Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Environmental Studies (Co-op)

at Carleton University Canada

Biology in the 21st century is among the most diverse and exciting of the sciences. Many of the challenges we face as a society, from environmental decline to the demand for new health therapies, involve biological solutions. As a Carleton Biology student in the BA program, you will gain broad experience through core science courses and courses in the arts and social sciences that suit your individual interests and needs.

Language is an essential part of what it is to be human and this program gives you the opportunity to examine how language works in real life. The field of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Studies develops and applies theories to solve everyday problems involving language. Course materials address such questions as how languages are taught and learned, how language competencies are evaluated, how writing is used to perform a variety of functions, how language is used in specific social contexts, how language can influence society and vice versa, how government policies influence language practices and what makes a bilingual education program effective.

The study of history allows us to recognize and understand the complex issues that shaped the contemporary world. The History Department offers courses in African, American, Asian, Canadian, Caribbean, European, Latin American and South Asian history. Some courses trace the history of social, political and cultural change of a region or period. Others are thematic and may examine women’s history, the histories of science, sexuality, food and drink, or slavery. In the Public History concentration, Honours students explore how history appears in our everyday lives, not just in museums and monuments, but also in movies, reality television, video games, music and the stories families and communities pass from one generation to the next.

In first year, history students may choose a small seminar class or a larger lecture course with a tutorial group. Both formats foster debate and discussion. All history courses encourage student research which may draw on the rich array of libraries and archives in the national capital, including Carleton’s own valuable collections and resources.

Where better to study politics than the nation’s capital? Our location in Ottawa provides you with numerous chances to see politics not only nationally but internationally. You will examine such topics of study as international relations, transitions to democracy, parties and elections, globalization and social movements, and the culture and ideas of politics.

International or local exchanges are an exciting possibility during your third year, and you may also choose to undertake an internship of your choosing, with permission of the undergraduate supervisor. In fourth year, an internship with the Washington Center is an option for consideration.

Study the global community from 1400 to the present, exploring how global connections, movements, and trends have shaped our world, with a particular focus on the nonwestern world. This specialization covers topics such as the nature of global interactions, major historical encounters across geographical regions, regional histories, and the dialogue between forces of global integration and a diversity of local sources of knowledge. You will gain skills in research, conceptualization, interpretation, and communication in global history and a complex understanding of the causes and consequences of the making of the modern world.

Africa is the most culturally and geographically diverse continent on earth. The African Studies program offers you an opportunity to study the histories, cultures, languages, geographies, politics and economics of this fascinating continent. You will also learn about the aid, trade and investment, and migration flows that link Africa to the rest of the world in the era of globalization.

Students in the Combined Honours program can benefit from a work placement opportunity, a mentorship program and the chance to study in Africa through our African Studies Abroad course or by doing their third year at one of the African universities with which Carleton has exchange agreements.

Where better to study politics than the nation’s capital? Our location in Ottawa provides you with numerous chances to see politics not only nationally but internationally. You will examine such topics of study as international relations, transitions to democracy, parties and elections, globalization and social movements, and the culture and ideas of politics.

International or local exchanges are an exciting possibility during your third year, and you may also choose to undertake an internship of your choosing, with permission of the undergraduate supervisor. In fourth year, an internship with the Washington Center is an option for consideration.

Historians of art and architecture study visual communication. In Carleton’s Art History program, we study the great monuments of Western culture—painting, sculpture and buildings—but we also study Asian and other non-Western art, North American Indigenous art, photography, printmaking and popular culture as well as the institutions of art itself: museums, galleries and exhibitions.

Our material ranges from the prehistoric to the present day. Our students come away from the program with direct experience of collections of art here in the National Capital Region and a historical framework for understanding imagery, as well as an awareness of the multiple possibilities for interpreting art, architecture and other visual phenomena.

Specifically, we examine how representations work. We analyze the products of the human imagination and the visual expressions of different societies. Such analyses produce a historical awareness as well as an understanding of modes of expression in different cultures. This knowledge provides students with the intellectual tools that allow them to function as informed and thoughtful individuals in and increasingly visual and globalized society.

Carleton’s Bachelor of Health Sciences (BHSc) is a wide-ranging and career-focused program that will provide you with the skills required to succeed in the rapidly changing worlds of medicine, biomedical research and healthcare research. You will gain a strong foundation in the scientific knowledge and methods involved in the study of human health, along with the capacity to engage in broader multidisciplinary, multi-sector, and multicultural approaches to finding solutions to some of the most crucial health issues of our time.

Environment and Health
his concentration explores the influence of our environment on our health, from toxins we are exposed to in our daily lives to the effect of climate change on global patterns of infectious disease. You will learn about the chemistry of environmental toxins, their effect on our cells and DNA, and our immune responses to them, including how multiple factors can make individuals either more vulnerable or more resilient to illness. You will also study issues related to the prevention and treatment of environmentally linked illnesses such as cancer, asthma, and neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

Carleton’s English program ranges from some of the most famous names in English writing to lesser-known authors, taking into account regional, national and global perspectives. You will have a chance to discuss the pressing issues and enduring ideas behind literature, as well as examine the ways in which books spring from cultural contexts and fit into the arc of literary history. You will explore how British and Canadian literary traditions have evolved and how alternative, underground and non-Western voices trouble and enrich those traditions. You may take workshops in creative writing and drama, either as electives or in the context of the department’s concentrations in Creative Writing and Drama Studies. We also offer a minor in Professional Writing, as well a minor in Drama Studies.