Bachelor of Arts in Writing, Rhetoric and Discourse Studies

at Brock University Canada

The Honours Critical Criminology degree provides students the opportunity for an extensive examination of whose interests are served by ‘law and order’ ideologies, policies and practices of social control.

This degree offers a distinct orientation to law making, law breaking, law enforcement and social reaction. Students will look beyond crime and punishment and explore larger issues of surveillance, criminalization, interpersonal and structural violence, and more. The Honours BA in Critical Criminology will expose students to criminology in the broader context of theories of justice and equity — an important distinction both in the field and in the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Students can expect to graduate equipped with advanced training in theory and methods, as well as applied and practical experience, in order to become leaders in areas such as law, policy, research and data analysis, and public accountability arenas.

Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and how it generates behaviour in animals and humans.

You’ll study the link between neural function and behaviour at many levels by using techniques in molecular genetics, biochemistry, cellular physiology, neuroanatomy, electrophysiology, pharmacology, behavioural biology, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology and kinesiology. You’ll also assist in active neuroscience laboratory research dealing with humans and non-humans.

Choose courses from four streams to better fit your personal interests: neurobiology, neuropsychology, neurocomputing or neuromotor.

Kinesiology is the scientific study of human movement. You will study the anatomy and physiology of body movement, including issues related to the maintenance, rehabilitation or enhancement of movement and performance.

Our Bachelor of Kinesiology (BKin) degree emphasizes the biophysical, behavioural and socio-cultural aspects of kinesiology, including exercise prescription and rehabilitation, fitness programming and clinical assessment. This degree trains effective health professionals who will transfer scientific theory into practice.

The Earth Sciences program trains geoscientists — scientists who study the Earth and other planets in order to better understand their origin and history.

We know the Earth’s history reasonably well, and that knowledge has helped us to discover natural resources, such as oil and gas, economic minerals and metals, and to understand phenomena, such as global climate change and volcano and earthquake hazards. The geological knowledge derived from the Earth also helps us to better understand other solar system bodies. Two of our professors are planetary geologists, including Dr. Mariek Schmidt who is a member of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Project that operates the rover Curiosity as it explores Gale Crater.

Brock’s program is designed to comply with the educational requirements for initial registration as a geoscientist-in-training, the licensing classification that leads to the PGeo designation established by the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario.

Are you interested in how children acquire language, how the skills of second-language speakers develop, how various language disorders can be diagnosed and treated, or how social or cultural environments interact with language?

Speech Language & Hearing Sciences: Learn about basic science and communication processes, including the anatomy and physiology of speech and hearing, acoustics, linguistics, child language development and selected disorders of human communication. Concentrate in Hearing Sciences and learn about sound, hearing, and hearing disorders, and prepare for admission to graduate audiology programs. Concentrate in Speech-Language Sciences and learn about speech, language, and speech and language disorders, and prepare for admission to speech-language pathology graduate programs.

The Department of Communication, Popular Culture and Film offers four separate programs of study in Business Communication, Media and Communication Studies, Film Studies, and Popular Culture. A four-year program leading to the Bachelor of Arts (BA) Honours degree, a 4 Year BA with Major, and a three-year program leading to the BA Pass degree is offered in all four programs. Majors in the Department may complete a Concentration in Digital Culture. Minor programs are available in Digital Culture, Film Studies, Media Studies and Popular Culture for majors in other Departments/Centres as well as a Certificate in Film Studies. In addition, the Department is involved in programs with community colleges which offer students the opportunity to earn a BA Honours Communication Studies, BA Honours Popular Culture or a BA with Major Film Studies degree and a college diploma or certificate.

Communication Studies
Business Communication
Students in Business Communication must attain a minimum 65 percent major average to continue in the program. Business Communication is an interdisciplinary program combining the study of communication with a study of some aspects of business. The program aims to equip the student with a sound theoretical basis for analysing and practicing communication within the business environment.

Media and Communication Studies
Media and Communication Studies is an interdisciplinary program that focuses on the impact of media and communication in the creation of meaning, identity and social change, emphasizing the study of media content, audiences and institutions in their political, economic, and social contexts in Canada and elsewhere.

Film Studies
Film Studies is a sequence of critical and historical courses that examine a variety of approaches to film. The courses explore the nature of film language and develop an analytical perspective on film as both an art and a medium. Other courses explore issues and theories in popular culture. Students may have opportunities to engage in media production in selected upper year courses.

Study the “science of choice” — learning how limited resources can best be used to meet the needs of individuals and society. You’ll look at how individual consumers choose to spend their time and money, and how producers predict and respond to consumer needs.

You’ll gain an understanding of the economy as a whole, from the banking system, unemployment, government debt and taxation, to international trade and exchange rates, and natural resource use and conservation.

Co-op Education
The path to a successful career starts in one of Canada’s most diverse co-op programs. Co-op at Brock gives you the opportunity to apply what you learn in the classroom to real-world situations. Our students test their skills daily, gaining experience and an edge in a global economy.

We’ll prepare you for a career in Information Technology (IT), an industry that is transforming our world and workplaces. You’ll study data structures, operating systems, database systems, industry-standard programming languages, software engineering and user interfaces.

You can take specialized courses in object orientation, computer graphics, intelligent systems, computer networks, advanced Internet, neural networks, computer music (digital music), parallel computing and compiler construction.

The honors program offers two concentrations:

• Software Engineering focuses on programming and systems analysis for application development.
• Intelligent Systems focuses on making computers solve problems that normally require human intelligence to solve.

We’ve teamed up with the School of Applied Computing and Engineering Sciences at Sheridan College to develop a program where you may complete your Brock degree and a three-year diploma in Telecommunications Technology from Sheridan College in just 4.5 years.

The program caters to the demand for professionals with a solid foundation in software development, as well as practical technical skills in system security, telecommunications, network analysis and administration.

You’ll spend three terms at Brock studying the foundations of computer science, followed by three terms at Sheridan College studying network communications in a hands-on environment. The final two terms alternate between Brock and Sheridan.

Our Master of Arts program is designed to integrate these important elements in an educational experience promoting a high level of expertise and professionalism.

We currently offer opportunities for graduate studies in Applied Linguistics for those interested in the field of Teaching English as a Second/Subsequent Language (TESL), as well as for those with an interest in applying linguistics more generally, or to other domains, including Speech Communication Disorders.

Graduates of this professional program will be well-prepared to become TESL professionals, practicing in Canada or abroad AND/OR prepared for future graduate pursuits in fields related to Applied Linguistics, including Speech-Language Pathology.

BRIDGED ENTRY — COURSE-BASED OR MAJOR RESEARCH PAPER (FOR APPLICANTS WHO NEED EXTRA ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPPORT).
Our unique Bridged Entry program is designed for students who would benefit from further assistance using academic English, providing hands-on, preparatory instruction plus one-on-one mentoring throughout the academic year.

While course work is taken with the Direct Entry students at the same academic and professional level, Bridged Entry students have an additional preparatory course (LING 5N01) running from the beginning of July to the end of August before coursework begins. This preparatory course covers topics from academic integrity to the appropriate construction of an academic paper for applied linguistics. In addition, from September to August, Bridged Entry students have regular access to a Writing Mentor who is able to help with the mechanics of writing effective research papers, essays and other assignments.