Programs and Departments

Students of anthropology and archaeology study what it means to be human, and to document the human experience. This includes the biology of the human species, our evolutionary history, and our closest living relatives, the non-human primates. We also explore the range of variation in human beliefs, behaviors, material culture, social organization.

Program options

• Social and Cultural Anthropology (BA) *honours and 
  co-op available
  
• Anthropology (BSc, minor)  *honours and co-op available
• Archaeology (BA, BSc) *honours and co-op available
• Development Studies (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
  
• African Studies (minor)
• Concurrent BA/BEd in Development Studies and Education (undergraduate)
• Graduate (MA, PhD in Social and Cultural and Social Anthropology, Anthropology, Archaeology)

> Department website

> View program requirements 

The visual studies program will enable you to develop conceptual understanding in the visual arts, to develop a foundation of knowledge and practice of artistic self-sufficiency, to develop creative processes of planning in order to carry out your studio interests or to work as an art specialist in other settings. The program enables you to determine, through studio practice, the understandings and insights that support your artistic and intellectual development.

Program options

• Visual studies (BFA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Art History (BA) (minor)
• Museum and Heritage Studies (minor)
• Concentration in Media Arts
  
• Concurrent BFA/BEd in Visual Studies and Education (undergraduate)
• Graduate (MFA)

> Department website

> View program requirements

Programs in Classics and Religion enjoy a collaboration in research and teaching between the Classics, such as learning about the history of the Greek and Romans, and religious studies. 

In religious studies, students learn about the world religions and their communities in the past and present, drawing upon methods and theories from philosophy, history, sociology, philosophy, and more.

In Greek and Roman studies, students focus on the civilizations of the Mediterranean area, the Near East, and Western Europe in ancient and medieval times, engaging in multi-faceted research and developing an understanding of the writings and material remains that have survived to the present day.

Program options

• Ancient and Medieval History (BA) *honours and co-op available
• Classical and Early Christian Studies *honours only 
  *co-op available
• Greek and Roman Studies (BA, minor) *honours and 
  co-op available
• Greek (minor)
• Latin (minor)
• Religious Studies and Applied Ethics *honours only 
  *co-op available
• Religious Studies (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• South Asian Studies (minor)
• Graduate in Greek and Roman Studies (MA)
• Graduate in Religious Studies (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements 

Our programs engage students in the critical study of communication, media, and film. Students develop research, writing, and analytical skills, as well as a sophisticated understanding of the role of media in shaping perception, identity, politics, social relations, popular culture, and cultural practices.

Program options

• Communication and media studies (BA, BCMS, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Film studies (BA, BFS, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Science, Technology, and Society (minor)
• Graduate (MCS, MA, Phd)

> Department website

> View program requirements

Economists seek to develop an understanding of how individuals and societies structure economic activity, and the relative effectiveness of different institutions in relaxing, or mitigating, scarcity constraints. Economists ask: What gets produced, how does it get produced, and who gets what is produced.

Program options

• Economics (BA, minor)  *honours and co-op available
  
• Applied Energy Economics (minor, concentration)
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

The study of English is the study of the language in which we live and its uses, from poetry to politics to the hidden metaphors of everyday life. Undergraduate English offers a strong centre from which to explore the world within and beyond the university. It demands, develops and rewards intellectual curiosity, articulate speech and writing, self-discipline, flexibility, creativity, thoughtfulness, and a healthy skepticism.

Program options

• English (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Concurrent BA/BEd in English and Education 
• Creative writing (embedded certificate)
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

Geography is both the science and art of studying places and spaces. Geographers ask where things are located, why they are there, how places differ, what processes are at work in the world around us, how people interact with their physical and cultural environment and how to measure these patterns. 

Program options

• Geography (BA, BSc, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Urban Studies (BA, minor) *co-op available
• Concurrent BA/BEd or BSc/BEd in Geography and Education
• Graduate (MGIS, MA, MSc, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

The study of history is study of the past from many perspectives, including political, military and diplomatic affairs; economic, social, and cultural development; and the role of religious beliefs and secular ideas in shaping human experiences. The geographical scope is just as wide-ranging, with historians in the department studying Canada, China, Europe, Latin America, and the United States.

Program options

• History (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
  
• Canadian Studies (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Latin American Studies (BA) *co-op available
• Concurrent BA/BEd in History and Education or Canadian Studies and Education
• Ancient and Medieval History (BA), with the Department of Classics and Religion *honours and co-op available
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

In philosophy we ask fundamental questions about ourselves and the world. The discipline is subdivided into areas such as ethics and political philosophy, aesthetics, epistemology (the theory of knowledge), metaphysics (the theory of reality or being), logic and the philosophy of logic, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy. Indeed, the history of philosophy is in many ways the history of Western thought.

Program options

• Philosophy (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program reqirements

Political Science is about how societies should and do deal with conflict and cooperation. At its most basic level it entails asking who gets what, when, how and why. The discipline asks how life and property should be protected and how cultural and economic aspirations are expressed and accommodated.

Program options

• Political Science (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
  
• International Relations (BA) *co-op available
• Concurrent BA/BEd in International Relations and Education or Political Science and Education
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

Psychology is the study of the mind and behaviour. Psychologists use the scientific method to study how humans and other animals think, feel and behave. They study how to effectively apply this knowledge to help people understand, explain, and change their behavior. Major areas of research and learning include perception, cognition, language, memory, learning, development, personality, relationships, and mental health.

Program options

• Psychology (BA, BSC, minor) *honours available
• Speech-Language Sciences (minor)
• Combined BA or BSc in Psychology/Bachelor of Community Rehabilitation 
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements

Sociologists study the ways in which social structures, social processes and cultural products constrain and enable human behavior. They examine face to face interactions between people in everyday life; the interface between social processes and individual lives through institutionalized aspects of social life; and the linkages between global and local levels through studying contemporary world inequalities and their implications.

Program options

• Sociology (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
  
• Law and Society (BA, minor) *honours and co-op available
• Concurrent BA/BEd in Sociology and Education
• Concentrations in Criminology; Deviance and Social Control; and Gender, Family and Work 
• Graduate (MA, PhD)

> Department website

> View program requirements