Bachelor of Journalism and Humanities

at Carleton University Canada

Carleton is home to the oldest and largest BA program in law in Canada. In the program, you will acquire a strong understanding of the dynamics of law, including its rules, agents, institutions and power structures. You will study legal theory and its application in everyday life and you will be taught by award-winning researchers and extensively published professors. Carleton’s proximity to Canada’s important public institutions, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, Parliament and the Department of Justice can lead to unique work and volunteer opportunities for our students. As an Honours student, you will have the choice of a concentration in Law, Policy and Government; Business Law; or Transnational Law and Human Rights.

Computational Biochemistry allows you to complement your studies in biochemistry with a rigorous program in computer science, mathematics, computational methods and data analysis. It will give you a strong background in core areas of biology and chemistry such as genetics, cell biology, organic chemistry and analytical chemistry. You will take a variety of lecture and laboratory biochemistry courses, including bioinformatics. Optional courses allow you to focus on areas such as molecular genetics, pharmaceutic drug design, functional genomics and protein structure and function.

Carleton’s Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) is a wide-ranging and career-focused program that will provide you with the skills required to succeed in the rapidly changing worlds of medicine, biomedical research and healthcare research. You will gain a strong foundation in the scientific knowledge and methods involved in the study of human health, along with the capacity to engage in broader multidisciplinary, multi-sector, and multicultural approaches to finding solutions to some of the most crucial health issues of our time.

Disability and Chronic Illness
This concentration is unique to Carleton. It introduces you to the biomedical, social and psychological basis of chronic illnesses and explores treatment strategies to enable productive and healthy lives. Chronic illnesses and disabilities affect the quality of life of a large number of people and include heart disease, cancer, chronic pain conditions, mental health problems and physical disabilities. You will learn about biomedical, cognitive and technological advances, as well as the ethical dilemmas affecting intervention and treatment.

There is an increasing demand for clean sources of energy such as nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower and biomass energies. Truly sustainable development, however, will require the clever integration of renewable energy technologies into existing infrastructure, along with vastly improved efficiencies in non-renewable energy use. This program provides analytical and hands-on skills for designing, building, operating and enhancing sustainable energy systems that combine energy generation, distribution and utilization in an environmentally responsible and economically beneficial manner.

Carleton’s Pauline Jewett Institute of Women’s and Gender Studies offers a program that engages students in critically understanding the key issues of feminist scholarship and their relationship to our lived experience. Students have the opportunity to engage in activist activities, study gender in courses across disciplines, and do a practicum placement with feminist groups from inside and outside the Carleton community. Central to our program is the consideration of how gender intersects with race, class, ethnicity, age, ability and sexuality. Students explore the practices and processes that impact on women’s and men’s lives in historical, socio-economic, cultural and political contexts.

Psychologists study the mechanisms that underlie our thoughts, emotions and behaviours. They examine a diverse range of topics, such as how we think and learn, how we interact with others and how we can promote healthy development and wellness. This is accomplished by conducting research so that the knowledge gained can help us to better understand the human mind, enhance well-being and performance, and generate additional research questions.

All of our undergraduate Psychology programs provide opportunities to explore psychology’s major areas within the context of an active and diverse research environment. Our honours programs offer six concentrations for students wishing to focus on one of these major areas.

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Health Psychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Social and Personality Psychology

In the Bachelor of Humanities, students read the world’s most influential books and explore the world’s most exciting ideas in art, philosophy, history, literature, classics, music, religion and science.

In this interdisciplinary Liberal Arts program, students study the world’s greatest ideas, books, and art works produced by thinkers from the span of recorded world history— from ancient Mesopotamia to modern America. The emphasis of the program is on ideas, explored through small discussion groups and writing assignments. The typical Humanities student loves to read, and is excited about sharing ideas with students and professors.

Cinema is examined in Carleton’s Film Studies program as an art form, an entertainment, and a documentary record of our time. Through a variety of critical approaches, you will study the history and aesthetics of film and other moving-image media, the main currents and developments in filmmaking, and the works of some of the world’s best filmmakers. Other areas of study include the documentary and the musical; animation; experimental film and digital media; African, Japanese, Indian, European and Canadian cinema; film theory; film technology; and silent cinema.

You will also examine broader questions of culture and hone your critical, research and analytical skills. Students in their fourth year can also take advantage of the practicum program in which they can get real-world experience working in archival research, film preservation, programming, exhibition or production work at institutions such as the Canadian Film Institute, the Ottawa International Animation Festival and the SAW Gallery. Moreover, you will have the opportunity to express your artistic vision and create audiovisual essays through our “Moving Image Practice” courses.

The Bachelor of Architectural Studies (Urbanism) program explores architecture as a component of the larger built environment. The curriculum is designed to promote stewardship of communities by examining the forms they take, the forces that produce them, and the ways they affect us. Courses explore the impact of demographic, ecological, economic and social changes on the urban core and the expanding periphery. Students analyze patterns of human settlement over time in relation to culture, climate, technology, political systems, infrastructure, economic forces and global ecology. 

Drawing and computer modeling courses in the lower years prepare students to explore urban design in upper-level studios. In addition to designing individual buildings and spaces, Urbanism majors explore architecture and urban space at the scale of the block, neighborhood, city and region.  Projects challenge students to consider the architect’s role in accommodating diversity, contributing to the quality of life, and promoting the health of society and the natural environment.

In addition to courses common to all BAS majors, Urbanism students take specialized courses  including several in Geography, History, and Canadian Studies. Upper-level studios include a Directed Studies Abroad (DSA) option. As with all BAS majors, Urbanism students may opt to participate in the Co-Op program. The Urbanism program prepares graduates for advanced studies and careers in Architecture, Planning, Urban Design, Landscape Architecture and other disciplines

Carleton’s innovative philosophy programs offer courses ranging over the history of philosophy, ethics and social/political philosophy, philosophy of mind and language, metaphysics and epistemology. Starting in first year, you will have the opportunity to take a seminar class (of 30 students) that challenges you to develop your skills in reading philosophical texts and making philosophical arguments. In second year, you will take two courses that are offered just for philosophy majors, ensuring that you have the skills you need to do your best. In fourth year, you will study in seminar classes where the professors share with you, at your level, the new knowledge that they are helping to create.