Bachelor of Arts in English

at Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Langley Campus Canada

The two-year General Business Studies Diploma is a flexible diploma option, allowing individuals to select a variety of areas of study in the School of Business once they have fulfilled the core requirements of the program.

The Bachelor of Arts, Major in History, will provide you with the opportunity to study the many peoples and cultures whose contributions have created the world in which we live today.
Our BA degree allows you to develop the knowledge and core competencies characteristic of a traditional BA program, while preparing you to respond creatively and innovatively to a range of challenges in our community and our world. You will gain the literacy and analytical competencies demanded by twenty-first century employers. Equally importantly, you will become a better-informed citizen of our increasingly interconnected world.

As a History student you will benefit from our faculty's commitment to teaching excellence and from the small class sizes at KPU.
In our lower-level courses, you will begin to build the critical thinking, intercultural, and analytical competencies necessary to succeed in upper level history courses. At the upper-level, you will undertake in-depth studies of particular areas or important themes in global development. Please see the History website at www.kpu.ca/arts/history for more information on our thematic streams.

The Bachelor of Arts Major in Psychology is a traditional degree focusing on core areas in psychology including biopsychology, cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, social/personality psychology, and clinical/abnormal psychology. As KPU’s flagship Psychology degree program, the BA is a flexible degree that allows students to explore many different content areas of psychology as well as other areas within the social sciences and humanities. Because of the flexibility of the program, BA students have the opportunity to consult with advisors, faculty and peers to determine their own degree specialization. The emphasis is on transferrable skills, including critical thinking, writing, group work, and oral presentations. Students also have the option of completing a workplace practicum coordinated by KPU and co-supervised by faculty and employers in relevant fields of employment.

Those interested in further study and graduate school or who prefer more extensive research experience may augment their knowledge and skills by taking the research-focused Honours program in Psychology. The Honours program affords students an opportunity to develop and report on a research project under the direct supervision of a faculty member within the Psychology Department.

The Associate of Arts in Geography is a two-year Human Geography program. It establishes a solid base of conceptual knowledge and applied skills supporting further study in Geography, engaged citizenship, and introductory employment in the public and private sectors. The curriculum combines topical coursework in introductory human geography and urban geography, and lab-science courses in earth science and atmospheric science. The curriculum also provides students with options for focused study of a variety of regions, and develops foundational skills in using computerized Geographic Information Systems (GIS) hardware and software to analyze and present spatial data.

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 Associate of Arts Degree (AA) in Asian Studies will introduce you to the discipline and prepare you for further study. By completing the AA Degree you will gain a broader understanding of the world in which you live and will become a more informed and engaged citizen. You can choose to focus on a particular geographic region; however, we recommend that you complete as broad a range of courses as possible.

Asian Studies courses involve a significant amount of reading and writing; therefore, it is strongly recommended that you complete your English requirements within your first two semesters.

The Bachelor of Arts, Major in English program focuses on the diverse literatures of the English-speaking world, including the full range of British, Canadian, and American literary traditions, diasporic literature and literature in translation, oral and written Indigenous narratives, and classic and contemporary film. This degree will allow students to develop the knowledge, core competencies, and skills characteristic of a traditional Bachelor of Arts program, while preparing them to respond critically and creatively to a wide range of issues and challenges in our community and in society in general. In addition to critical reading, writing and thinking skills, students who complete a Bachelor of Arts in English will be prepared for entry into the labour market through the incorporation of essential employability skills into all of our courses. They will also benefit from the expertise and the commitment to teaching excellence of our faculty, as well as from the small class sizes that characterize undergraduate study at KPU. Arts degrees have high levels of student satisfaction, and the literacy and analytical skills developed in such programs will prepare students to become constructive members of society and to fit well into the workplace.

The Bachelor of Arts, Major in Asian Studies degree will allow you to develop the competencies characteristic of a traditional BA program while preparing you to respond creatively to the challenges you will encounter in an increasingly interconnected world. In this four-year interdisciplinary program, you will not only acquire practical skills that you can employ in your multicultural communities locally, you will also develop the intellectual and cultural competencies required to operate successfully in a world where the nations of East and South Asia are increasingly influential.

As an Asian Studies student you will begin your first year of studies with courses that introduce you to Asian Studies as a discipline and to the countries and cultures of East and South Asia. These courses will begin to build the critical thinking, communication, and intercultural competencies that will allow you to succeed in more advanced courses. As you progress to more narrowly defined regional and thematic courses, you will examine in greater depth the societies, cultures, political systems, economies, and histories of the peoples and nations of South and East Asia, as well as their interactions with Canada and the rest of the world.

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

Advanced VFX (Virtual Production) is a full-time, two-year, cohort program focused on the fundamentals of Visual Effects and the integration of Virtual Production workflows and pipelines. Students will study numerous specializations in VFX, such as modeling, sculpting, texturing/surfacing, lighting, compositing, and FX. The program also integrates virtual production workflows into these departments and courses by introducing the Unreal Engine. Unreal and other virtual production software and tools are used in the preparation, modification, and filming of VFX assets, in-camera. By replicating real-world fundamentals of virtual production and its fast-paced work environment of real-time rendering, artists are trained to be equipped both artistically and technically in the realm of quick problem solving, teamwork and collaboration. The fundamentals of cinematography, data acquisition, matchmove, photography and real-world lighting are also explored before they are taken into the 3D, virtual space. In advanced studies, 3D matte painting is introduced as a hybrid of 2D and 3D images for set extensions, for use in both traditional VFX and VFX for virtual production. Basic scripting is used in various software packages, such as Unreal, Nuke, Houdini and other industry leading software to optimize artists’ workflows. The program also teaches students the fundamentals of pre- and post-production, critical analysis and review, realistic production schedules, team work and soft skills. It also teaches students how to interact with other VFX departments, both on set and in studio.

A wide range of industry standard software and tools, processes, and workflows are taught to the students for both traditional VFX and VFX for virtual production. Students will create a portfolio of VFX shots in the form of a demo reel. Demo reel shots may be solely the student’s own creations, or the result of a collaborative group project(s).

The Advanced VFX (Virtual Production) program is best suited for students that display an artistic or creative background. A foundation in technical and or software skills is also beneficial. These artistic, creative and technical skills serve as a foundation for challenging roles in the VFX and game development industries.