Bachelor of Arts

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the national, regional and global forces that connect the diverse peoples of Africa
• Identify and explain many of the historical, political, economic, cultural, social and racialized dynamics that have shaped the lives of African peoples
• Discuss some of the literatures, films, music or other cultural productions that have emerged from Africa with diverse audiences verbally and in written form
• Evaluate the processes and consequences of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, European colonialism, and neo-liberal policies on African societies, cultures, politics, and economies
• Critically assess films, novels, art and the media’s portrayal and interpretation of issues concerning Africa
• Produce a publishable analysis of the cultural and social lives of different African peoples for general audiences
• Assess and understand personal worldviews regarding different cultures and identify biases in historical, political, legal, cultural and socio-economic global contexts

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Skills in social research – both qualitative and quantitative methods; interviewing; cultural sensitivity; working cooperatively with others; understanding group dynamics
• Skills in effective data collection; organizing and evaluating research results
• Ability to write reports, papers and grant proposals
• Writing articulately and analytically
• Aptitude for scientific problem solving; using statistics and computer science to analyze data
• Knowledge of the biological, ecological and cultural factors that influence human behaviour; ability to analyze the root causes of social problems

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Research, analyze, and develop solutions to real-world problems relating to language
• Produce written texts and oral presentations that incorporate awareness of communication strategies, audience, purpose, and context
• Develop awareness of different approaches to language teaching
• Develop deep understanding of how second and/or additional languages are acquired
• Collect, organize, and analyze discourse (written, spoken, visual) from a range of sources
• Use analytical frameworks and software to uncover lexical characteristics contained in naturally-occurring language
• Understand how language can and has been used to establish, undermine, influence, and maintain power relationships in society
• Identify, describe, and clarify common misconceptions related to stigmatized language forms and/or varieties
• Compare and evaluate the effectiveness of research methodologies and theoretical frameworks through analysis of language data
• Clearly and concisely articulate differences between our own instinctive knowledge of the rules of language and how language functions in society

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• An understanding of Canadian history and cultural diversity; the ability to place contemporary issues in context and to understand the relationship between historical and current events
• Critical thinking
• Verbal and written communication; ability to write logical and well-reasoned reports
• Research skills; data collection; process and synthesize vast amounts of data and apply where relevant
• Problem solving skills; approaching topics and problems from various perspectives; analyzing multiple dimensions of a problem; decision making skills

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Explore the ways that societal structures of power, privilege, and oppression shape the identities of children and youth in Canada and across the world.
• Interrogate normative assumptions about children, childhood, and adolescence.
• Collect and analyze relevant information about children and youth from a variety of interdisciplinary sources.
• Present results from research in childhood and youth studies, both in writing and orally, to promote evidence-based knowledge to policy makers and service providers, as well as to general audiences.
• Communicate effectively, intelligently and constructively during discussions on topics relevant to childhood and youth studies.
• Identify strategies for and ethical and human rights implications of working with children and youth.
• Write non-academic reports, policy briefs, pamphlets and posters to communicate about specific issues in childhood and youth studies.
• Critically review and evaluate strengths, weaknesses and limitations of a variety of childhood and youth research methodologies.
• Conduct a self-directed research study utilizing appropriate research methods to effectively investigate a special topic related to childhood and youth studies.

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Effectively integrate psychology, sociology, and socio-legal approaches to Criminology and Criminal Justice to help solve everyday problems
• Assess critically questions of governance related to the administration of the criminal justice system
• Rigorously examine criminalization and punishment practices and ideologies in relation to questions of social justice and human rights
• Research, synthesize, and assess controversial issues in criminology and the administration of justice
• Critically analyze criminological theories and their policy implications with particular emphasis on issues of social justice
• Communicate and disseminate results of criminological research to peers, decision makers, and the general public in verbal and written form
• Clearly articulate the limits of criminological knowledge in order to address implications for criminological policy and practices
• Collaboratively identify, analyze, and discuss issues within criminology and criminal justice in a team of peers

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Formulate reasoned arguments through research and textual evidence on current contemporary questions faced by society
• Communicate arguments clearly and forcefully in writing and through oral expression
• Design, manage, and complete self-directed research projects that require independent thought, organization, follow-through, and mastery of a range of documents and texts
• Participate effectively and respectfully in collaborative inquiry, presenting complicated problems and issues to members of a research group and adapting points of view in response to feedback
• Manage unexpected issues and competing perspectives during the research process while successfully juggling a number of different goals and activities
• Build historical, political, and ethical knowledge with which to understand the complex values underlying the textual culture of the past and present
• Recognize the diversity of human experience and expression, and make the consideration of that diversity a part of reading, writing, and communicating

