Bachelor of Art in (Honours) International Development Studies (Co-op)

at Trent University Peterborough Canada

Discovering new ways to grow our food sustainably has become an increasingly crucial global challenge. By studying sustainable agriculture, we can work together to create food systems that are responsible, justice-oriented, efficient, effective, and viable. In this program, you’ll examine the links between farm and table and their implications for people, the economy, and the planet. Learn about the challenges and benefits of producing and distributing healthy, affordable food in sustainable ways, while preparing for a career in which you can affect change and positively impact your community.

Resume Boosters:-

• Make your mark in our engaged student community by joining the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Society, Trent Apiary, or Food Services Sustainability Committee
• Join a new crop of entrepreneurs working in the Trent Market Garden, which provides fresh vegetables to cafeterias right here on campus, or volunteer with the student-run organic café The Seasoned Spoon
• Work alongside leading experts in the field and complete impactful community research projects

The natural world is intrinsic to human life, but people’s experience with the environment varies widely and this impacts their values and how they learn to interact with the natural world. IESS at Trent brings together the principles of both Indigenous Knowledge and Western science to explore complex topics such as climate change, community sustainability, and Indigenous health and environment through a cross-cultural, transdisciplinary approach. This degree also offers an additional layer of exploration: co-op work terms. In the Indigenous Environmental Studies/Science Co-op stream, you will participate in three paid placements that will have you engaging in real-world leading environmental workplaces to help you chart the course of your career and consciousness of the natural world. You’ll learn to generate solutions to complex local, regional, national, and international issues facing Indigenous and all peoples and communities around the world.

Cultural Studies gives you the tools to critique and create cultural objects and practices – everything from games to graffiti, print to painting, and music to film. You’ll study culture by reading, talking, and doing, taking both lecture and workshop courses in literature, fine art, media, and theory. And you’ll ask (and seek answers to) the questions about how culture shapes our lives.

Literature and Narrative (Specialization)
How do we tell our stories? As a Cultural Studies major completing the Literature and Narrative specialization, you’ll take your studies beyond the book to look at how storytelling changes when told through theatre, oral narrative, television, and film, and how history, geography, and genre influence storytelling.

When you study English Literature at Trent you are able to pursue your passions through poetry, prose, plays and other texts. Whether you are enthusiastic about novels or enjoy the succinctness of critical writing, in English at Trent you can explore the lasting impact of how we write and share stories of the human experience. Get career-ready with creativity, critical inquiry, and strong communication skills. Explore the written word across time periods ranging from medieval romance to the Harlem renaissance to contemporary graphic fiction.

Resume Boosters

• Take your love of books global and travel to a globally-known literary heritage site - from the fjords of Norway to the paths of pilgrims in the Canterbury Tales - by competing for the Barbara Rooke Travel Prize
• Gain the skills you need to become a published author contributing to Chickenscratch, an annual anthology of creative writing that puts students in the editorial seat
• Engage with acclaimed authors, including professors and guests hosted through Trent’s Writers Reading series, and explore a range of hands-on learning experiences including dramatic performance, music, creative writing, peer-assessed active learning, or blogging
• Participate in seminar and workshop classes that provide opportunities for discussion, critical thinking, and interaction with leading scholars and teachers who care about their students

Create a unique educational focus based on your passions and interests, with an interdisciplinary knowledge base
Trent’s joint major programs give you full license to create a degree that's uniquely your own, by combining courses in the arts, sciences, or professional programs. Have a passion for social justice? Combine your Politics degree with Gender & Women’s Studies. Interested in all things tech? Join Media Studies and Computing Systems. Mix and match programs that best appeal to your interests, preparing yourself for a future with more possibility.

Combine degrees. Expand your horizons.
At Trent, you have the flexibility to combine nearly any two programs of your choice. To help you narrow it down, here’s a list of some of our most popular combinations:

• Media Studies and Psychology 
• Anthropology and History 
• English and Media Studies 
• Biology and Psychology 
• Anthropology and Psychology 
• Environmental Studies and Biology 
• Anthropology and Sociology 
• Geography and Canadian Studies 
• Computing Systems and Media Studies 
• Economics and Philosophy 
• Economics and Psychology 
• English and Psychology 
• Psychology and Sociology 
• Computing Systems and Economics 
• English and Sociology 

You can also explore the popular joint major combinations within our professional programs like Business Administration and Forensic Science.

Anthropology:-
Anthropology is the study of the human experience, from our earliest ancestors to contemporary digital society. You will learn to see humankind as complex social and biological beings with the capacity for language and culture. Drawing on insights from archaeology, and cultural, linguistic, and biological anthropology, you will explore the extraordinary variability in human adaptation, organization and belief, and how the common circumstances we face unite us.

Forensics:-
Trent is the only university in Canada to offer students the chance to combine your study of forensics with one of several different academic disciplines. Choose a joint major in forensics
in combination with a vast array of complementary areas of study in either the arts or the sciences. Interested in a career in forensics specializing in ballistics? A joint degree with Physics could come in handy. Want to analyze the mental state of criminals, or become a criminal profiler? Combine your Forensics degree with a B.A. in Psychology. The emerging field of computer forensics means a joint major with Computing Systems can help you stand out from the crowd. No matter what your forensic career ambitions are, you have plenty of options at Trent.

