Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Sociology

at Toronto Metropolitan University Canada

The Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science (FEAS) through the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering offers the BEng in Biomedical Engineering four-year degree program. The Bachelor of Engineering, Biomedical Engineering program is accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). Our Biomedical Engineering program aims to take advantage of the strategic location of Ryerson University in proximity to Toronto's Discovery District and seven world-class hospitals.

The Department of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering in collaboration with the Departments of Aerospace Engineering, Biology, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Science, Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, and Mathematics at Ryerson University will deliver the curriculum.

According to the working definition of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), biomedical engineering integrates physical, chemical, mathematical and computational sciences and engineering principles to study biology, medicine, behaviour, and health. It advances fundamental concepts, creates knowledge from the molecular to the organ system levels, and develops innovative biologics, materials, processes, implants, devices and informatics approaches for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disease; for patient rehabilitation; and for improving health.

The Biomedical Engineering program has been developed to benefit from, enhance and expand the multidisciplinary collaboration among the various engineering and science programs at Ryerson; to attract more students of higher quality to the university and retain them, as well as enhance the reputation of engineering education at Ryerson. It will offer students excellent opportunities to build strong backgrounds in biomedical engineering and benefit from the collaborative interdisciplinary relationships between engineering and life sciences, being key strategic areas of strength at FEAS, Ryerson. The Faculty has expertise in almost all of the areas of biomedical engineering. At this point the expertise is primarily devoted to the research activities of the faculty members.

This program is run within the framework of engineering programs at Ryerson. In the first year, all engineering students are enrolled in common courses, followed by a more program-specific second term. During the second year, Biomedical Engineering students will study fundamental courses in electronic circuits, biomaterials, cell biology, physiology, engineering algorithms, digital systems, statics and mechanics of materials. In third year the students will focus in microprocessor systems, fluid mechanics, biomedical transducers, bioinformatics, biomechanics, biostatistics, signals and systems, control systems, and biomedical instrumentation. In the fourth year, the students will study a range of state-of-the-art topics in biomedical engineering, and will also be involved in a capstone design project.

Optional Co-operative Internship
Third-year full-time students may be eligible to enroll in the optional Co-operative Internship Program. Upon successful enrolment in the program and securing an approved co-op job, students are required to spend a period of 8-16 consecutive months in a work placement. After completing the requirements of the co-operative internship work placement, students return to the academic program to complete their final year of studies. Enrolment in the Co-operative Internship extends the program length to five years.

Core courses develop your competencies in communication, digital technology, critical thinking, research design, collaboration and teamwork while informing you about the economic, legal, political and technological environment in which Canadian and international creative enterprises function.

As you proceed through the program you select two Creative-Content Modules from Table II to focus your studies. These modules of six courses offer students exposure to creative fields, including film, television, live performance, music, publishing, news media and fashion. You’ll learn about the historical, artistic and production aspects of these fields while examining how they function as businesses, both domestically and globally. At the same time, you undertake a business specialization that provides you with the business, management and entrepreneurial skills vital to your future career. The interdisciplinary design of the program and the broad range of elective choice give you the flexibility to shape your studies to fit your personal interests and aspirations. You may also elect to combine your program with a minor in another discipline.

The combination of intensive practical training and academic university theory truly distinguishes Ryerson’s Performance programs. While learning to achieve their professional goals, students gain a well-rounded education in the humanities and liberal arts. They develop valuable skills in problem solving, adaptability, critical thinking, research, and communication. These skills are essential for success in the current arts and cultural industry and they enrich all facets of the student’s life.

The four-year Acting and Dance programs offer an intensive conservatory approach in performance complemented by academics which are a crucial part of the program curriculum. Actors and dancers spend a portion of each day in the studio, and each year brings fresh opportunities to perform in productions of original, innovative and established works. The program trains performers who are distinguished by their capacity to generate original artistic material and their ability to bring a rich mixture of skills into the multi-disciplinary environment. Graduates of the program will be ready for immediate entry into a wide range of performance-related careers and for future professional growth.

The Program of Study
The Performance program challenges students with creative study, critical analysis, and exciting traditional and innovative areas of application for their performance skill development.

In the tradition of all Ryerson programming, the program offers a very strong conservatory perspective to the theoretical exploration of dance or acting. There is a wide variety of practical/studio work, active learning projects, and performance-related assignments. Everyone has the opportunity to perform under the guidance of working professionals who are leaders in the artistic community.