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Ability to comprehend the varied ways that humans interact with the natural environment and a range of important environmental issues, as well as to engage in action-oriented and environmentally responsible ways in both the workplace and everyday life.
• Capability to evaluate decisions, actions and approaches aimed at helping to solve environmental problems.
• Collect, and interpret the qualitative, quantitative, and/or spatial data needed to analyze environmental problems and propose solutions
• Conduct research to inform and support strategic decision-making and effective policy related to contemporary environmental issues
• Clearly communicate environmental issues and topics to a diverse audience in verbal and written form using a variety of media and presentation types
• Workplace skills through practicum or co-op, including: leadership, responsibility and initiative in the workplace; ethical work conduct; independent work and group work; meeting productivity demands and deadlines; networking.

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the history and contemporary social, cultural, economic, and political issues faced in the region while placing these issues in a broader global context
• Analyze different ways in which global processes impact the societies, cultures, and politics of the countries of the region past and present
• Apply concepts, theories, and methods of social science and humanities disciplines to the study of issues in the region
• Develop the ability to apply conceptual and methodological approaches from various disciplines to the analysis of the region and its interconnectedness with the wider world
• Demonstrate an understanding of peoples of the region through knowledge of their cultures, languages and societies in a global context
• Critical thinking and analysis of issues in the region
• Ability to communicate knowledge of the region in oral and written form to a variety of audiences
• Proficiency in a Regional Language

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Analyze and interpret films through the lens of screen-media history, theory, techniques and styles
• Recognize and interpret multiple film conventions, techniques, genres and styles
• Articulate similarities and differences across a wide range of national and transnational moving-image practices and traditions
• Explain how cinematic techniques create meaning and emotion
• Critically assess and interpret films and other moving-image texts from theoretical, philosophical, psychological, and historiographic angles
• Evaluate claims made by critics, historians and theorists of the moving image
• Construct  and communicate arguments verbally and in written form using Film Studies concepts
• Apply knowledge, critical thinking and research skills acquired through Film Studies courses in occupational settings

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Proficiently compose, edit and revise written French with accurate use of grammar, language structure and communication strategies
• Speak the French language with advanced fluency on a variety of topics
• Adjust the usage of the French language to appropriately communicate with diverse audiences
• Analyze, critique and interpret written text as well as complex literary and linguistic issues to develop concise and intelligent arguments
• Using a variety of approaches, identify and analyse the main characteristics of French literature and linguistics as well as understand and apply leading concepts in both fields
• Gather, interpret, and evaluate textual information and linguistic data in French literature and linguistics in a coherent and logical manner
• Identify and analyze the main characteristics of French literature and linguistics through a variety of approaches
• Understand and apply leading concepts and theories to the study of French literature and linguistics
• Develop, support and explain complex ideas in French by applying critical thinking to readings and discussions in French literature and linguistics, as they relate to a variety of issues

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Collect, process, analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative spatial data using geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing image analysis, cartography, and other spatial and statistical software
• Analyze spatial patterns and relationships, and comprehend their value and use within societal and environmental management and policy contexts
• Conduct geographic and environmental research to inform and support evidence-based decision making
• Clearly communicate geomatics methods and results of analysis to a diverse audience in verbal and written form using a variety of media and presentation types, including maps, atlases, images, graphics and other interactive media
• Contribute knowledge of human and environmental spatial patterns and processes in a variety of occupational settings
• Workplace skills through practicum or co-op, including: leadership, responsibility and initiative in the workplace; ethical work conduct; independent work and group work; meeting productivity demands and deadlines; networking

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• An understanding of the major concerns in the world today including economic relations, the gap between the rich and the poor, democracy and human rights
• The ability to make an informed assessment of, and to participate in global politics
• Analytical and critical thinking skills; making observations
• Problem solving skills; understanding the components of complex problems; approaching topics and problems from various perspectives; analyzing multiple dimensions of a problem; identifying problems and developing solutions; decision making skills
• Influencing and persuading people/groups; aptitude for leadership
• Research skills; data collection; process and synthesize vast amounts of data; interpret research and data; recognizing only the salient facts; application of information for policy development; developing research strategies and utilizing research methods
• Communication Skills – explaining ideas, writing and presenting information articulately and analytically; public speaking; compiling carefully reasoned reports and essays
• Proficiency in one or two languages other than English

