Bachelor of Arts and Science in Political Science

at University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge Campus Canada

A general major in the sciences, unlike a single discipline major, allows you to customize your course selection to your interests and abilities. Where you compromise depth of focus in one area, you gain breadth of knowledge in a few key areas, thus increasing your flexibility. This multidisciplinary approach provides access to the "big picture" or the wider context of any subject area. Conversely, the courses you choose can enhance your focus and provide a cross-discipline perspective on one particular theme.

Students choosing a general major in the sciences select three disciplinary streams from the following:

• Archaeology
• Biological sciences
• Chemistry
• Computer science
• Geography
• Kinesiology
• Mathematics
• Neuroscience
• Physics
• Psychology

As a student participating in a general major degree program, you’re not limited to studying only within your three streams. As part of your liberal education, you will be required to take classes outside your major(s). This allows you to develop skills and experience in all three streams.

Experience learning
Our students have a number of experiential learning opportunities available to them including co-operative education, international exchanges, independent and applied studies as well as volunteer opportunities. uLethbridge is the only university in Alberta to offer co-operative education to all majors in the arts & sciences, at both the undergrad and grad level. Transfer students can actually head out on their first work term before ever stepping foot on campus! For example, many transfer students have completed a summer work term before starting classes in September.

Whether you are interested in performance, composition, digital audio arts or music education, our classical music programs are flexible to meet your specific needs and goals.

Pursue your passion for music while exploring diverse courses. If you are interested in music and another subject area, a BA (Music) allows you to explore your interests in the sciences, social sciences and humanities, while still focusing on music.

Through our classical music programs, you can choose a performance route and receive one-on-one instruction from master performer-teachers. Entrance to studio courses is dependent on a successful audition.

You'll attend guest artist classes and have multiple performance opportunities throughout the year. Recitals showcase your development and accomplishments as a musician, and your experience is enhanced by participation in ensembles.

Areas of concentration:

• Brass
• Composition
• Guitar
• Percussion
• Piano
• Strings
• Voice
• Woodwinds

Philosophy investigates fundamental questions about the nature of things; about the universe as a whole, about human beings, society, science, ethics and art.

As a philosophy student, you will learn about the basic intellectual foundation for our political, social and legal systems, as well as our understanding of the principles of modern science and technology. You will explore deep theoretical, practical and moral issues that do not easily fit into more specialized disciplines.

Philosophy will challenge you with its reflective and critical approach to important, often puzzling, questions about the nature of right and wrong, time and space, perception, and the human mind.

Philosophy pays careful attention to its own long history, spanning more than 2,500 years. These early investigations are the focus of the department’s courses on ancient, early modern, late modern and 20th-century philosophers and philosophical movements.

There are numerous branches within the study of philosophy, touching virtually every topic; from questions about the existence of God, through to aesthetic principles, and the concepts of space and time:

• Justice and goodness: Investigates questions about right and wrong, or good and evil, such as biomedical ethics or environmental philosophy.
• Truth and reality: Looks at truth and reality through areas such as logic, metaphysics, epistemology and the philosophy of science.
• Social philosophical concerns: Delves into fundamental social philosophical issues addressed by political philosophy, ethics and the history of philosophy itself.
• Scientific philosophical concerns: Focuses on the conditions under which enquiry produces genuine truth and accurate representations of objective reality.
• Human creativity and artistic expression: Evaluates concepts like beauty in disciplines such as aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

The Department of Geography and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offer instruction leading to the multidisciplinary major in computer science and geographical information science. The program is structured to provide a firm theoretical, technical and applied background in the geographical information sciences (GIS) that draws extensively on computer science foundations.

This major provides a strong basis for further study at the graduate level in an established field of research, while also providing training in an area of employment opportunity that neither the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science nor the Department of Geography alone can provide.

Geographical information science (GIS) | GIS involves the use and analysis of digital maps, databases, models and mobile applications, as well as navigation and spatial integration tools. Major GIS application areas include remote sensing, geographical information systems, computer graphics, image processing and mapping and spatial modelling. These rely on advanced computer science algorithms and software development, platform integration, hardware design and operating system principles. The major provides applied training coupled with a solid theoretical and developmental foundation.

The environmental sciences focus on understanding the Earth’s natural systems and how we, as humans, interact with them.

Environmental scientists study the impact of these interactions on the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere using an interdisciplinary and integrative approach. They provide us with the information we need to address some of the most pressing issues facing humanity today - such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity.

The major in environmental science will provide you with an appropriate background in the natural and physical sciences that is needed to understand how natural and man-made systems function. It will provide you with a broad perspective that is required to appreciate the role of humanity in global environmental change.

As an environmental science major, you will have access to state-of-the-art research facilities, including those present in the Alberta Water and Environmental Sciences Building. These facilities house the infrastructure used in the groundbreaking research by our award-winning faculty - ensuring that you are exposed to cutting-edge, multidisciplinary environmental research throughout your degree.

You will also be provided the flexibility and versatility to obtain the key skills that are required to answer pressing research questions in sub-disciplines such as ecology (aquatic, riparian, and grassland), remote sensing, and geographical information science (GIS), biodiversity assessments, conservation, ecophysiology, and environmental toxicology.

