Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Social Science

at York University - School of Continuing Studies Canada

Foster the skills of teaching and learning

Education is future-oriented — it's about development and growth even when we are studying the past. Education is giving or receiving knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, using inspiration, tapping into creativity, taking risks and developing emotional and intellectual resilience. In our society, education implies school and whether you teach others or are in the process of learning yourself, education focuses on knowledge and on the intellect. Through the fine art of bringing out what is latent in a person, we learn as we teach.

To foster the skills of teaching and learning, York offers several Education programs. Click on the program name below to learn more about the program.

The Bachelor of Education (BEd), Technological Education is a full-time, professional degree program held at York University's Keele campus. Graduates will be qualified to teach one of the following technological subjects at the Intermediate-Senior (grades 9 to 12) certification levels:

• Communication Technology
• Computer Technology
• Construction Technology
• Green Industries
• Hairstyling & Aesthetics
• Health Care
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Manufacturing Technology
• Technological Design
• Transportation Technology

In Classical Studies, we explore the worlds of ancient Greece and Rome, and their enormous impact on the world as we know it today. Some might think that these languages and cultures are dead, but the Greeks and Romans were concerned with many issues that remain fascinating, relevant and important today - love, death, fate, the individual and society, religion, justice, law and so on. Their works form the basis for much of what we know and understand about the world around us today.

The program will introduce you to the richness of thought and expression of the cultures that have shaped the Western intellectual tradition. You'll study the religion, politics, mythology, art, literature, history, archaeology, architecture and philosophy of Greek and Roman society.

Classical Studies is a truly interdisciplinary subject of great breadth. The program allows a broad range of choice of courses in:

• Greek and Roman languages and literature
• Greek and Roman history
• Greek and Roman philosophy
• Greek and Roman archaeology, art and architecture

Our courses will introduce you to and deepen your understanding of a range of analytical approaches, including literary, linguistic, historical, philosophical and aesthetic approaches to classical culture.
Majoring in Classical Studies is an excellent way to develop critical, analytical and logical reasoning skills. You'll learn how to make rational arguments and express them lucidly. You'll gain a thorough understanding of some of the greatest accomplishments in human thought and art.

Streams within the program include:

• Classics – This stream focuses on the ancient Greek and Latin languages.
• Classical Studies – This stream focuses more on the historical and social/cultural aspects and ancient Greece and Rome.

The field of psychology is dedicated to the scientific study of behaviour including thought, feeling and action, and viewed from social, developmental and biological perspectives. You can study virtually all the areas of psychology since our department is the largest – and one of the best – in Canada.

Undergraduate students have the option of working toward either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Students may choose to focus on specific areas of interest such as neuroscience or abnormal psychology or follow a more generalized program that covers a wide variety of aspects of the discipline. The Psychology program is structured so that you are exposed to the breadth of psychology but may also tailor your degree program to focus on specific areas of interest.

• The BA psychology program exposes you to a full range of psychological concepts and applications.
• The BSc option adds a focus on the physical sciences (chemistry, physics, and biology) to a full range of discipline-specific courses.

Reasons to choose Psychology at YORK U

• Our Specialized Honours Psychology Program (both BA and BSc) provides advanced training in research methods, statistical analysis, as well as guaranteed one-on-one thesis supervision and prepares students wishing to go on to graduate school. 
• We offer an extensive and diverse selection of courses taught both in classroom settings and on the Internet. There are also evening and summer courses offered for working students who wish to pursue their studies on a part-time basis.
• Learn from leading researchers in the field: Joel Katz, Canada Research Chair in Health Psychology; J Douglas Crawford, Canada Research Chair in Visual-Motor Neuroscience; and Gordon Flett, Canada Research Chair in Personality & Health
• Participate in research in one of our many research centres, including the renowned Centre for Vision Research, the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research, and the York University Psychology Clinic.
• Engage in active research alongside your professors. Psychology students often contribute to the Trauma and Attachment Report, a weekly online research report.
• Bridging courses are available for those missing either a math or science prerequisite for entry to the BSc degree.
• The courses Writing in Psychology (2010) (for all Psychology majors), Professionalism and Communication in Psychology (3000) (Specialized Honours Students only), and Critical Thinking in Psychology (4180) (Honours students only) provide transferable skills that employers are looking for.