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Acquire knowledge and understanding of the events, people, and ideas of the past and how they have shaped the world
• Recognize the complexity of human experience, across cultures and time periods
• Gather, evaluate and interpret sources, including texts, visual images, and digital sources
• Evaluate and form arguments that draw on historical evidence and argument
• Acquire ability to write clear, well organized  short reports and essays that synthesize evidence and arguments from many sources
• Evaluate materials from the past with attention to perspective, context and meaning
• Discuss and present arguments orally, in writing and in digital media
• Collaborate with others to produce written documents, oral presentations and digital media that explore historical issues

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Effectively integrate geographical knowledge and skills (including an explicitly spatial perspective, critical social science approaches, and an understanding of processes in the natural world and human-environment relations) in a variety of occupational settings
• Apply geographic concepts (place, space, scale, and in human geography concepts of community and identity) to help understand and solve important societal challenges arising from human-environment interactions and conflicts
• Collect, process, analyze and interpret geographic qualitative, quantitative, and/or spatial data
• Conduct geographic and environmental research to support informed decision-making and policy development
• Clearly communicate geographic-environmental issues and topics to a diverse audience in verbal and written form using a variety of media and presentation types
• Workplace skills through practicum or co-op, including: leadership, responsibility and initiative in the workplace; ethical work conduct; independent work and group work; meeting productivity demands and deadlines; networking
• Gain knowledge of key concepts in geography related to human settlement, resources, economics and culture
• Appreciate and articulate the complexity of the natural environment, social systems, and the influences and impacts of humans on the environment
• Understand concepts of scale from global to local and analyze problems at different scales with a spatial perspective
• Critically analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of actions aimed at addressing social and environmental problem

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Effectively integrate different perspectives to analyze and understand human rights in Canada and around the world
• Analyze issues related to human rights from an interdisciplinary perspective taking into account historical and contemporary local or global struggles for social justice
• Research and advocate for human rights locally and internationally with intercultural respect and the appreciation of participatory democracy
• Evaluate and interpret contemporary debates related to the interconnection of social, economic, civil, political and cultural rights
• Construct a self-directed research study utilizing appropriate research methods to effectively investigate a special topic related to Human Rights
• Critically review and assess conflicting perspectives and arguments in human rights research
• Apply knowledge of human rights issues to inform and inspire ethical engagement with people from diverse backgrounds
• Clearly communicate verbally and in written form to a variety of audiences including academics, professional peers, non-profit organizations and the general public
• Develop professional skills (practicum and independent study options)

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• An understanding of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of Indigenous ways of knowing, learning, and relationship-building
• Critical thinking
• The ability to communicate complex ideas across a range of formats
• Research skills; data collection; exposure to Indigenous and non-Indigenous pedagogicial, methodological, and theoretical ways of knowing
• The ability to understand and express Indigenous perspectives on historical, political, and social issues

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Integrate tools, terminology and approaches from the field of linguistics to formulate scientifically sound arguments and analyze linguistic data
• Compare and evaluate the effectiveness of various research methodologies and theoretical frameworks through linguistic data analysis
• Clearly and concisely articulate differences between our own instinctive knowledge of the rules of language and how language functions in society
• Collect, organize and analyze data from diverse languages in order to construct and test theories about language structure and usage
• Identify and compare similarities as well as differences in phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics of languages
• Describe, identify and clarify common misconceptions related to stigmatized language forms and/or varieties

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Demonstrate a multi-layered knowledge of, and engagement with music in all forms
• Exhibit skill in one or more areas of music analysis, composition, cultural theory, archival and historical research and ethnographic fieldwork in music
• Identify and describe a wide range of traditions and repertoires of music along with their varying cultural and historical contexts
• Communicate effectively, to a range of different audiences, and work cooperatively in both musical and other forms of group activity
• Critically apply a variety of musicological perspectives and techniques in the analysis of music
• Recognize the relationship between creative, practical and theoretical forms of knowledge in music
• Develop an appreciation of the place of music in culture and human life, and of the relationship of various musical traditions to one another
• Write about music in a variety of forms and styles: from academic essays, to music criticism, to journalistic writing

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Apply reflectively critical thinking to research
• Develop creative and effective problem-solving strategies
• Understand the basic principles and assumptions of important views
• Communicate clearly and concisely, in written and verbal form
• Examine information sources for bias and error
• Explain the ethical dimensions of decision making

