Associate of Arts in Geography

at Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Langley Campus Canada

The Landscape Horticulture Systems program provides students an understanding of the landscape as an integrated network of various living and non-living systems including soil, plants, insects, fungi and the humans and animals that inhabit these landscapes.

The Landscape Horticulture Systems specialization provides students opportunities to learn basic horticulture science and develop valuable applied skills through hands on learning in the Kwantlen Polytechnic University Langley campus and local landscapes. With the knowledge gained by studying basic botany, plant identification, and soil science and plant heath, students learn how different elements and inputs interact and impact the function and sustainability of the landscape. Students learn to resolve and reduce the consequences of local landscape garden problems by applying their knowledge of landscape applications, pest management, and landscape construction, design and maintenance, including arboriculture and cost-estimating.

Graduates of the Landscape Horticulture Systems diploma program are highly valuable employees and managers in public parks and gardens, resorts, golf courses, and private landscape maintenance, design and construction companies.

The Plant Health Major is an interdisciplinary program that combines plant pathology, entomology, and horticultural practices as part of a holistic approach to plant health protection. The program emphasizes sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) practices including cultural control, biological control, and surveys/scouting, as tools supporting overall management of pests such as insects, weeds and organisms that cause plant disease.

Students address the impacts of plant health issues on the local, regional, and international practice of horticulture. The recognition of plant health, the diagnosis of poor plant performance, and the analysis of plant health programs form the core educational goals. Students explore the impacts of weeds, pests, and diseases as well as the implementation of pest management tactics on the environment. A key feature of the program is the recognition of horticulture as part of international trade and the impact of moving plants, plant products and their pests or diseases globally.

The Bachelor of Horticulture Science program has the following strengths:

• Customized education through the selection of electives that support learner educational goals
• Emphasis on the economic, environmental, and social components of sustainability
• Strong connections with horticulture industry and community groups
• Development of essential skills such as teamwork, creative thinking, problem solving, and communication
• Capstone research courses which include the application of new skills to a community based issue
• Required work experience

While obtaining the benefits of study across several disciplines, students in this program concentrate on theories of crime, law, and the administration of justice in Canada. Students are immersed in a multidisciplinary approach to understanding crime in context, how different communities respond to crime in Canada, crime statistics, and different methods that can be used in researching crime and social control.

The Associate Degree is designed to provide an educational experience that prepares students for work, citizenship, and an enriched life as an educated person, and to lay a solid foundation for further study in the field of Anthropology

Anthropology is a broad discipline because its subject matter is the entirety of human diversity. Anthropologists contribute to an understanding of the human condition through interpretations of human biological and cultural variation. Anthropology is often divided into four sub-fields. Archaeology examines the past using material remains, including artifacts, skeletal material, and architecture. Social and cultural anthropology is concerned with contemporary human societies throughout the world, and their complex inter-and intra-relationships. Linguistic anthropology* examines diversity in language, including historical migrations and relationships between languages. Biological anthropology concerns human biological evolution and biological variation, including skeletal and genetic, and the interaction between human biology and our environments.

KPU Anthropology students work toward leadership-based careers integrated with local and global communities. Students will cultivate and demonstrate skills in inter- and intra-cultural communication, analysis, and both scientific and humanistic methodology.

KPU is a participant of the BCCAT Flexible Pre-major transfer agreement for Anthropology. For detailed information pertaining to the Flexible Pre-Major in Anthropology, please visit the Anthropology Department's website kpu.ca/arts/anthropology

Note: The Anthropology Department at KPU does not currently offer courses in Linguistic Anthropology. Students are encouraged to take Linguistics courses through the Department of Language and Cultures at KPU.

The Bachelor of Music in Musical Arts degree is a fusion of Western art music traditions with contemporary music practices. In addition to private lessons, music theory and history, aural musicianship and keyboard skills, and ensemble experience, practical courses such as Music Video Production, the Business of Music, Approaches to Music Education, and Psychophysiology of Music Performance, give this program an experiential dimension rarely found in traditional music programs. The program fosters students' creativity and versatility, equipping them to adapt to changing market demands and to apply learned theory and practice in a variety of cultural and service sectors.

The Bachelor of Arts Major in Sociology provides students with critical, practical and transformative studies that aim to prepare them for life and work in a diverse and globalized world. It is a flexible and well-rounded program, offering academic rigor and a solid grounding in sociology theory and research methods, and the study of societies in local and global contexts. Opportunities for engaging in applied, experiential and community-based learning are provided throughout the program.

Students may choose to gain a broad understanding of the discipline by taking courses in a wide range of sub-fields in sociology or streamline their programs by concentrating on particular subjects of interest to them such as gender and sexuality, racialized and ethnic minority groups, Indigenous studies, media and cultural studies, education, global social problems and social justice. In their final year, students may opt to hone their research skills by taking courses in Canadian and global studies with a primary research component. Or they may choose to take one of the community services courses to gain practical work experience by volunteering in an organization within the local community or participating in a field-school overseas in a developing nation. 

The two-year diploma in Business Administration will provide graduates with foundational business and professional skills, a solid grounding in economics, and a foundation in calculus appropriate for advanced studies and/or research in economics, finance and operations. The program is designed to give graduates a developed portfolio of job-ready skills and a wide range of business principles and concepts to expand the graduate's career options.

The KPU Creative Writing Department offers award-winning faculty, small class sizes, and a rigorous approach to the discipline of writing. The department is known for a strong sense of community which supports writers to discover their voice and develop their craft. Creative Writing provides learners with an excellent foundation in written communication skills as well as the development of divergent and creative thinking abilities. Graduates with these skills are highly sought in today's dynamic workplace.

Students who wish to major in Creative Writing are strongly encouraged to complete an Associate of Arts degree with a concentration in Creative Writing.

Students who receive an Associate of Arts degree in Creative Writing from KPU may have appropriate courses to enter the Creative Writing programs at the University of British Columbia (UBC), University of Victoria (UVic) or Vancouver Island University (VIU). However, program requirements and transfer of courses are set by the receiving institution. Details must be confirmed by the student. For information about transfer of credit amongst institutions in B.C. and to see how individual courses transfer, go to the BC Transfer Guide - bctransferguide.ca

The Associate of Science in General Science is tailored for students who are uncertain of the major they wish to complete and offers a broad range of science courses balanced with in-depth study in specific disciplines.

The KPU Creative Writing Department offers students a community of creativity in which writers discover a purposeful craft and explore the gifts of the imagination. We offer award-winning faculty, small class sizes, and a rigorous approach to the discipline of writing. The department is known for a strong sense of community which supports writers to discover their voice and develop their craft.

Learning in the Creative Writing Department is based on foundational principles of mentorship, discovery, purposefulness, and learner autonomy. Faculty demonstrate an authentic spirit of inquiry intended as a model for learners. In turn, learners engage with a teaching environment that is collaborative, creative, and respectful. We embrace emerging and experimental teaching methods in support of a dynamic educational community that is innovative, interdisciplinary, and socially and culturally responsible.

In the Creative Writing Department, learner engagement extends beyond the classroom to encompass learning from community and industry partners and peers. Creative Writing provides an excellent foundation in communication skills as well as the development of divergent and creative thinking abilities. Graduates with these skills are highly sought in today's dynamic workplace.