Bachelor of Social Sciences

at University of Ottawa Canada

The Department of Communication at the Faculty of Arts offers an MA program in Communication with thesis or with research paper, a Master of Communication (MC) by coursework to which a co-op option can be added, and a PhD in Communication.

The Department of Communication, in collaboration with the University of Ottawa’s Co-op office, offers a co-op option to a limited number of students in the MC program. Students must request this option in their admission file. The co-op option provides the opportunity to acquire practical work experience by completing two one-term paid work placements.

The Master of Communication focuses on two fields of research: media studies and organizational communication. The media studies field examines the content and the modes of operation of traditional and emerging media in their social, cultural, economic, political and regulatory contexts.

Organizational communication focuses on interpersonal and group interactions in the workplace; planning for internal and external communication in private, public, and nonprofit organizations; risk/crisis communication, public relations, ICT’s uses within organizations, etc.

The program aims to develop in graduates the following skills:

• Evaluate critically the theories, concepts and assumptions underlying media studies or organizational communication with particular attention to their chosen research interest.
• Demonstrate an ability to identify and work with the varying epistemological traditions developed by French-speaking and English-speaking scholars in communication studies.
• Contribute to the development of skills, theories, approaches, and materials for both academics and professionals.
• Analyze data and communicate research results to diverse audiences, including scholars, policymakers, and professionals in communication studies.

The Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine is located in the Faculty of Medicine and offers graduate programs leading to the degrees of Master of Science (MSc) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Neuroscience.

The programs help students develop their theoretical knowledge as well as their capacity for critical analysis. This is achieved through reading and critiquing the scientific literature, conducting experiments in the laboratory, analyzing the data and results generated, and presenting their results in the form of research seminars or posters. The programs prepare candidates for a variety of careers in teaching and research both within and outside of academia.

Graduates of the program will acquire autonomy in conducting research and in preparing scholarly publications and grant applications. A comprehensive set of courses, state-of-the-art research facilities and outstanding research opportunities ensure a career in neuroscience.

The Department is a participating unit in the collaborative program in Human and Molecular Genetics and in Pathology and Experimental Medicine at the master's and doctoral levels.

Welcome to centre stage! From practice to theory, from performance to reception, the Department of Theatre explores all aspects of theatrical events and prepares you for a life of creative expression and intellectual stimulation. We teach acting, directing, playwriting, arts administration, dramaturgy, theatre history, production, technical theatre and design as well as theory and aesthetics. When it comes to practice, opportunities abound: the Department boasts two major theatre companies and three student companies producing up to thirty original productions a season.

The graduate studies in law are a joint endeavour of the Common Law and Civil Law Sections. We welcome law graduates from both legal systems and from countries around the world. Courses are offered in English or in French, and occasionally in both languages. Students may readily complete their graduate studies while learning something of Canada's other legal and linguistic traditions.

Since it deals mainly with issues that have no simple solutions, philosophy emphasizes the exchange of ideas and debate, and thus cultivates an appetite for deep and serious reflection. By reading and discussing the works of the world's great thinkers on fundamental topics like truth, justice, morality and existence, you sharpen your own ability to think clearly, critically and independently. The Department's curriculum has a twin approach, historical and analytical, and covers political and social philosophy, ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and logic. 

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.

Students will acquire knowledge and have opportunities to apply what they learn to interventions in physical activity, education and coaching that enrich peoples’ lives. They will gain theoretical and practical training in why and how to encourage people to become more active and how to better peoples’ experiences in various contexts of physical activity, education and coaching. Students will critically examine how various intervening roles, especially in teaching and coaching, lead to improved health, well-being, development, learning, and performance in individuals and society, and will learn to develop, implement and evaluate programs. Students will receive training informed by social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociocultural, pedagogy, leisure studies). They will have opportunities to acquire motivational and consulting skills to work with individuals in different contexts. For example, they can learn behavioural change techniques to promote physical activity, or how to work with athletes to prepare them for competition.

Students will have opportunities to gain competencies in leading group interventions in sport coaching, recreation programming, and teaching physical activity. They can gain training that will allow them to contribute to the strategic promotion of healthy physical activity in communities, that can be applied to interventions and programming across the lifespan (from young children to older adults), in established and under-represented populations (e.g., persons with disabilities, at-risk youth). Students will have opportunities to gain skills in critical inquiry they will use to question whether interventions or social policies address individual, social and environmental considerations, and to facilitate change in current approaches.