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Effectively integrate geographical knowledge and skills (including an explicitly spatial perspective, critical social science approaches, and an understanding of processes in the natural world and human-environment relations) in a variety of occupational settings
• Apply geographic concepts (place, space, scale, and in human geography concepts of community and identity) to help understand and solve important societal challenges arising from human-environment interactions and conflicts
• Collect, process, analyze and interpret geographic qualitative, quantitative, and/or spatial data
• Conduct geographic and environmental research to support informed decision-making and policy development
• Clearly communicate geographic-environmental issues and topics to a diverse audience in verbal and written form using a variety of media and presentation types
• Workplace skills through practicum or co-op, including: leadership, responsibility and initiative in the workplace; ethical work conduct; independent work and group work; meeting productivity demands and deadlines; networking.
• Explain and integrate key concepts and processes in the description of the biophysical environment and Earth systems
• Critically analyze and incorporate biophysical data in environmental monitoring, management and policy
• Collect and analyze geographic and environmental data in field and lab settings and learn methods commonly used within environmental management and consulting organizations
• Understand and communicate environmental issues and learn to apply geographic analyses for environmental research, management

 Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Research and analyze politics in Canada and throughout the world from a holistic perspective
• Critically examine contending political perspectives and evaluate a variety of political positions
• Recognize the relevance of historic ideas to contemporary political problems through knowledge of major texts and thinkers of Western political thought
• Apply a range of qualitative and qualitative methodologies and basic statistical methods to political research
• Engage in comprehensive research about politics and interpret relevant evidence effectively
• Write about politics systematically and persuasively in brief essays and longer analytical research papers
• Form coherent verbal questions and respond articulately in group discussions

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Utilize psychological concepts, language and major theories to explain behaviour
• Critically synthesize, analyze and communicate psychological research findings in written form
• Present and clearly explain psychological research findings orally to a variety of audiences
• Critically review and evaluate psychological research methodology and findings
• Construct research questions and appropriate design methods to effectively investigate a psychological problem, issue or theory
• Demonstrate an understanding of scientific integrity as it relates to experimental psychology
• Apply critical and creative thinking, skeptical inquiry and scientific approach to solving problems related to behaviour and mental processes
• Apply a scientific approach to solve problems related to behaviour and mental processes critically
• Effectively integrate psychological knowledge, skills and values seamlessly into a variety of occupational settings
• Explain how psychological principles can be applied to clarify social issues and inform public policy

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Knowledge of different religious beliefs, practices and doctrines
• Cultural sensitivity; the ability to interact with diverse groups; understanding of various cultural practices and corresponding human behaviours; sensitivity to and compassion for others
• Aptitude for leadership; the ability to persuade and influence others
• Research skills; data collection; process and synthesize vast amounts of data and apply where relevant
• Problem solving skills; approaching topics and problems from various perspectives; analyzing multiple dimensions of a problem; decision making skills
• Communication skills – explaining and presenting ideas and data clearly; public speaking; writing articulately and analytically
• Logistical and critical thinking

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Ability to read materials accurately and analytically
• Knowledge of methodologies of data collection, statistical analysis and evaluation; conducting and clearly explaining sociological research
• Critical/Analytical thinking; abstract reasoning skills
• Problem solving skills; approaching topics and problems from various perspectives; analyzing multiple dimensions of a problem; identifying problems and developing solutions; decision making skills
• Communication skills – explaining ideas, writing and presenting information; public speaking; compiling carefully reasoned reports and essays; good listening, clarifying, questioning and responding skills
• Ability to carry out tasks with thoroughness and precision
• Aptitude for conflict resolution; mediation; concern for and sensitivity to others
• Understanding of organizational and group dynamics

Skills and knowledge you may gain from your program:

• Advocating against inequality and a movement toward acceptance, collaboration and consensus through the gender divide
• Knowledge of how gender intersects with other structures of power including race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, age and ability in shaping ways of thinking and understanding the world around us; understanding inequality
• Ability to read materials accurately and analytically
• Critical/Analytical thinking; abstract reasoning skills
• Problem solving skills; approaching topics and problems from various perspectives; analyzing multiple dimensions of a problem; identifying problems and developing solutions; decision making skills
• Research skills; developing research strategies and utilizing research methods; data collection; process and synthesize vast amounts of data and apply where relevant; application of information for policy development
• Communication skills – explaining ideas, writing and presenting information clearly; public speaking; good listening, clarifying, questioning and responding skills
• Aptitude for conflict resolution; mediation; concern for and sensitivity to others
• Understanding of organizational and group dynamics