Bachelor of Arts (Major) in General Studies

at Kwantlen Polytechnic University - Richmond Campus Canada

The Bachelor of Arts, Major in General Studies degree program provides you with the opportunity to develop a degree program that suits your unique interests, combining courses across different Arts disciplines. Working with an Arts Degree Advisor, you can create a personal program of study that helps you reach specific career and personal goals, intentionally developing a broad interdisciplinary liberal arts education. Completing this degree will normally involve a selection of courses from a number of departments that form around a unifying theme.

The program includes:-

• Development of disciplinary knowledge, core competencies, and transferable skills characteristic of traditional Bachelor of Arts programs
• Preparation for entry into the labour market by incorporating essential and employability skills in all courses
• Increasing your capacity to respond innovatively to emerging trends in society
• Opportunities for forging connections within the South Fraser region by completing research, volunteering, or working in your field of interest while completing your KPU degree

The Accounting Certificate program prepares graduates for entry-level bookkeeping and accounting positions in the work force, or to pursue an Accounting Diploma.

The Certificate program includes an intense concentration of introductory and intermediate courses in financial and management accounting, one course in math, one course in finance, and two courses in tax. The Accounting Certificate is carefully aligned with the requirements of the Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting (BBA), Accounting Diploma and the CPA accounting designations.

Introductory financial accounting is a prerequisite for other required accounting courses making it necessary to study for at least three semesters to earn all required credits for an Accounting Certificate.

The goal of the Bachelor of Arts Major in Anthropology Program at KPU is to prepare students for life, work, and research in diverse local and global communities. At KPU we offer two streams of study: Archaeology-Biological and Social-Cultural. The Archaeology-Biological stream has a unique component in that our current anthropology field school involves direct interaction at a high level with First Nations communities and Anthropology professionals, and has been endorsed by the British Columbia Association of Professional Archaeologists, the first such endorsement in Canada. The Social-Cultural stream prepares students for a knowledge- and information-based economy in a world that is increasingly globally interconnected. Learning in this area of our field is conducted through a high degree of community service work involving brokering between divergent stakeholders. The emphasis of Anthropologists at KPU is the applied aspect of our profession. Our teaching is realized through hands-on activities, lab work, and community events whose experience has the ultimate goal of understanding any aspect of humans and their activities.

Fine Arts offer a two-year Diploma Program and a one-year Certificate Program, both of which are designed to enable students to acquire a solid foundation in the basic skills of visual arts. Selected courses and groups of courses within the Diploma program may be applied to a 3rd year entry into the KPU Fine Arts BFA, Visual Arts or university transfer credit in Fine Arts and Education.

Upon completion of the two-year diploma program at KPU, graduates will have acquired both intellectual and technical skills to work effectively with a wide range of media. With these skills, students can continue to develop their creative potential individually, through the BFA, Visual Arts program, or at another post-secondary institution. Most Fine Arts credits are university transferable.
The department recommends that students consider a course of study that includes specializing in one or more areas such as ceramics, painting, drawing, photography, print media, sculpture, and digital media.

The Bachelor of Science in Applied Psychology is ideal for students interested in pursuing a health sciences career. This is also the Psychology degree program most suited for students who have an interest in neuroscience, particularly at the graduate level. The BSc is the most interdisciplinary of our psychology degrees, exposing students to biology, chemistry, math, and physics in addition to a broad array of psychology courses. This degree is also very “hands-on” with students being exposed to lab and research experiences as well as developing technical writing skills and workplace expertise.

The degree was developed in close connection with employers in the field and community partners, and has an applied focus that prepares students for employment upon graduation, for research-focused graduate studies, or for entry into professional programs of study. Many courses within this program have a lab component. The program takes a systems/ecological approach, recognizing the interrelationships between humans and their environments.

As part of their upper-level coursework, students will take courses across three main topical areas within Psychology:

• Research skills;
• Biological psychology; and
• Health psychology.

The degree will be embedded throughout with psychological application, including hands-on lab experience and courses focusing on human interaction with and use of modern technology, professional business practices, and technical writing. Students also participate in a workplace practicum coordinated by KPU and co-supervised by faculty and employers in relevant fields of employment. This practicum placement will assist students in gaining workplace experience and in meeting potential future employers.

Students interested in applying to graduate school or who prefer a more extensive research experience are encouraged to apply to the Honours program. 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. B.Sc. in Applied Psychology students can complete the Honours program within the 40 courses required for the degree.

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.

Concentration in English at the Associate level is an excellent foundation for a variety of careers and further studies. Those who wish to pursue a B.A. Major or Minor in English are encouraged to take a variety of English courses within an Associate of Arts degree.

Transfer to a Bachelor of Arts Program:-
Students who complete the Associate of Arts degree in English are eligible for admission to KPU's Bachelor of Arts, Major or Minor in English programs, as well as to KPU's Bachelor of Arts programs in other areas, as long as other third year entry requirements are met.
Students who receive an Associate of Arts degree in English from KPU will also have appropriate course coverage to be eligible to enter the English Major program at any other university in British Columbia. (UBC has additional requirements that students will need to complete, and UVic strongly recommends that students also have reading knowledge of a second language; however, direct entry is available into the B.A. English programs at most other institutions, including SFU.)

Advanced 3D Animation and 3D Modelling is a full-time, two-year, cohort program focused on the fundamentals of 3D Animation and 3D Modelling. Students will study various department specializations, such as 3D animation (character and creature), rigging, 3D modelling and sculpting, and texturing and surfacing. The program also touches on the fundamentals of storytelling through acting and visual composition, look development and the basics compositing. The program also teaches students the fundamentals of pre- and postproduction, critical analysis and review, realistic production schedules, team work, soft skills and how to interact with other departments within the postproduction pipeline. A wide range of industry standard software and tools, processes, and workflows are taught to the students. Students will create and compile a portfolio of shots or still life images in the form of a demo reel.

The 3D animation courses focus on animation principles, while integrating rigging, basic scripting, cloth simulation, body mechanics and animation for characters, inanimate objects and creatures.

In the 3D modelling courses students will learn the latest industry techniques in the fields of hard surface modelling, sculpting, texturing and surfacing.

While starting with the observation of traditional drawing and sculpting techniques, students will take these skills into their 3D models, environments and 3D animations. The integration of look development, shading and compositing fundamentals helps bring both 3D models and animations together for polished, final compositions.

The Advanced 3D Animation and 3D Modelling program is best suited for students that display an artistic or creative background. A foundation in technical and/or software skills is also beneficial.

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 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.