Studies in this area of interest enable our graduates to pursue various career-paths in education, coaching and roles in promotion and programming of physical activity, sport and leisure. The emphasis of our program on both foundational knowledge and also how knowledge translates into action enables our graduates to pursue different occupational roles. For example, our graduates can become leaders in the development of recreation services and fitness programs in the community (e.g., community clubs, campus recreation departments, employee wellness programs), sport coaches, teachers of physical and health education in schools, mental performance consultants in high-performance sport (e.g., sport academies), and exercise consultants and health promoters working in community health centres. Our graduates can find roles in developing persuasive messages for ‘Active Living’ or ‘Get Fit’ media communications, and they can become advocates promoting the health benefits of physical activity, sport and leisure to policymakers in the public, private and non-profit sectors. Our graduates can also pursue research based or professional-based graduate degrees relating to interventions in physical activity, sport and leisure.

Biochemistry is the chemistry of life. It provides the foundation for understanding all biological processes as well as the molecular basis and treatment of human disease. 

The biochemistry bachelor's provides you with the education you need to play a leading role in new and exciting areas of medical research. You will be exposed to cutting-edge research and knowledge. Our program prepares you for graduate studies and for an academic or research career in the medical sciences. What's more, biochemistry provides an excellent foundation for further studies in medicine and other areas of health care. 

You can choose an Honours BSc in Biochemistry, a major or a minor.

• If you want to pursue a career in experimental biochemistry, choose the Honours program. If you prefer a basic biochemistry education, choose a major. And if you want to focus on another discipline but are interested in biochemistry, choose a minor. 
• If you have a particular interest in microorganisms and the role that the immune system plays in health and disease, you can also choose an Honours BSc in biochemistry with an option in microbiology and immunology. We also offer an integrated biotechnology program that lets you combine studies in biochemistry and chemical engineering and receive both a BSc in biochemistry and a BASc in chemical engineering in five years. 

As for the language of instruction, compulsory courses and many optional course units are available in either English or French.

• If you choose the Honours in Biochemistry, you have the opportunity to complete a full-year research project under the supervision of a professor from the departments of Chemistry and Biomolecular Sciences, Biology, Physics, or Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, or under the supervision of an affiliated principle investigator from one of the many research institutes in the National Capital Region. Given the breadth of research expertise within our program, you can conduct research in many areas of modern biomedicine, including biochemistry, microbiology, immunology, chemical biology, molecular biology, cell biology, proteomics, genomics, systems biology and bioinformatics.

Electrical engineering is at the heart of today's exciting advances in technology. With five technical specializations—communications, systems, electronics, microwave and photonic, and power and sustainable energy—our curriculum will enable you to influence how the world communities communicate, generate sustainable energy and heal diseases. As an electrical engineer, you will work with other engineers or scientists on emerging technologies.

The option of Engineering Management will prepare you with necessary skills to pursue entrepreneurial activities and start your own technology-related business. The double degree program—BASc in Electrical Engineering and BSc in Computing Technology—will put you at the intersection of the two areas that propel the waves of technological development.

Philosophy
Since it deals mainly with issues that have no simple solutions, philosophy emphasizes the exchange of ideas and debate, and thus cultivates an appetite for deep and serious reflection. By reading and discussing the works of the world's great thinkers on fundamental topics like truth, justice, morality and existence, you sharpen your own ability to think clearly, critically and independently. The Department's curriculum has a twin approach, historical and analytical, and covers political and social philosophy, ethics, philosophy of science, philosophy of language, philosophy of mind and logic. 

Political Science
Politics is omnipresent in our lives. Political science seeks to describe, analyze, understand and assess the principles and power relations that govern social life. It revolves as much around the structures and institutions that define these relations and principles as around the ideas and practices that drive them. It studies everything that influences political life and institutions (ideologies, groups, social movements, etc.) on a local, regional, national and international scale.

Our programs offer in-depth training in political science and encourage critical reflection on pivotal issues like citizenship, identity, political participation, globalization and development, governance and the state, and ethics and democracy. A discipline open to many theoretical and methodological approaches, political science constantly exchanges and shares with other fields. At the University of Ottawa's School of Political Studies, you build your knowledge in four subfields of political science: political thought, Canadian and Quebec politics, comparative politics, and international relations and global politics.