Bachelor of Arts in English (Co-op Optional)

at Cape Breton University Canada

Our communities are the threads that tie our country together. From helping to build a strong economic engine, to facilitating the cultivation of our healthy food, each community plays an important role in the development of our society. The Cape Breton community, although small in size, is big in opportunity. Here, you’re free to explore a welcoming island with warm people who see the same potential in you as you do in them.

The MBA in CED offers a leading edge curriculum that includes all business subjects found in traditional MBA programs, with an emphasis on economic development, leadership, governance and management of change. The program resonates with people who aspire to play leadership roles in the private, public and community sectors.

There are many MBA programs around the globe. However, the program found here at Cape Breton University is the only one in Canada that includes community economic development at its core. It’s for people who want to make a difference where they live and work. Here, we teach the lessons that inspire students to make a positive change wherever they go. The MBA in Community Economic Development has been offered by the Shannon School of Business at CBU since 1997.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Advanced analytical and strategy skills
• Advanced interpersonal and communication skills
• Advanced research skills
• Application of an international perspective to risks and opportunities in managerial decisions
• Integrated knowledge through interdisciplinary approaches
• Management of change, growth, and new opportunities
• Strategic leadership
• Understanding of the role of business and community in affecting the economy, quality of life, health, and the environment
• Understanding of community economic development and business

Take one step onto the breathtaking shores of Cape Breton Island and you’ll instantly realize this is a place where philosophy and nature come together to create a unique learning environment. CBU’s modern facilities and accessible faculty make every day a valuable learning experience. Students from more than 40 countries around the world come to learn the lessons they need to plot their path into the future.

Philosophy at CBU helps you create a customized compass for navigating the intellectual, ethical and emotional complexities of life. Engaging philosophically with the world around you can provide a sense of overall direction which is essential for personal, social and professional growth. In the process, students benefit from exceptional training in the art of logical reasoning.

Many of Canada’s top lawyers, writers, business people, and other professionals have undergraduate degrees in philosophy. That means you can trust the skills you learn here to take you well into the future.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• High-level critical thinking skills
• Analytical writing skills
• Ability to discuss complex ideas effectively
• Knowledge of diverse world views & intellectual traditions
• Expertise in understanding contemporary ethical issues

Why study at CBU?
In an ever-changing electronic age, philosophical expertise is essential for untangling the complications of core ethical and legal concepts, such as privacy, self-identity and intellectual property. That’s why, when you’re studying philosophy at CBU, you take a case study approach to examine problems in law, business and other areas that cannot be resolved by simply applying familiar principles and practices.

Our approachable, friendly faculty help you build the solid foundation you need for success in the future. Because of their experience, CBU is a place you can come to learn answers to the world’s toughest questions. For example, are there justifiable limits to the bio-engineering of human life? Does science provide “all the answers?” What roles do love, appreciation of art, athletic achievement, or other experiences play in life? And, in an increasingly virtual world, is it worth trying to distinguish genuine (or “real”) from fake experiences? Once you have the skills CBU prepares you with in our Philosophy program, you can truly go anywhere your passion for success takes you.

Nothing is more important to our overall health than the food we put inside our bodies. With an incredible amount of access to instructors, and a global community on campus, you gain a unique perspective on how proper nutrition can make a difference anywhere in the world. Our modern facilities and inclusive culture give you the space and freedom to chart your own course in nutrition.

Additionally, the nutrition transfer option focuses on preparing students for entry into the third year of a BSc in Nutrition at a specified university. The first two years completed at Cape Breton University allow students to gain a background in the nutritional sciences by taking courses in biology, microbiology, anatomy, physiology, chemistry, nutrition, statistics, the humanities, the social sciences and business.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Food labelling
• Canada’s food guide
• Food security and the factors affecting it
• Chemistry of nutrition
• Relationship of nutrition to disease prevention and management

Why study at CBU?

• Aside from the incredible island lifestyle and the world-class facilities, you get the opportunity to interact with our faculty and lab instructors on a one-on-one basis. Get the individualized attention and support you need from experienced faculty. This kind of support is critical for your success.
• Nutrition courses at CBU provide an excellent overview of normal and clinical nutritional science. Professors and laboratory assistants provide around-the-clock support and opportunities to gain hands-on experience, while intellectually challenging students along the way.

Help contribute to a future we can all be proud of with a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Environment (BASE). CBU’s first fully interdisciplinary degree, the BASE program takes advantage of the natural resources available among the breathtaking scenery on Cape Breton Island. The BASE program reflects a university-wide commitment to teaching and research in environment and sustainability, and is enriched by Indigenous perspectives.

