Bachelor of Arts (General) in Geography

at Algoma University - Sault Ste. Marie Campus Canada

The School of Business and Economics at Algoma University delivers a high calibre business education.

The School builds on the success of the business and economics programs and the long-standing commitment of the University to provide access to top-quality academic programming that prepares students for career success while supporting the needs of its local business communities.

The Business Administration degree includes specialization in Accounting, Human Resources, Marketing and Economics.

The School of Business and Economics prides itself on developing business- and socially-conscious leaders. Students benefit from small class sizes, one-on-one interactions with caring faculty, and opportunities for personal and professional growth through experiential learning, such as the Northern Ontario Business Case Competition, co-operative education, internships, research positions, and more.

As part of the School of Computer Science & Technology, our Computer Science program delivers an innovative and cutting-edge education

Students studying Computer Science will gain a strong theoretical and practical foundation in the study of algorithms, programming languages, hardware architecture, systems software, application software, and tools. They will also develop a solid foundation in data structure, programming, assembly language programming, computer organization, operating systems, theory, software engineering, and computer networking. Students also have the opportunity to explore their individual interests and take courses in artificial intelligence, human-computer interactions, and web data management, among others!

Above all, our computer science program values and encourages creativity and innovation. Students are given the opportunity to create new designs and explore their creative and unique ideas with faculty who are excited and equipped to guide students in the process of exploration.

Our students explore how Computer Science reaches far beyond theory and practice, driving innovation in the sciences, with examples such as the Human Genome Project and AIDs vaccine research, and leading developments in engineering, business, entertainment, and education. Wherever your passions and creativity lead, studies in Computer Science will take you there!

What is particularly unique about studies in Computer Science is that experiments can be carried out in a simulated virtual laboratory. Your creativity needs no limits because even ideas that, for now, exist outside of the realm of physical possibility, can be carried out in a computer lab. Computer scientists can simulate outcomes before they happen, including mapping out natural disasters and population growth under a variety of different circumstances.

COMPUTER GAME TECHNOLOGY AND CREATIVE ARTS - SPECIALIZATION
The computer game technology and creative arts specialization enables students who are interested in the artistic aspects of computer games, such as the writing of plots, the development of game flow, and the development of graphics and music, to extend their analysis and design skills to these areas. Courses include those in the games marketplace, software engineering, gameplay design, and artificial intelligence. In addition to the courses taken within the standard computer games technology stream, in the creative arts specialization, students will also explore courses in music, English and/or fine arts to develop a game design complement to their programming skills. Students must complete at least 18 credits in English, fine arts, and/or music.

Algoma University’s four-year Bachelor of Business Administration degree is a unique program, different from other university programs found across the province.

There are countless reasons to study business administration in university. Having a fundamental understanding of business will provide you with the necessary skills needed to succeed in life and is a great investment in your future career.

Networking is one of the most crucial aspects of the job search. For this reason, our business administration students are constantly interacting with business professionals and institutions in Sault Ste. Marie and the surrounding Algoma region. Students work with and alongside businesses, developing business plans and strategies to improve on production, effectiveness, and efficiency. By studying Business Administration at Algoma U, students will be given plenty of opportunities to network and build upon their connections in the business world. Many Algoma U grads have cited these networking opportunities as the keystone to their success, providing them with the opportunity to secure a meaningful career in their field.

In addition, Algoma U’s business administration faculty are experts in the field. Rather than just being educated in business, our professors have experienced risk and success in the work world. From chartered accountants, to certified management accountants, to presidents of influential organizations, and everything in between, our faculty are experts in the business world, and have practical, working hands-on knowledge which they bring to the classroom on a daily basis.

Upon graduation, students in Algoma U’s business administration program will have a strong, well-rounded foundation of business skills and concepts, partnered with the ability to apply these intellectual tools in the challenging and dynamic world of global business. This focus allows our graduates to make a smooth transition from the academic environment to the business world.

Political science is the study and analysis of possibilities for states and their citizens; the possibility of peace in a war ravaged country; the possibility of democracy in an authoritarian state; the possibility of economic equity in a capitalist system; and the possibility of harmony in a system of sovereign states.

