exceptional opportunities for internships and independent study. The Center for Financial Economics offers a rich array of courses in finance that are designed for students who have the mathematical and statistical background to pursue the field at a rigorous level.

What can you do with your degree?

Department of Economics alumni are leaders in their fields. Graduates are frequently appointed to esteemed academic institutions, think tanks, government research positions, and investment banks around the world.

Undergraduate students in economics gain critical thinking skills, enabling them to understand and analyze important trends in the field and pursue their own research. Many graduates go on to law school, medical school, or graduate school in economics, while others enter the workforce, usually in the fields of banking or finance, and still others are employed in the public sector.

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