Bachelor of Science(Honours) in Psychology

at Algoma University - Sault Ste. Marie Campus Canada

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.

Our psychology program continues to be one of the University’s most popular programs. Our small classes ultimately provide students with individual attention and a more personal student-professor relationship

Our psychology program offers two different degrees, tailored to the students’ strengths and interests. The Bachelor of Science (BSc four-year) degree requires students to complete a greater number of biological-based courses compared to the Bachelor of Arts (BA four-year) degree.

In addition to the standard courses on methodology that are required for a psychology degree, we offer courses on a wide range of topics in psychology. The majority of courses that we offer fall under one of two broadly-based categories: those that focus on the social bases of behaviour, and those that focus on the biological bases of behaviour. While it is widely known that psychology can involve the identification of, and counselling for, abnormal thoughts and behaviours, there are many other areas of psychology that you can explore with us.

A psychology degree is really a stepping stone to the next phase of a student’s life. We teach you how to be dedicated, motivated, and to think critically about scientific data, human and non-human behaviour, and science in general. These are skills that are in demand by many prospective employers. Many of our former students have continued with higher education at the graduate level, earning Master’s and PhD degrees. We also have former students with law and education degrees, and others who are now speech and language pathologists, audiologists, forensic psychologists, and neuroscientists.

Sociologists are interested in how humans form groups, whether for peace or war, cooperation or conflict, persuasion or domination, development or destruction. They investigate the structure of groups, organizations, and societies, and how people interact within these contexts.

Algoma University’s four-year sociology program provides critical skills for understanding and interpreting the social world. The program offers courses which address a wide variety of areas, such as contemporary media depictions of gender and the body, debates in the environmental movement, health policy analysis, critical assessments of law and social justice, and Canadian policy in relation to multiculturalism and Indigenous rights. Students will use a variety of research methods to gain a vital understanding of social movements, race and diversity, and gender and sexuality, including surveys, interviews, observational studies, polls, personal letters, and focus groups.

Upon graduation, students in Algoma U’s sociology program will have strong written, oral presentation, and research skills – invaluable skills highly sought after in today’s competitive work world and in institutions of higher learning. These refined skills set Algoma U grads apart from the rest. For those who choose to enter the workforce upon graduation, career paths options include: education (primary and secondary, colleges and universities), researcher, affirmative action counsellor, health and safety educator, health promotion, human rights worker, journalist, non-profit housing worker, policy planner or policy analyst, parks and recreation planner, urban planner, and many more.

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.

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 - SPECIALIZATION
In the computer game technology specialization, students will apply their foundational programming knowledge to the design and development of video game software. The program focuses on a complete overview of game development, from the initial code to the finished product, with courses covering computer graphics, the games marketplace, game artificial intelligence, and gameplay design. Students will develop skills in the analysis, design, programming, and testing of computer consoles, mobiles, PC, and hand-held video games. Graduates of this specialization often use their gaming projects courses to develop a sophisticated portfolio that can be used when seeking employment.

Algoma University’s four-year Bachelor of Arts in Community, Economic, and Social Development (CESD) is the only undergraduate program of its kind in Canada!

Community, economic, and social development provides students with the tools and knowledge to make meaningful change within their community and the world around them. This distinctive interdisciplinary program integrates several disciplines including CESD, social work, sociology, political science, geography, economics, and business administration. Due to the broad-based structure of the program, students will develop a holistic perspective of the world around them and develop the knowledge and understanding to work to advocate for positive change, fight for economic and social equality, and defend human rights, with a specific focus on smaller urban, rural, northern, and Indigenous communities. Students can also minor in environmental sustainability and social justice and globalization.

In students’ third-year of study, they will complete a 150-hour work placement, while in their fourth-year, they will be required to complete a 300-hour placement and a major paper or project. Students have been placed in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Children’s Aid Society, Batchewana First Nation, Garden River First Nation, NORDIK Institute, United Way, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and more. These placements allow students to apply concepts, theories, and methods from their coursework in the community, advocate for change, and implement new analytical strategies, making the degree action-packed and very hands-on.

Graduates will be eligible for certification by the Economic Developers’ Association of Canada (EDAC) and the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Offices (CANDO). Graduates from the CESD program have gone on to work in the local, provincial, and federal government, not-for-profit and cooperative agencies, youth development agencies, rural and urban economic development associations, have worked as researchers, advocates, and more graduates have also been accepted into prestigious graduate programs in geography, education, sociology, sustainable development, and community economic development.

Our three-year Bachelor of Arts in Community Development provides students with both the practical and analytical skills needed to effectively work with a variety of communities to bring about societal change.

With required courses in Community, Economic, and Social Development (CESD) and Social Work, this unique program offers an interdisciplinary learning opportunity. Students will work alongside people in their region to effect change by helping to identify common concerns and solutions, and build relationships with organizations and those in positions of power. Students will learn how to create opportunities for communities to learn new skills and foster social inclusion and equality by enabling people to act together.

Choosing to earn a degree in community development has many benefits. The hands-on experience students will earn while fulfilling their degree requirements are both worthwhile and highly rewarding. In students’ third-year of study, they will complete a 150-hour work placement. Students have been placed in organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the Children’s Aid Society, Batchewana First Nation, Garden River First Nation, NORDIK Institute, United Way, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and more.

These placements allow students to apply concepts, theories, and methods from their coursework in the community, advocate for change, and implement new analytical strategies, making the degree action-packed and very hands-on. The skill set students acquire are very versatile and can be applied to various career paths which are sought after by a wide range of employers.

Our program also has a specific focus on northern, rural, remote communities, and Indigenous populations. Community development practitioners often work within a defined geographical area (urban or rural), and with specific groups of people (persons with disabilities, youth, children, families, newcomers, the unemployed, and the homeless). Thus, our program adequately prepares students to be Community development practitioners in Northern Ontario, and to work with a diverse and cross-cultural group of peoples.

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.

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.

Algoma U’s four-year Honours Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science program is an interdisciplinary program that integrates core courses in the disciplines of biology, chemistry, and geography. By integrating multiple disciplines, we are able to address some of the most profound and complex concerns faced by modern society.

The program examines the increased impacts of global climate change, the spread and threats of invasive species, the continued loss of biodiversity and degradation of agricultural soil quality and availability, and other environmental challenges. The Environmental Science Course Map (PDF) outlines the program requirements for the Honours Bachelor of Science (B.Sc. HON) in Environmental Science.

Being located in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, students will have ample opportunity to work in the various natural ecosystems which encircle the city. Sault Ste. Marie is at a crossroads between nature and industry, providing endless opportunities for students to examine first-hand the relationship between people and the environment. Within the city limits are large tracts of forests and fields, fast moving rivers, swamps, bogs, and St. Mary’s River. Not many cities can boast that kind of habitat diversity, or the biological diversity associated with it, making Algoma U and Sault Ste. Marie the ideal location to study Environmental Science.

Graduates of the program have the knowledge and skills needed to fill the current shortage of skilled workers in the environmental sector, including: researcher, research assistant, environmental consultant, environmental education, project manager, environmental sales, environmental risk management, coordinator for environmental initiatives, environmental technician, environmental communications, climatologist, biochemist, oceanographer, seismologist, biologist, ecologist, meteorologist, entomologist and many more.