Bachelor of Arts in Political Science (Co-op Optional)

at University of the Fraser Valley - Abbotsford Campus Canada

Gain a deeper understanding of yourself and other people by earning a Bachelor of Arts with a major, minor, or honours in Psychology.

As the scientific study of the mind, behaviours, and motivations of people, psychology is concerned with almost every aspect of our lives. In fact, this field of study has assumed an increasingly important role in understanding and addressing social and individual problems.

Psychology has developed as both a profession and a science. Its findings have applications not only in the field of clinical psychology and counselling, but also in related fields such as human resources, marketing, management, social services, and more.

Psychology major
In your first and second year, you are introduced to some of the major research areas within the field of psychology including: motivation, psychological disorders, neuropsychology, etc. You learn about research methods used in psychology and apply them yourself when you conduct your own psychological research study.

In your third and fourth year, you begin to specialize by selecting courses that inspire you such as:

• Perception
• Learning
• Music
• Memory
• Consciousness
• Health
• Child and adolescent psychology
• Language
• Neuropsychology
• Drugs and Behaviour
• and more

Develop your artistic skill, become a creative problem solver, and learn how to flourish in the creative arts industry by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA). In your first year, you can explore a range of Fine Arts discipline while you complete the BFA general requirements in writing, logical reasoning, and science.

Before the end of your second year, you focus your degree, based on your career goals and personal interests, by choosing a major or two extended minors from the list below:

• Majors
  • Visual Arts
  • Graphic and Digital Design
• Extended Minors
  • Art History and Visual Studies
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts
• Minors
  • Art History
  • Business
  • Creative Writing
  • Graphic and Digital Design
  • Media and Communication Studies
  • Theatre
  • Visual Arts

In your third and fourth years of study you deepen your knowledge by completing the requirements for your major, minor, or extended minors, and by selecting your choice of electives to meet the credential requirements of your degree.

The Theatre diploma is a 60-credit program that introduces students to all areas of theatre, including acting, stagecraft, and performance studies. All students enrolled in the diploma gain applied, practical experience by working on UFV Theatre productions.

The Theatre diploma is for anyone interested in learning more about theatre, the performing arts, or performance studies. It is suitable for people from a wide range of backgrounds, including direct-entry from high school, international students, mature students, adults who wish to access life-long learning opportunities, and Indigenous students. Applicants do not need to have theatre experience.

Students graduate from the Theatre diploma with enhanced performance and stagecraft skills, a deep appreciation of theatre and performance, and the ability to collaborate and communicate effectively. Students can ladder into the BA Theatre Major, extended minor, or minor.

FEATURES:

• Practicum provides work experience and industry contacts
• Participate in professional UFV theatre productions and gain hands on experience
• Program eligible for financial aid

As the study of human movement, kinesiology explores a broad range of topics that include anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, sociology, education, active health, wellness, and nutrition.

Bachelor of Kinesiology
In the Kinesiology program, you go well beyond the questions of how and why we move, and start to explore how we can optimize the human potential for health, performance, and overall wellness.

In your first and second year, you learn foundational topics such as human anatomy, sport psychology, biomechanics, and human nutrition, as well as physical activity, health, and fitness. You explore a variety of fields that may be of interest before choosing to specialize in exercise science, pedagogy, or active health.

In your third and fourth year, you develop skills for teaching and counselling athletes, and learn about athletic injuries, research methods, applied ethics, physiology, exercise testing, and exercise prescription. You also select a specialty out of the following specializations:

• The Exercise Science specialization prepares you for a career as a kinesiologist or exercise physiologist, graduate school, and/or professional school (such as physiotherapy, medicine or chiropractic).
• The Pedagogy specialization prepares you for continued certification in teacher education, coaching, sport performance advising, and/or graduate school.
• The Active Health specialization prepares you for a career in health and wellness, specifically community health and fitness, athletic therapy, sports psychology, and fitness management and recreation, and those planning to continue onto graduate school.

The Associate of Arts, Media and Communication Studies option, focuses on the study of information - how it is created, packaged, distributed, and used.

You will learn about different media industries, including social networks, and how they are changing. You will learn how advertising and other commercial images affect you, how Canadians fit into the global village and what it means to be literate in the new media; in short, you will learn how your life and society are changing in response to innovations in communication.