With dedicated professors and unprecedented research opportunities, the breadth of the BASE program ensures graduates have wide-ranging skill sets. When you enroll in BASE, you are immersed in three streams simultaneously: a science concentration; an arts/social science concentration; and a core set of environment-themed courses specially designed for this program.

Each year, the themes of these courses may change to reflect our world-class faculty’s specialties or timely environmental issues. Respect for, and inclusion of, Indigenous knowledge is a guiding principle of BASE. All students will have the opportunity to take Mi’kmaq Studies courses toward their degree, preparing you to be an active and responsible agent in the development of sustainable environmental practices.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Communication and writing in science and arts/humanities fields.
• Critical thinking skills.
• Experience in multiple academic disciplines.
• Solid background in science and arts/humanities/social science.
• Deep knowledge of relevant environmental issues.

Why study at CBU?

• This dynamic program attracts students from around the globe who are passionate about making a positive impact on the ever-changing world around them.
• The BASE program was developed with two primary objectives: to bridge the arts and sciences; and to provide a unique education in environmental issues and sustainability.
• The entire island is yours to explore. That’s why you’ll find learning outcomes include knowledge about local and global environmental issues, as well as practical skills in writing, and quantitative and qualitative analysis. Plus, the fluid communication of ideas in a small-knit community means your hard work will get noticed. At its core, this program prepares students to consider environmental issues from a broad range of angles, and to develop interdisciplinary approaches to creating solutions.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

• Field Course (ENVS3104)
• Volunteer and extracurricular opportunities (e. CBU Environmental Society, Science Atlantic Environment Conference)
• Co-op option, examples include:
  • Parks Canada technical positions
  • Parks Canada Outreach and Education positions
  • ACAP
  • Cape Breton Fish Harvesters Association technical positions
  • CBU research assistantships
  • Tourism organizations outreach positions

With increasing public interest in food and health, human nutrition is a dynamic field with new career opportunities emerging. CBU Human Nutrition students graduate with a strong scientific background in foods and nutrition, combined with social science perspectives, communication skills and understandings of ways to effect individual and social change.

On Cape Breton Island, you’ll find the path to your successful future by discovering today’s world of psychology. With students coming to study at CBU from over 40 countries around the world, our diverse campus of thought leaders set the stage for your future success.

Psychology courses at CBU emphasize the genetic, physiological, sensory, cognitive, personality-based and social structures that mediate behaviour and mental processes. As the science that examines the structure and function of behaviour and mental processes, we’re proud to offer relevant programs for today’s world.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Understanding of mental health
• Learn theories and history of psychology
• General research skills·
• Specific knowledge to your specialization

Why study at CBU?

• At CBU, our comprehensive curriculum focuses on understanding individual behaviour so you can apply your skills to a wide variety of opportunities in the field of psychology. Studying psychology here will provide you with the skills you need to think, be innovative and design your own experiments to answer your own questions. You will critique work, yours and others, as well as conduct and report on experiments to help build a foundation for tomorrow.
• With modern facilities and breathtaking scenery, not many places in the world can offer what Cape Breton Island can offer. Plus, with accessible and experienced faculty, CBU encourages active research alongside your professors.
• Because hard work and dedication are noticed here, students are often hired as research assistants to help professors in their duties. Here, we also believe that what we learn from psychological research can be used to understand past, current, or future events. That means the knowledge you gain at CBU can also help analyze mental health issues, and improve education, employment and relationships.
• Our Honours Psychology Program (BA, BSc, or BACS) provides advanced training in research methods, statistical analysis, as well as guaranteed one-on-one thesis supervision. This program prepares students wishing to go on to graduate school or professional programs.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

• Directed study course work
• Co-op opportunities
• Working as a research assistant

One look at island life and it becomes clear: CBU is a special place that is focused and determined to make the world a better place. The passion for innovation and collaboration runs deep in our history and fuels our future.

The engineering transfer program is offered at CBU on an associate basis with Dalhousie University. CBU is one of the few Associated Universities to offer the first two years of all seven engineering disciplines. These include civil, environmental, mineral resource, electrical, industrial, mechanical and chemical engineering. We deliver the first two years of the four-year Bachelor of Engineering program.

The first year of the program is common for all seven discipline options. At the end of the first year, you must make a decision on a specialty. Application is made at this time to both CBU and Dalhousie for a seat in the particular discipline of choice.

During year two, you will be registered at both CBU and Dalhousie University.

Students can also combine a BSc in either chemistry or mathematics with the Engineering Diploma. This program requires a third year of study at CBU to complete the BSc, followed by two years at Dalhousie University to complete the BEng.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Reduce complex problems using appropriate assumptions.
• Identify appropriate engineering tools for real-world problems.
• Learn to plan for safety and sustainability issues.
• Explain interactions between technical systems in various contexts.
• Become an effective leader and team member.

