Physical Sciences, Engineering, & Technology Focus Area

The Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Technology Career Focus Area is set up for students who want to continue is STEM careers. Students not only learn hard science skills but also take classes to help them with the important soft skills, such as professional communication, presentation skills, and more.

Career Motivator: Analyzing

  • Values intellectual effort, scientific inquiry, math
  • Wants to understand and predict physical, biological, or cultural phenomena and practices
  • Likes to work with theories, do research, test ideas
  • Apt to be analytical, cautious, independent, curious, introspective, critical, studious

Careers/Post Graduate Opportunities

While far from comprehensive, the career pathways below can serve as a reference point to start brainstorming common career outcomes in Integrated Studies. To learn more about what you can do with your major, schedule an appointment with a Career Coach. For all other questions, talk to an Integrated Studies Advisor.

  • Engineering Technology
  • Math/Science Teacher*
  • Pharmeceutical Sales
  • Clinical Lab Scientist
  • Geologist
  • Quality and Reliability Management
  • Cybersecurity
  • Computer Scientist
  • Statistician

Applicable Course Subjects

BENG, BIOL, CEE**, CHEM, CS, DATA, ECE**, ENGR**, GEO, GEOG, IS, MAE**, MATH, PHYS, STAT, TEE, TESY, WATS

Popular Courses in Physical Sciences, Engineering, and Technology

Prefix Course Credits
BIOL 3010 Evolution (DSC) 3
BIOL 3040 Plants and Civilization (DSC) 3
BIOL 3100 Bioethics (CI) 3
BIOL 3500 Plagues, Pests, and People 3
CS 3010 Information Acquisition, Analysis and Presentation (DSC/QI) 3
CS 3100 Operating Systems and Concurrency 3
ENVS 3010 Fundamentals of Natural Resource and Environmental Policy 3
ENVS 3600 Living with Wildlife 3
ENVS 4700 Communicating Sustainability (CI) 3
GEO 3100 Natural Disasters (DSC) 3
GEO 3250 Natural History of Dinosaurs (DSC) 3
GEOG 4210 Geography of Utah 3
GEOG 4400 Natural Hazards and Society 3
MATH 3310 Discrete Mathematics 3
PHYS 3010 Space Exploration from Earth to the Solar System (DSC/QI) 3
TEE 3040 Engineering Systems 3
TEE 3050 Computer Systems and Networking 3
WATS 3000 Oceanography (DSC) 3
WATS 3700 Fundamentals of Watershed Science (CI) 3

Potential Career Pathways by Courses and Subjects

Courses listed below may not be offered every semester. This is not a complete list of courses students can take in this focus area. Meet with an Integrated Studies Advisor to select the best courses for your academic and career goals. For course descriptions, more details on prerequisites, or a course overview, see the USU General Catalog or the USU Syllabus Tracker.

Pharmaceutical Sale Representative: CHEM, BIOL, MATH

Prefix Course Credits
CHEM 3700 Introductory Biochemistry 3
BIOL 3300 General Microbiology 4
BIOL 3060 Principles of Genetics 3

Clinical Lab Scientist: CHEM, PHYS, BIOL, MATH, APEC, ASTE

Prefix Course Credits
BIOL 3300 General Microbiology 4
CHEM 3700 Introductory Biochemistry 3
ASTE 3050 Technical and Professional Communication Principles 3

Computer Scientist:

Prefix Course Credits
TESY 3000 Hazard Recognition & Control 3
ASTE 3050 Technical and Professional Communication Principles 3
CS 4700 (Pre-requisite: 2420) Programming Languages 3

*Note, some careers may require secondary licensure or additional schooling.
**Courses may have program restrictions.