The Core Years - Production
The first two general years of the Production program introduce the student to the multi-disciplinary and collaborative nature of production work. In core courses consisting of lectures and labs, students learn the basics of the skills required to mount a show and apply those skills in junior capacities on the School’s shows. Lecture courses include instruction in the management of the process, theatre history and the research skills required for critical thinking.

In the third and fourth years, through a large menu of lecture and lab electives, students concentrate on those areas where their interests are greatest. They take the gained knowledge with the skills learned in their first two years and apply both to their duties in more senior positions on the School’s various dance and theatre productions. Academic courses broaden the understanding of the holistic process required for producing. Students also take business and management electives to broaden their understanding of those issues.

Throughout their studies, Ryerson Computer Science students are provided with a solid foundation in and exposure to many areas of computer science, at both the systems and applications levels. Students learn to become versatile in many development methodologies and technologies. In the later years of their studies, they can opt to deepen their knowledge of a particular sub-discipline of computer science or continue broadening their knowledge of the entire field. An optional thesis in fourth year also provides high­ performing students with the opportunity to work on a capstone project or research thesis.

The skills acquired by Ryerson Computer Science students make them desirable in the computing industry. In addition to pursuing graduate studies, our graduates are employed as software engineers, IT specialists, developers, software architects, communications and network specialists, system and database administrators, or security consultants.

The combination of intensive practical training and academic university theory truly distinguishes Ryerson’s Performance programs. While learning to achieve their professional goals, students gain a well-rounded education in the humanities and liberal arts. They develop valuable skills in problem solving, adaptability, critical thinking, research, and communication. These skills are essential for success in the current arts and cultural industry and they enrich all facets of the student’s life.

The four-year Acting and Dance programs offer an intensive conservatory approach in performance complemented by academics which are a crucial part of the program curriculum. Actors and dancers spend a portion of each day in the studio, and each year brings fresh opportunities to perform in productions of original, innovative and established works. The program trains performers who are distinguished by their capacity to generate original artistic material and their ability to bring a rich mixture of skills into the multi-disciplinary environment. Graduates of the program will be ready for immediate entry into a wide range of performance-related careers and for future professional growth.

The Program of Study
The Performance program challenges students with creative study, critical analysis, and exciting traditional and innovative areas of application for their performance skill development.

In the tradition of all Ryerson programming, the program offers a very strong conservatory perspective to the theoretical exploration of dance or acting. There is a wide variety of practical/studio work, active learning projects, and performance-related assignments. Everyone has the opportunity to perform under the guidance of working professionals who are leaders in the artistic community.

The Core Years - Acting
The Acting Program provides a multidisciplinary perspective to performing through a varying combination of studies in theatre, film, television, acting techniques, voice and movement training and dance. A number of theatrical productions staged annually at Ryerson bring classroom theory to life.

Experienced directors are invited to stage well-known theatrical works for annual fully produced mainstage presentations, open to the public. Students can also present their own original works in the New Voices Festival. During the summer the students have an opportunity to study ancient Greek theatre in Greece.

The first two years introduce the fundamentals of theatre performance which include courses in Acting, Voice, Movement, Dramaturgy, Anatomy of Movement, Film Studies, Time-lines of Performance History, Canadian Theatre, Music, Elements of Production and Creative Performance Studies. Through these foundation courses, students learn to critically approach their work, to develop entrepreneurial initiative, and to find joy in the creative process.

In the third and fourth years students engage in a Study of the Classics, Clown Project, courses in Commedia dell'Arte and Character Masks. They are also assigned roles in several productions and also produce their own work. The students may further refine their career goals through professional and professionally related electives. Students may choose to focus on Business and Marketing oriented courses such as Entrepreneurship, New Venture Startup and Promotion. Electives are also available in the more traditional theatrical applications of Film Acting, Vocal or Dance Pedagogy, Audition Preparation, Directing, Musical Theatre Dance Repertoire, Dance Styles: Historical Period, Modern Social or Jazz and many other courses.

The graphic communications industry is one of the most important and the largest employers in Canada, producing visual communications in the form packaging, marketing materials, eBooks, online graphics, direct mail, point of purchase displays, books and magazines. This program prepares students for a dynamic and exciting career in graphic communications through three main pillars: Creativity and design, technology and innovation, and business and entrepreneurship. Between third and fourth year, students gain real-world experience through paid internship.

Contemporary social and environmental challenges demand coordinated responses that facilitate sustainable and equitable futures, and the health of life-supporting ecosystems. The program in Environment and Urban Sustainability is designed for students who are passionate about social and environmental issues and eager to learn about, envision, and develop innovative responses to challenges facing urban centres and surrounding interconnected resource-based communities locally and globally.