Politics impacts all aspects of life, and importantly, quality of life. In Political Studies at Trent, you will find yourself debating and exploring ideas around democracy and global politics as you examine power relations and relationships between the state, business, and citizens. It is exciting and enlightening to learn how these relationships influence each of our lives, and more broadly, political, economic, and social change nationally and internationally. Our small class sizes and interactive student-professor relationships build confidence, skills, and knowledge for a variety of careers.

World Politics
Studies how human societies deal with various forms of global change (economic, cultural, and political). A principal objective is to enable students to develop an understanding of how the international system is shaped by the great historical turning-points and understand key concepts in international relations.
World Politics emphasizes a critical understanding of the many dimensions of ‘globalization’:

• International political economy
• Peace and security issues
• Nationalism
• Foreign policy
• Democratization
• North American economic integration
• The centrality of the European Union, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region in redefining world order

There has never been a more exciting time to study Computer Science. Society is in the midst of a technology revolution, which is fueled by the advancement of knowledge in computing. The ability to create, manipulate, and speak the language of technology has become some of the most valued skills applicable to almost every industry. When you study Computer Science at Trent, you’ll get a chance to develop your skills in designing, implementing, and integrating software applications – everything from supercomputers to game boards. This degree will equip you with the skills required for a successful career in the ever- changing tech sector.

Resume Boosters:-

• Pursue the competitive co-op stream: graduate with 12 months of relevant experience through three paid work terms in the information technology industry
• Work with real-world clients from industry, government, and education through third year internship course and fourth year project course
• Undertake an undergraduate research thesis and investigate a specific field of interest with the expert guidance of your prof

Co-op Option Overview:-
Students in the Co-op option are required to pay an administrative fee for each work term. These nonrefundable fees are set by the University. Co-op students are also responsible for tuition and incidental fees related to their study terms and costs related to any Trent courses taken while completing a work term

Advantages of Co-op Option:-
Co-operative education is an opportunity to get a head start on a career. It permits students to develop key skills, explore career options, and graduate with 12 months of relevant experience. The Co-op option assists graduating students in achieving a competitive edge while generating experience within the industry. 

Students who successfully complete the specified number of Co-op work terms receive a Cooperative Education Designation on their degree. This special designation signals to future employers that such students are not only well educated but experienced in the workplace. 

Humans need to eat, and while this shared necessity unites us in many ways, discovering new ways to sustainably grow enough food for seven billion people has become an increasingly crucial global challenge. By studying sustainable agriculture, you can learn to create food systems that are responsible, justice- oriented, efficient, effective, and viable. In this program, you’ll examine the pathways between farm and table and their implications for people, the economy, and the planet. Learn about the challenges and benefits of producing and distributing healthy, affordable food in sustainable ways, and prepare for a career in which you can affect change and positively impact your community.

Small-Scale Farming Specialization
The Specialization in Small-scale Farming provides students in Trent’s one-of-a-kind Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (B.A. or B.Sc.) program with a comprehensive background and hands-on experience in growing food and contributing to resilient regional food systems.

Through a new, intensive hands-on field course, that covers the principles of vegetable and field crops in terms of sustainable management on the Trent Model Farm, students study the principles to cultivate crops including field preparing, soil and nutrient management, seeding, pest management, irrigation techniques, harvest and post-harvest.

Studying in one of the only degrees of its kind in Canada, you can choose from a diverse range of courses offering theoretical and practical paths into visual arts, media, film, theatre, music, pop culture, and more.

Cultural Studies gives you the tools to critique and create cultural objects and practices – everything from games to graffiti, print to painting, and music to film. You’ll study culture by reading, talking, and doing, taking both lecture and workshop courses in literature, fine art, media, and theory. And you’ll ask (and seek answers to) the questions about how culture shapes our lives.

Film & Media (Specializations)
Break outside the box of mainstream and conventional media to get at the core of how film, radio, television, popular culture, and social media influence culture. Through hands-on workshops in game, radio and podcast creation, and focusing on topics covering everything from Media and War to the History of Radio and TV, this specialization will help Cultural Studies students put your media literacy to the test and prepare you for a variety of dynamic careers.

The field of data analytics has quickly become one of the most sought-after careers around the world. The efficient analysis of large scientific and retail datasets will require a generation of programmers, analysts, and developers who are familiar with techniques suitable for the analysis of large datasets. This specialization is a great way to build a solid foundation in data analysis techniques, including parallel programming, visualization, data mining and predictive modelling.

Resume Boosters:

• Familiarize yourself and get hands-on experience using the techniques suitable for the analysis of Big Data, including parallel programming, visualization, and predictive modelling
• Participate in EC Hacks, Trent University’s student-led hackathon
• Add a targeted focus to an undergraduate research thesis and investigate a specific field of interest with the expert guidance of your prof