Bachelor of Social Science (Joint Honour) in Philosophy and Political Science

at University of Ottawa Canada

This multi-disciplinary program introduces students to the study of international issues, trans-border phenomena and intercultural relations of all kinds. It leads to an in-depth understanding of the complex connections and interactions among local, national, regional and global processes. It exposes students to a wide range of disciplinary viewpoints — including economics, geography, history and world religions — while simultaneously providing a solid and rigorous foundation in political science. 

As a complement to its focus on international studies, the program offers advanced foreign-language training. Students acquire proficiency in Canada's two official languages and in at least one additional modern language, thus preparing them for the demands of an internationally-oriented career. The program also develops fundamental skills in critical-thinking, analysis and synthesis, and teaches students a variety of research methods. Students benefit from extensive international opportunities, including study abroad, international field-research courses, a Model UN course, and international internships. 

In addition to their second official language, students can choose to study one of the following modern languages: Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish.

Criminology involves the scientific analysis of crime, of the criminalization process, and of social control. Criminology is also an applied discipline in which students explore various forms of intervention to help resolve problems and conflicts. It focuses on five broad phenomena: the nature and dynamics of behaviour that contravenes social norms; the social construction of norms and of the notion of crime; the criminalization of specific behaviours; individuals and groups in social relations; the goals and workings of the criminal justice system; and contemporary forms of intervention.

Psychology is the science that studies human behaviour and mental processes, and it has become one of the richest fields of scholarly and scientific research. The BSc curriculum deals extensively with pure-science fundamentals of psychology with a particular focus on the biological, chemical, physiological and cognitive factors surrounding human and animal behavior, preparing you for graduate studies in experimental psychology, in the neurosciences, or in health sciences.
 

Environmental studies delve into some of the most significant issues of our day, such as anthropogenic climate change, urban pollution and possible threats to human health. You learn how to use applied research tools and management principles that can be applied in a variety of areas, such as conducting environmental impact assessments and resource management.

Geography addresses highly relevant issues like climate change and human adaptation; water resources and their management; community organization and evolution; social interaction in urban space; and northern development in permafrost environments. 

Our programs provide you with the knowledge, tools and technical skills that make you highly employable as soon as you graduate. What's more, emerging technologies such as computer cartography, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are an integral part of the curriculum, as are unforgettable field experiences in Canada's north land, in the Great Lakes basin and in the Appalachians.

The School of Translation and Interpretation (STI) offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Masters of arts in translation studies (MA), Master in Conference Interpreting (MCI) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in translation studies.

The master of Conference Interpreting is a professionally-oriented graduate program intended for graduates who wish to specialize in conference interpreting, which is a branch of the translation profession requiring intensive training. The program is intended for full-time students.

Public policy decisions shape daily life and well-being. Many essential services, such as health care and education, are provided by the public sector. Using their regulatory powers, governments establish the framework for competition between firms and they protect the environment. In return for public services, individuals and firms must pay taxes. This interdisciplinary program, which draws on the tools of economic analysis, gives students a better understanding of the challenges linked to public-sector economics (federal, provincial, municipal). Domains of application include the labour market, health care, education, environment and taxation.

Are you interested in the environmental, economic and sociopolitical challenges that humanity faces at the onset of the 21st century? Do you want to better understand how and why some countries “develop” (and others do not) in a world of globalizing markets, new technologies and ideas? Are you drawn to issues such as human rights, poverty reduction, climate change, humanitarian crises, social and corporate responsibility, fragile states and the education and health of “vulnerable” populations? Do you want to learn how humanity can find both fair and lasting solutions to such problems? 

The Honours Bachelor's in International Development and Globalization combines theory and practice within a rigorous academic program and provides students with field experience through work and study terms in Canada and abroad.

Geology is a modern, dynamic and diverse science that involves investigating the composition and evolution of Earth and other planetary bodies.

Geologists and Earth scientists study the Earth, including its chemical, physical and biological evolution. Our programs teach students how to analyze Earth materials, probe the Earth from surface to core and model the processes that produced and shape its oceans and continents. The Ottawa region is a natural laboratory where students investigate resources (water, metals, minerals, petroleum), hazards (earthquakes, tsunamis, eruptions, landslides) and a variety of geological environments.

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences offers programs in geology and, along with the Department of Physics, a program in geology-physics. These programs balance field-based learning with theoretical and analytical investigations directly relevant to the needs of society. The final year involves an independent research project or equivalent units (credits) in advanced courses in the discipline.

The honours requirements meet the professional accreditation requirements of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and l’Ordre des géologues du Québec.

Computer science at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science combines the study of computation and information processing fundamentals with their application in the world around us. Computer scientists build fast, reliable, scalable and secure software systems to organize and analyze information. The honours curriculum comprises advanced topics in databases, artificial intelligence, computer graphics, security, distributed computing and algorithm design, culminating in an honours project. 

This program teaches graduates how to use their creative and innovative talents to conceive, design and implement software systems. The Extended French Stream (EFS) is now available to all students in the Computer Science program. Our degrees are very flexible and include options, minors and a major, which can be used to explore connections between computer science and many other fields of study.