Students learn to evaluate effects of development on urban settlements and to assess and facilitate conservation and the development of sustainable responses. The program integrates the social sciences, natural sciences, and applied disciplines as related to environmental and sustainability issues.

Is the environment your passion? Understanding and managing our environment are among the defining challenges of today’s world. Governments at local, regional, provincial and national levels seek to research, understand and manage environmental issues. Companies of all types are incorporating environmental compliance into their management systems. Many citizens’ and other non-governmental organizations are active in seeking environmental change. Consultants provide the specialized skills to support them all. It is into this dynamic arena that you will move as a student in the Environment and Urban Sustainability program at Ryerson.

Scientific findings in the last fifty years have caused a massive shift in our understanding of biology. We have accumulated an atlas of thousands of genomes. Now, in the post-genomic era, we aim to understand how these genes, and the proteins encoded by these genes, are regulated and integrated in space and time at the molecular and cellular levels. These processes are fundamentally linked to health, infection and the development of disease states.

Therefore, a deep understanding of biomedical sciences, such as molecular and cell biology, genetics and genomics, and microbiology, is important for medical research, and the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Biomedical Sciences undergraduates will follow a curriculum that emphasizes the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive health and development of disease-states in all living organisms. The curriculum will also provide opportunities to learn about biomedical technology and innovation and offer versatility between theoretical and applied education so that graduates are poised to enter the workforce directly or further their education in graduate school.

The Biomedical Sciences program aims to train students in the scientific concepts, models and theories in biomedical sciences, applying the knowledge to derive and test new hypotheses and synthesize better models of knowledge. The Biomedical Sciences program is primarily hosted by the Department of Chemistry and Biology, with contributions from the Departments of Medical Physics and Psychology.

Students in science programs must enroll in SCI 180 in their first semester of studies.

Year 1 of the program primarily consists of science courses in Biology, Physics, Chemistry and Math. Year 1 is designed to give all Biomedical Sciences students a foundational understanding in science to build upon in upper years.

Year 2 is comprised of cell biology, microbiology, biochemistry and biomedical science courses, which will provide foundational knowledge in cornerstone areas of the biomedical sciences as well as being necessary for specialization and development of expertise in Years 3 and 4.

In Year 3, students will begin developing depth of knowledge by acquiring and applying advanced knowledge in biomedical sciences. This will be implemented through specific core courses that include advanced biochemistry, molecular biology and immunology.

In Year 4, students will take specialized courses in biomedical science and select electives so they can gain either a greater depth of knowledge in one area and/or develop multi-disciplinary knowledge in several areas

First Year: The BSc (Hons) in Chemistry shares a point of entry with the programs in Biology and Medical Physics. This allows students to explore various science-based routes to degree completion before they commit to the Chemistry program. In addition to foundation courses, the first year of studies will include an introduction to the use of computers as scientific tools, and an orientation course that will support students in making a successful transition to university and planning their steps to degree completion. All students in Science programs must enroll in SCI 180 in their first semester of studies.

Upper Years: Because this is a strongly applications-oriented program, a large proportion of student learning will take place in the laboratory. Lab hours account for a significant amount of learning time in every semester, supported by a solid grounding in the theory and principles of chemical science. In the upper years of the curriculum, students will focus on developing their technological expertise and exploring the research and industrial applications of chemical science. Depending on the course sequence selected they may pursue a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry, Chemistry with a Biology Minor, Chemistry with an option in Applied Physics.

Co-operative
An optional co-operative program is available which provides the graduating students with up to 20 months of work experience that enhances their organizational and technical abilities as well as their oral and written communication skills.

Although the Office of Co-operative Education cannot guarantee a placement, they provide assistance in locating suitable positions and counseling of students in their search for suitable jobs. This co-operative program enables students to earn competitive wages to offset the costs of a university education.

Students who have completed the first year of the program must apply through this department for admission to the co-operative program before the beginning of the second year. Enrolment in the co-op program is limited. Admission will be based on the student's grade point average.

Understanding the complex interconnections between people and their natural and built environments is the focus of geographic inquiry. Ryerson's Geographic Analysis program is uniquely designed to prepare students for the professional workplace using state-of-the-art technology in geographic information systems (GIS). Through a combination of classroom lectures, hands-on computer labs, field studies, and a mandatory work placement, students develop the ability to provide real-world solutions in areas such as business intelligence, retail location, real-estate development, urban growth, public health, crime prevention, as well as climate change and environmental protection. Training in geotechnology and expertise in one or several areas of geographical study make graduates of the program well-rounded academics, ready for the professional workplace or graduate studies.