The study of politics has always been at the centre of an education geared toward sustaining and improving community life. The ancient Chinese, Greeks, and Romans regarded politics as one of the highest forms of human expression. Indigenous peoples all over the world have practiced unique and effective forms of politics for millennia. Whether you know it or not, we all participate in politics.

Algoma U’s four-year Bachelor of Arts in Political Science degree focuses on three areas of study: Canadian politics, public policy and government; comparative politics and international relations; and political theory, philosophy, and economy.

Our program works to incorporate Indigenous content, ideas, and methodology in its approach. It will help students to understand and identify important institutions, forces, and ideas that shape society, and permit change to occur or not occur. It will teach students how to systematically, rigorously, and analytically evaluate competing explanations of the same event or phenomenon, and gain an understanding of who or what exerts power.

Within the program, students will develop a wide range of skills that are in high demand in the public and private workforce. Some of the career paths our graduates have chosen include education, research, financial/economic analyst, foreign services, legislative analyst, diplomat, immigration and border services, museum and/or curatorial work, Indigenous research, civil service, lawyer, politics and policy, public relations, entrepreneur, journalist and many more.

The study of history builds a foundation for active, informed citizenship. By exploring the past, students can make decisions in the present-day world, based on an understanding of the institutions, ideas, and relationships that have developed over the past decades and centuries.

As students learn about the lived experience of the past, they discover that it is full of fascinating stories and compelling personalities. They learn that sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction. And as many of our senior-level students have testified, the research process can be exhilarating. They discover the excitement of sifting through the archives, making original discoveries, and then sharing their findings with others. History can be a source of immense delight – both the stuff of history and the process of discovering it.

Our faculty bring their wide-ranging interests and specializations into the classroom, and provide a great selection of courses that meet our students interests. From the ancient history of the Americas and Europe, through to the history of Canada in the late twentieth century, and all areas and time in between, the program tries to match its offerings to popular areas of interest and to the latest developments in historical study. Some courses include the history of the Anishinaabe people, ancient Greece and Rome, medieval Europe, women’s and gender history in Canada, the witch-hunts in Europe, as well as survey courses on American, Canadian, and western civilization history.

Our history students equip themselves for potential future careers in a variety of fields, including, but not limited to, the following: law, education, civil service (including the foreign service), journalism, museum studies, public history, publishing, information technology, and research consulting.

We approach the study of law, legal decision-making, and justice from a variety of viewpoints. Our program incorporates diverse legal traditions into the curriculum and investigates law from historical, social and philosophical perspectives.

Our law and justice program is one of few such programs in Canada. Those that do exist often focus on criminology, rather than on legal traditions, institutions, and practices in their various current and historical forms and concepts. Criminology is the study of the anatomy of crime, specifically its causes, consequences, and costs. Law and justice, however, goes far beyond criminology, and provides students with a more well-rounded and holistic degree.

In our four-year program, students will acquire knowledge of the pattern of legal institutions required to regulate our political, social, and economic relations. Students will examine topics such as civil, criminal, family, corporate, constitutional, and contract law. They will study conventional, traditional, and alternative forms of justice and dispute resolution, as well as comparative, theoretical, and historical perspectives. The program helps students to understand law as a multidimensional and complex social phenomenon.

Within the program, students will develop a wide range of skills that apply beyond the study of law and justice. After completing a degree in law and justice, many of our students gain admission to law school and graduate programs, and also diploma programs at the college level. Students are also opened up to an array of career paths and opportunities, such as lawyer, paralegal, law enforcement, criminal investigator, forensic scientist technician, clerk, legal secretary, education (primary and secondary, colleges and universities), researcher, Indigenous researcher, immigration and border patrol services, civil servant, politics and policy, entrepreneur, and many more.

Our faculty and students live and work in an animated, spirited, and humorous culture in which art making is acknowledged as a process of constant and perpetual transformation and aspiration toward higher degrees of insight.

Passion, enthusiasm, a questioning mind, and an ability to do things differently are part and parcel of a creative life and are some of the characteristics it takes to be a visual art student. Pursuing a four-year Bachelor of Fine Arts allows students the opportunity to channel and express their creativity and imagination, but also to hone and perfect their skills by learning about past and present techniques.

The program strikes a fine balance between traditional and experimental practices and between refined object making and personal development. Ultimately, regardless of the value of the art objects, the final product of creative endeavour is the artist/creator and her/his role within the larger community.

