Bachelor of Arts in General - Humanities

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.

Psychology delves into what makes people tick. Psychologists study the relationship between mind and behaviour by investigating the nature of thought processes and behaviours in humans and other animals.

Psychologists also study the evolutionary, social and cultural factors affecting the development of our thoughts and behaviours, focusing on topics that have a direct bearing on our day-to-day experience.

A major in Psychology will help you develop skills in analyzing and interpreting complex material, particularly as it relates to behaviour. You will learn theories of how people interpret the world and act in it, as well as theories of human behaviour.

As a psychology student, you will learn from those at the forefront of psychological research. Our faculty members are regularly published in the top journals and make an ongoing contribution to an ever-advancing field.

You will inevitably become a savvy and critical consumer of evidence-based information related to people’s behaviour such as self-help, psychological and medical advice.

Urban & Regional Studies (URS) delves into the physical, social, economic and political factors that shape our cities. It looks at the role of planning to manage dynamic forces of change such as immigration, global warming, aging populations, energy conservation, congestion, urban forests, homelessness and smog, to name just a few.

As a URS student at the University of Lethbridge, you will learn to approach contemporary development challenges from various frames of reference. Issues include the evolving social, ethnic and architectural character of urban neighbourhoods, the decline of agricultural service centres in the west or the governance of urban sprawl.

This multidisciplinary major will provide you with a broad range of conceptual and practical tools to understand cities and regions. URS is housed in the Department of Geography, but as a multidisciplinary major, the program includes courses outside the department’s offerings, such as anthropology, economics, political science, sociology and statistics.

The knowledge and experience you gain in the URS program will provide an exceptional stepping stone, whether you choose to continue your studies to the master’s or doctoral level or to enter the working world. Either way, you will have the educational background to play an important role in providing an understanding of, and solutions for, some of our most pressing urban and regional concerns.

Psychology delves into what makes people tick. Psychologists study the relationship between mind and behaviour by investigating the nature of thought processes and behaviours in humans and other animals.

Psychologists also study the evolutionary, social and cultural factors affecting the development of our thoughts and behaviours, focusing on topics that have a direct bearing on our day-to-day experience.

A major in Psychology will help you develop skills in analyzing and interpreting complex material, particularly as it relates to behaviour. You will learn theories of how people interpret the world and act in it, as well as theories of human behaviour.

As a psychology student, you will learn from those at the forefront of psychological research. Our faculty members are regularly published in the top journals and make an ongoing contribution to an ever-advancing field.

You will inevitably become a savvy and critical consumer of evidence-based information related to people’s behaviour such as self-help, psychological and medical advice.

The Digital Audio Arts is the most comprehensive bachelor degree program of its kind in Canada. Explore a variety of topics including audio engineering, music production, electronics and programming for musical applications, interactive music performance, and digital studio composition for media. DAA is both theoretically grounded and practically focused, with in-depth classroom work put into practice in real-world professional settings. Studies are further enhanced through presentations by experts and visiting artists from a variety of music industry fields and creative disciplines.

As you are exposed to music history, theory, and composition, you will also have opportunities to:

• Master stereo and multi-track recording techniques
• Collaborate on university film and animation projects, dance, theatre or performance art installations
• Learn to use software tools to process analog and digital sounds
• Give public performances of creative work
• Attend lectures from leading industry specialists

Collaborate with students and faculty in music as well as art, drama and new media as well as with numerous disciplines across campus provide real-world research experiences. Discover your creative voice as you create soundscapes for visual media, design sounds for theatre or sound effects for video games, craft sonic environments to enhance emotions. Explore the possibilities for creativity through electroacoustic composition, sound design and recording, while training your inner and outer ear.

You have full access to 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 university, at both the undergrad and grad level.

Participate in a dynamic season of performances, visiting performers and workshops, internship opportunities, recording and producing contracts, professional certification, and competitions on a local, provincial, national and international level.

Political Science is the systematic study of government, politics and political behaviour. It studies how a society governs itself at all levels and various ideas about how it should be governed in the future.

As a political science student you will study how political conflict is organized and resolved in the “real world.” You will look at how rulers are chosen, governmental decisions are taken and how decision-making processes are organized. You’ll learn how governments design and implement their laws and policies in Canada and abroad.

You will also consider how political leaders understand their obligations towards one another and how decisions are shaped by different views of “what’s right,” “what works” and “what’s possible” in different circumstances.

The Department of Political Science offers four sub-fields of study and encourages you to choose a variety of courses from each area to ensure you gain a broad view of the discipline. These are: Canadian Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, and Political Theory.

Whether as activists, scholars or labourers, women have generated significant changes in society. Women & Gender Studies offer you the opportunity to learn how these changes were initiated and gives you the tools to actively participate in the creation of an inclusive society.

Using feminist theory and research methodologies, Women & Gender Studies examine the historical and contemporary conditions of women and men in society. Our department draws on a vibrant community of scholars and activists both inside and outside the university to explore a wide range of issues.

As a student in this program, you will increase your knowledge of women’s lives, bodies, experiences, labour and scholarship. You’ll also explore feminism as an influential political and social global movement that has generated significant change in all aspects of daily life for men and women.

The department encourages all students to enroll in women and gender studies classes to discover enlightening perspectives applicable to your chosen field of study. By participating in these classes, you will develop an in-depth understanding of how current and historical events, ideas and institutions have been structured by gender, ethnicity, race, age, ability, class and sexuality.

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.

Have the flexibility and independence to develop your own degree program from all the areas of the fine arts.

All areas of the fine arts are available for students in the multidisciplinary major to choose their concentrations. You can now choose a first concentration from one area of fine arts (art, drama, music or new media), while choosing a second and third concentration from the other three. This can also include areas within the departments (Indigenous art, digital audio arts, technical design etc.). This new opportunity allows students the freedom to customize their education around technical, practical and academic focuses.

Complement your studies further by adding combinations of courses from inside and outside the Faculty of Fine Arts with your liberal education requirements.

Opportunities

Gain professional art gallery experience, participate in a dynamic season of theatre activities, (including Mainstage productions supervised by professors), be a part of music ensembles or music studio courses, have access to our state-of-the-art Sound Recording Studio or expand your experiences and gain new perspectives beyond the classroom with internships.

You have full access to co-operative education, international exchanges, independent and applied studies as well as volunteer opportunities.

Computer science is the study of algorithms and data structures and their applications in designing new and efficient solutions to industrial, technological, environmental or social problems.

Learn to tackle difficult problems using a variety of high-tech tools and approaches, and effectively communicate your expertise to others by coupling your technical learning with a solid grounding in liberal education. The program is designed to enable you gain both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, including access to state-of-the-art hardware and software in our three computer labs whenever you need to use them.