Whether you are treating a patient, formulating a new drug, unravelling a sub-atomic mystery or modelling climate change, the ability to think and reason at the nexus of disciplines is essential to success. Develop your interdisciplinary mind-set in Integrated Science.  

Integrated Science is an enriched first-year program offering a cohesive set of courses in biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics that can be taken as the first year of any York Science program. Integrated Science is designed around the connections between disciplines, allowing you to experience both the depth and breadth of scientific theory and practice. Some of these connections are inherent to the specific disciplines — like enzymes in biology and reaction rates in chemistry, or Newtonian mechanics in physics and derivatives in mathematics. Other connections are driven by larger questions that you will explore through integrated projects. In Integrated Science, you will learn to approach problems and develop solutions from an interdisciplinary perspective, applying the knowledge and skills that you gain within and across disciplines.

Integrated Science offers a number of benefits for first-year science students:

• Small class size: With limited enrolment, class sizes are about a tenth of that of some of the larger first-year science courses. You will quickly feel part of a cohesive and caring community.
• Strong faculty connections: You will get to know your professors very well, so you can begin building your professional network from day one.
• Block scheduling: Integrated Science classes and labs are scheduled in blocks during the week. You will be in the Integrated Science classroom on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9am to 1pm, leaving your afternoons free for studying or other commitments. In any given week, you will normally have two three-hour labs on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays. This type of schedule is especially well suited for students who commute to York or have additional commitments outside of school.
• Innovative teaching and learning methods: As an Integrated Science student, you will progress through four carefully designed stages of learning — Prepare, Apply, Solidify and Integrate — to deepen your understanding of scientific concepts. Professors use innovative teaching practices such as peer instruction in the classroom to further enhance your learning process.
• Depth and breadth in the sciences: If you enjoy all the sciences and aren’t yet sure exactly what you want to focus on, Integrated Science offers you the opportunity to explore across biology, chemistry, physics, and math before entering the second year of any of our York Science programs.
• Preparation for health-professional exams: If you are considering writing your MCAT, PCAT or DAT in the future, then Integrated Science can help you acquire a strong and necessary background in introductory biology, chemistry and physics, as well as teaching you critical-thinking and reasoning skills.

The Commerce program - offered as a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) and a BCom Specialized Honours in Information Technology (BCom ITEC) – at York is one of the largest business programs in Canada.

All of our Commerce programs focus on how to apply theory to real-world situations, using a variety of methods including multimedia presentations, seminars, case studies and visits from prestigious guest speakers. With the help of our expert faculty, you will sharpen your critical-thinking, analytic, communication and leadership skills.

Our BCom offers students the opportunity to study streams such as accounting (CPA accredited), business research, finance, human resource management, information technology, management, management science or marketing. All of our Commerce programs focus on how to apply theory to real-world situations, using a variety of methods including multimedia presentations, seminars, case studies and visits from prestigious guest speakers. With the help of our expert faculty, you will sharpen your critical-thinking, analytic, communication and leadership skills.

Our BCom Specialized Honours program provides you with the rare opportunity to specialize at the undergraduate level, focusing on one of the following areas:

• Accounting (CPA accredited)
• Business Research
• Finance
• Human Resources Management
• Management
• Management Science
• Marketing

With its unique interdisciplinary approach that bridges studio production, art history and curatorial practice, AMPD's Department of Visual Art & Art History offers students the opportunity to become well-rounded professionals in the field, able to lead in the creation, exhibition, critical understanding and communcation of visual culture in diverse environments.

The Honours BA in Art History emphasizes the relationship between visual art and its social contexts, including global cultural exchange. The curriculm focusses on modern and contemporary art, indigenous and settler art of the Americas, Asian art, western art and architecture, art criticism and curatorial studies. Students have hands-on access to original works of art to explore prectical applications of museum and gallery studies.

Master a professional digital and content marketing skill set and gain the expertise and confidence to make data-driven marketing decisions that show results.