Students seeking careers in the technical areas of media production will find these courses very valuable, but will need courses from elsewhere to provide instruction in the mechanics of production. For example, while the music industry is studied, sound recording is not.

Graduates of the Associate of Arts, Media and Communication Studies option are prepared to seek employment, to transfer to one of the many degree programs in Canada, or to ladder into the Bachelor of Arts (MACS minor or extended minor) at UFV. Graduates are also eligible to apply to enter into the third year of the Bachelor of Arts in Professional Communication at Royal Roads University.

A career in the criminal justice field is a dynamic and challenging one; UFV's 61-credit Criminal Justice diploma program prepares you for front-line/entry-level jobs in the field.
Gain a broad perspective on issues of law, justice, crime, and criminal behaviour with a well-rounded curriculum that includes subject matter from various disciplines, including criminology, psychology, sociology, communications, and political science.

Learn valuable skills in mediation, crisis management, and conflict de-escalation, and participate in a field work practicum that is designed to meet your career interests.
After you graduate, you may go directly into the third year of the Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice program. The diploma program also offers a transfer option to BCIT Bachelor of Technology in Forensic Investigation.

UFV's multi-disciplinary Migration and Citizenship graduate certificate program uses real case studies to investigate human movement, resettlement, and belonging, both globally and with a particular focus on the Canadian experience.

1. As a Migration and Citizenship student, you will:
   • Examine human migration, whether voluntary, forced, permanent, or temporary, in transnational and intrastate contexts;
   • Investigate how this mobility is shaped by different governments and state institutions;
   • Learn about the experiences and identities of the migrants and the diverse forms of communities that they create.
2. You will also:
   • Explore the various meanings of citizenship in contexts of migration;
   • Analyze how they are shaped by legal, political, institutional, economic, social, and cultural dynamics of inclusion and exclusion and how they are created by migrant experiences, identities, and communities, and through policies, practices, and discourses.

The Migration and Citizenship graduate certificate is designed for employed professionals wanting to grow their skills or recent graduates wishing to enter the field of immigration and resettlement.

The program is scheduled to accommodate both working and full-time students, with classes offered in evening and weekend time slots. If you choose to study full time, you can complete this graduate certificate in eight months. But you can also opt to study part-time and take up to three years to earn your credential.

UFV's two-year Aboriginal Culture and Language Support (ACLS) diploma is designed to provide you with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives required for employment as an Aboriginal support worker in both public or First Nation-operated band schools.

As an Aboriginal support worker, your unique understanding of — and sensitivity to — the values, beliefs, and needs of students' Indigenous communities and heritage, as well as the needs of the education system, makes you a valuable asset to the school in which you work.

As part of the program, you develop the skills necessary to help Aboriginal youth succeed. You get to:

• Learn Halq'eméylem, the language of the Stó:l? people
• Explore the culture and history the Stó:l? people
• Gain counseling skills
• Examine contemporary issues and policies in Indigenous education
• Learn to support learner development

UFV’s four-year Bachelor of Arts with a Philosophy major or minor is designed to teach you to think independently and become a powerful problem-solver.

Philosophy major
As part of your philosophy studies, you take courses in the history of philosophy, where you examine early schools of thought and learn about the origins of modern philosophy. First and second year courses provide a broad knowledge of reasoning, morality, and politics, while third and fourth year courses allow you to deepen your understanding of logic, philosophical theory, metaphysics, and political philosophy.

The major includes the following general requirements:

• 9 introductory courses in Philosophy
• 9 credits in lower and upper-level History of Philosophy courses
• 3 credits in logic
• 3 credits in each of: Philosophical Theory, Metaphysics and Epistemology, and Political Philosophy

A Bachelor of Arts with a Political Science major, minor or extended minor offers a range of lower and upper-level courses focusing on the fields of Canadian politics, comparative politics, international relations, and political theory.

Political Science major
UFV's Political Science major is designed to provide you with valuable skills in writing, communications, critical thinking, research, problem solving, and more.

In year one and two, you learn foundational skills in political science history and theory, statistical analysis, and research methodology. In year three and four, you round out your knowkedge by investigating relevant special topics and issues such as international relations, human rights, and public policy.

The Political Science major requires the completion of 18-19 lower-level credits and 30 upper-level credits. If you have research interests you can apply one Political Science Directed Independent Studies course towards your degree.