After completing a degree in fine arts, students are opened up to an array of career paths and opportunities. Achievements made by our graduates includes the founding of several creative businesses, set design with the Ontario film industry, graduation from a leading Master of Fine Arts program, subsequent university teaching work, inclusion in significant exhibitions, art director for an international cruise ship company, employment in the field of computer gaming and design, founder of a regional Aboriginal art gallery, crossover work in graphic design, and many more.

Our Bachelor of Arts in English program offers courses in all genres – drama, fiction, poetry, and prose – including writers and thinkers from around the world and from the medieval period to the present. Our faculty have expertise across a range of Canadian, British, American, and postcolonial literatures, and a long-standing commitment to the study of the writers who reflect and shape the cultural histories of the people of the English-speaking world.

Our program is highly personalized, since students are given the opportunity to pursue topics of interest on assignments, presentations, and various writings. We invite and expect students to participate in seminar discussions and lectures by asking questions and sharing ideas. Students discover modes of thought and methods of investigation that not only enrich the reading and understanding of language and literature, but are applicable to various disciplines. They become critical in their reading and thinking and clear in their writing and speaking. They develop a passion for reading, writing, and reflecting on the use of language wherever it is written or spoken.

An undergraduate degree in English will provide you with a solid basis for a wide range of careers. While many majors in English become teachers after they graduate, many others become artists, actors, songwriters, broadcasters, journalists, technical writers, essayists, novelists, playwrights, screenwriters, directors, editors, publishers, librarians, archivists, entertainers, public relations specialists, advertising copywriters, marketing experts, researchers, lawyers, doctors, social workers, politicians, and top and mid-level managers, executives, and administrators.

By combining both the finance and economics programs, students earn a holistic degree, which emphasizes the financial analysis and management side of economics and business administration, and therefore equips students with advanced skills in financial analysis, management, and forecasting skills

Algoma U’s four-year Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Economics is a unique program, different from other university programs found across the province. Our faculty is committed to a hands-on learning experience where students are able to establish a personal relationship with their professors. This fosters a very intimate and interactive learning environment.

Our program concentrates on theory, applications, and explorations in current and policy-related issues at the regional, national, and international level. Students will study the roles of government, business, and financial institutions, as well as individuals as they interact to determine the distribution of a country’s total range of goods and services. Courses cover a wide array of topic areas, including environmental economic policies, microeconomics, urban economics, international trade, public finance, international finance, elementary statistical methods for economists, among others.

Upon graduation, students will have a solid foundational working knowledge of various economic and financial terms, concepts, and principles. Students will know how to solve complex problems and distinguish between correct and incorrect applications of economic concepts. They will be able to review, present, and interpret quantitative and qualitative information and will thoroughly understand the limits that exist within the realm of finance and economics. By graduation, they will also have perfected their communication skills and be able to conduct themselves in a professional manner in the work world.

This program is ideal for students interested in geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, climate change, environmental sustainability, research, and urban and regional development.

Our program is divided into four major thematic areas: physical geography, human geography, human-environmental geography, and geomatics. Students can study up to two of these areas to further enhance the quality of their degree:

• Physical geography explores the ever-changing surface of the earth and the physical processes that cause these changes. Students will develop the ability to identify critical processes in landscape form and structure, earth-building and the formation of rocks, weathering and mass movement, coastal/shoreline environments, and much more.
• Human geography examines the relationship people have with the earth and how people are distributed on the earth. It examines how we interact with each other, why we interact this way, and how we can improve our lives with this understanding knowledge. Students will explore how and why the first known cities formed; how culture is spread and stagnated by barriers; and how different regions in the world function culturally, socially, environmentally, and economically.
• Human-environmental geography focus on the impact humans have on our environment through activities like urban sprawl and globalization, and how we can work to develop more sustainable practices. Students will develop an understanding of global and environmental change, impact assessments, and natural resource management. Students will study the Great Lakes and their cultural, environmental, and economic importance to humans.
• Geomatics is the discipline of gathering, storing, processing, and delivering geographic information, or spatially referenced information. In our program, students will be introduced to the world of cartography, GIS, remote sensing of the environment, and air photo interpretation.