Why take our Digital and Content Marketing program?
No matter where in the world you work, there are companies trying to reach the right audience with their marketing message. Innovations in digital marketing and content marketing have made it possible to serve your content to just about any target audience you can dream of, with international reach and real results. In this program, you’ll learn to be the person behind the message and develop the expertise to lead marketing and business objectives .

What you will learn
This eight-course program starts from the basics, giving you a solid foundation in core marketing and business concepts before moving on to master advanced topics in digital and content marketing. In eight months of full-time study, you’ll earn a comprehensive education in core areas, including, web analytics, email marketing, content marketing strategy, editorial planning, copywriting and consumer research.

You’ll also develop technical competencies in user data and segmentation, SEM (Search Engine Marketing), SEO (Search Engine Optimization), CRM (Customer Relationship Management) communications and PPC (Pay per click) advertising.

Program Benefits
Created in collaboration with industry leaders, this accelerated certificate gives you the opportunity to work on assignments that are relevant to real-world job requirements, practice key cross-functional skills needed to excel as a digital marketing professional and graduate with a portfolio of project work. Through our student-cohort delivery model, you will advance through this program with the same peer group, allowing you to form connections with a community of marketing professionals.

German Studies encompasses subjects ranging from language, literature and film studies to intellectual and cultural history, urban studies, political science, museum studies, art history and women's studies.

German is a major language of business, diplomacy and tourism in the European Union and Eastern Europe. It is also the language of the Federal Republic of Germany, Austria, and the largest portion of Switzerland, as well as Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, areas of Northern Italy, Eastern Belgium and Eastern France. Knowledge of German is vital for Canadians who want to compete in the emerging Eastern European market.

This program is divided into two streams:

• German Language, Literature and Culture — all courses but one are offered in German.
• German Culture and Society — you'll select courses that deal with the German-speaking world (e.g. history, political science, humanities). Language requirement applies.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GERMAN STUDIES PROGRAM AT YORK:

• Students majoring in German are encouraged to study in Germany for one year. York has Canada's best array of exchange programs with partner institutions in German-speaking Europe in conjunction with the Ontario/Baden-Württemberg program.
• Take advantage of the Multimedia Language Centre (MLC) of York University, located in S117 Ross, is a resource centre dedicated to supporting students who are enrolled in programs of study of language, literature and linguistics.

This program is offered by the Faculty of Science on the Keele Campus.

The Mathematics program provides an excellent background for many occupations demanding skills in mathematical reasoning and techniques. The program emphasizes the understanding of concepts, abstraction and reasoning; these then become the tools for problem-solving, as well as the language and environment in which problems are solved.

Pure mathematics focuses attention on basic concepts and then takes those concepts and creates a practical application for them. Finance and cryptography are current examples of areas to which pure mathematics is applied in significant ways.
All Mathematics students (Mathematics, Applied Math, Statistics, Math for Commerce) take common first- and second-year courses. It is in the third and fourth years that the programs begin to differentiate.

• If you're interested in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) math degree, you will combine your math courses with other Arts courses such as psychology or economics.
• For a Bachelor of Science (BSc) math degree, you will combine your math courses with other science courses such as physics, earth and atmospheric science, biology or computer science.

York has Canada’s largest and most renowned team of scholars in labour relations, work and global political economy.

Work and Labour Studies explores the complex nature of work and employment, the impact of globalization and the role of trade unions. Work occupies much of our lives and it informs how we live and how we think about the world. Work & Labour Studies explores what work is, who decides who does what, how workers respond to the conditions of the workplace, and the relationship of capital, the state and labour.

Key factors include:

• The economy
• Globalization
• The changing nature of work and the workplace
• Industrial relations
• Gender
• Class
• Inequality
• How labour is portrayed by the media
• How politics is shaped by mass media and how workers' culture both informs and diverts class struggle

Our program's strengths include labour law and labour policy, the future of work and employment, women and work, globalization and its impact on work and workers, and our unique fourth year placement course. Labour Studies also offers courses in collective bargaining that will prepare you for contemporary and relevant workplace situations.

You will be well prepared for employment in the labour movement, private industry, government service, journalism, public or private administration, social work, law or teaching. Many students go on to graduate work in political science, industrial relations and labour law.