Why study at CBU?

• Our friendly, welcoming, respectful community helps engineering students connect solutions with real-world problems.
• By starting the BEng Transfer Program at a smaller institution, students get individualized attention and support from experienced faculty, which is critical for success.
• CBU is home to the newest Engineering Department in Nova Scotia, and second in size only to Dalhousie University. CBU is also one of the few Associated Universities to offer the first two years of all eight engineering disciplines.

Communication helps the world work together. It helps people see the world more clearly, and helps to create mutual understanding. This is especially true when your world is an island wonderland filled with unlimited opportunity and intellectual resources. That’s Cape Breton and this is CBU – a place where you can learn to communicate with efficiency, respect and effectiveness. Here, you leverage your naturally existing communication skills to amplify and expand your other communication-based talents.

Clear and creative communication is critically important for safe, stable communities and workplaces. That’s why we’re proud to say Cape Breton University offers the only communication major in the Maritimes.

The theories and skills learned in our program are essential for successful careers, healthy relationships and the development of a deep understanding of communication and its functions in society. Through our on-campus and distance courses, communication students explore various areas of interpersonal and public communication, media studies and cultural studies. These dynamic and energetic environments allow students to develop the skills and knowledge base needed to critically examine and understand communication in all aspects of society.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Critical thinking and reflection skills
• Conflict management / resolution
• Effective public speaking skills
• Effective interpersonal communication skills
• Media literacy and analytic approaches to media messages
• Leadership, team building and collaborative working skills
• Ability to apply communication theory in wide-ranging contexts

Why study at CBU?

• At CBU, our modern facilities and experienced faculty guide you through the intricacies of communication. This includes areas that touch on relationships, communities, culture, history and technology. We believe communication is ever-changing and evolving, so our faculty continue to stay up-to-date by exploring the impact that new technologies, practices and forms have on our daily lives.
• With the guidance of a communication lab peer facilitator, students work in small groups and participate in dynamic, hands-on activities and discussions. These discussions help them put into practice the communication theories and skills they study in the classroom. Peer facilitators are upper-level students who have excelled in their studies and have a passion for helping other students develop as communicators. Peer facilitators take our communication facilitation courses and receive training to gain personal and professional experience in this unique leadership role.

The history along the ancient east coast of Canada is rich and rewarding for those who dive into the legend and lore. That’s why we’re so proud to not only teach history – but to make it. With students studying here from more than 40 countries around the globe, the historical and cultural knowledge base is wonderfully vast and incredibly diverse.

Home to faculty who are award-winning teachers and cutting-edge researchers, the history program at CBU offers a unique perspective on this intriguing field of study. Our approachable and experienced faculty facilitate the study of history by teaching students to think about the past and the present in equal parts. Historians analyze the causes and consequences of change over time, yet the study of history also takes the present into account – seeking to expand our knowledge of our own experiences through a deeper understanding of the past.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Research skills
• Communication skills
• Understanding of history

Why study at CBU?

• From the cornerstones of our historic culture, students will learn how life is forged into the future by an interwoven series of past events.
• Thought-provoking material and a diverse course selection are offered through unique courses that provide a variety of ways to study and a range of experiences in and out of the classroom.
• Enjoy a more personal post-secondary education experience with accessible and experienced faculty, and ample opportunities to work as a research assistant conducting original, independent research throughout your degree.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

• Hands-on Internship Program
• Work experience at Beaton Institute or CBU Art Gallery
• Travel with International Exchange Programs

Cape Breton University offers a vast array of skill based programs and degrees which are in high demand in the world. The Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Chain Supply Management is one such skill based program which deals with the multiple facets of supply chain and the way it shapes up the economy of the world.  The said diploma provides the students’ opportunities to work in professional environment learning about challenges faced in companies while transporting goods and services, increase organizational efficiency, managing information, finances and various other fields.

The supply chain management students’ helps students learn about the whole process of supply starting from manufacturing to the supplier and the retailer and eventually to the user. Logistics is a vital field which continues to grow by the clock; the supply chain includes 767,000 workers from a range of occupations and industries with over 35,000 job openings in the marketplace. Students can also go for a co-operative education program or an internship to get a taste of the professional world. CBU is the only school at the East coast of Canada that offers the said diploma.

What skills will I gain from this program?

• Understand the effect of external environments (political, legal, market, sector) on business
• Use managerial accounting to make resource management decisions that maximize value
• Conduct industry analysis, identify opportunities and propose product/services offerings
• Integrate technical knowledge of management, incorporating theoretical concepts in managing people, operations and finances
• Address management issues in workplace contexts, showing initiative and applying judgement