Chemistry studies the elements that comprise all matter. Everything around us - the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, cars we drive, even our bodies - are made from these elements.

There are five main branches of chemistry:

• Analytical | Focuses on the detection and measurement of chemical species used in fields like forensics.
• Organic | Deals with carbon compounds, which are the main components of living matter.
• Inorganic | Delves into all the remaining elements, most of which are found in the mineral world.
• Physical | Looks at the study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter.
• Theoretical | Starts by exploring basic physical theories like quantum mechanics in order to provide frameworks within which all chemical phenomena can be understood.

The primary focus of the program is to provide you with extensive theoretical knowledge in all five branches, in addition to enhancing your technical and practical skills with hands-on experience. Throughout the program, you will receive intensive laboratory instruction on the transformation and safe handling of chemical compounds, as well as hands-on training in advanced instrumental techniques such as elemental analysis, optical spectroscopy, magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction and mass spectrometry.

As a chemistry student, you will have access to state-of-the-art research facilities that provide the infrastructure to support the research interests of our award-winning faculty, your instructors, as they investigate diverse areas of the chemical sciences including catalysis, nanomaterials and food chemistry.

Kinesiology is the study of human movement through physical activity and the critical role it plays from both an individual and cultural perspective. It also helps us understand the mechanics of human motion.

Our programs are designed to provide you with the opportunity to study the theoretical and practical applications of activity as a cultural form, as well as individual performance at all levels of involvement and all ages.

You will also gain an understanding of movement through the integration of specialized knowledge found in topics like anatomy, biomechanics, culture, exercise physiology, leadership, media, motor control, race and ethnicity.

You will have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, as well as the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness, with its indoor track, pool and climbing wall

The Department of Modern Languages & Linguistics offers instruction in three languages: French, Japanese and Spanish (beginner to advanced).

In today's globalized context, students of modern languages are being prepared for membership in a global community that extends far beyond the boundaries of the English-speaking world. Modern Languages is about far more than just learning how to communicate in another language. It’s about exploring other identities and values through language, literature, history and culture in a global community.

Thanks to our small class size, innovative instructors and the latest in language-learning technology, we make language learning a lively and satisfying experience. At the beginners' and intermediate level we teach you to communicate with native speakers, orally and in writing, and introduce you to the everyday life of the speakers of French and Spanish as well as to their music, films and books. You can continue your study of spoken and written French and Spanish to an advanced level. Whatever the level and whatever the language, we teach our classes in the language being studied.

Students who study French/Spanish will gain awareness of other cultures through courses in language, literature, and culture and civilization, and through academic and living experiences in Canada or abroad.

Classes are taught in the language being studied — so, French courses are taught in French and Spanish classes in Spanish. You can specialize in one language or study a combination.

Forensics. Pharmacology. Food Science. What do these three areas have in common? They are just some of the career paths you can take with a degree in biochemistry.

Biochemistry is the study of all living systems at the molecular level. It looks at the chemical and physical basis of life and how these living systems interact with their environments. It is a demanding field that combines expertise in the biological sciences, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Versatility and intense curiosity are the hallmarks of successful biochemists, as they draw on knowledge from a variety of fields to investigate the molecules that facilitate life.

From the structure, function and dynamics of molecular machines, to the complex regulation of metabolic pathways and biological processes, biochemists study the extraordinary molecules that are produced and utilized by living systems. As a consequence, many of the most spectacular advances in the sciences are driven by discoveries in biochemistry.

Biochemistry will help you develop a strong background in the basic sciences and extensive laboratory skills, while emphasizing the chemical and physical basis of life. As a biochemistry student, you will gain hands-on experience with the latest tools and technology used in chemistry, physics and biological sciences, such as molecular biology, protein crystallography and advanced biophysics. You will also develop skills in molecular techniques like DNA sequencing, gene cloning and enzymology.

Additionally, you will have access to state-of-the-art science and research facilities. These facilities support the research interests of our award-winning faculty, your instructors, as they investigate diverse areas such as cancer research, toxicology, crystallography, bioinformatics and molecular modelling, as well as applied research in medicine, disease research and food development.

Human resources and labour relations professionals manage any organization’s greatest resource - its people!

Competent, culturally sensitive and highly organized, human resource and labour relations professionals add significant value and display competence in an array of specialized areas, including: talent management; employment law; health and safety, performance management; training and development; and diversity and inclusion.

Professionals with this degree are strategic leaders in the organization. They are critical for the successful management of complex and constantly evolving environments. They work with both employers and employees to create productive and fair workplaces.

Human Resource Management and Labour Relations managers are also among the most in-demand jobs in Canada in 2019 (randstad.ca).

About the Human Resource Management and Labour Relations (HRMLR) major
Students majoring in HRMLR study a broad range of topics including how and why people behave as they do in organizations, managing organizational change, identifying training needs and creating opportunities for employee career development, managing in a unionized environment, leading people and teams, ensuring the work environment is physically and psychologically healthy, and managing diverse workplaces.

Students should take Research Methodology (MGT 2700) as early as possible, as it provides a foundation for the senior-level courses. uLethbridge offers a wide variety of electives, not all of which are offered every term. Plan in advance to ensure you can take all of the courses that interest you.