Bachelor of Music

at EduCo - Western University Canada

Language is the chief means which members of the human species use to communicate with each other. Its scientific and humanistic study is called linguistics. The history of linguistics goes back to ancient times, and during the 19th and 20th centuries it flourished and came to be associated most strongly with the scientific study of individual languages of the world as well as with the search to identify those traits which are common to all languages.

The study of linguistics is indispensable for anyone interested in a particular language or in a discipline with a focus on language in general. Students in many different fields of study find that linguistics makes an interesting and engaging elective or optional course (when combined with the discipline of language study, it is excellent preparation for law school, for example). In terms of careers, this means that anyone interested in language teaching of any sort (such as a Bachelors of Education, or TESL certification), in communicative disorders (including both Audiology and Speech Pathology), in translation or in interpreting should be sure to include some linguistics courses in their undergraduate preparation. The addition of linguistics, the scientific study of language, further enhances your academic program with critical and analytical skills, while contributing to your better understanding of human language (English, French and others), not simply from a grammatical or spoken perspective but also from a scientific approach.

Instead of specializing, Integrated engineers work across fields realizing opportunities and implementing practical solutions. In the Integrated engineering program, you will have a broad foundation in engineering fundamentals and problem-solving approaches across different engineering disciplines and develop skills to navigate and manage the interaction between engineering and business. Your knowledge and skills will be suited to participate on and lead interdisciplinary engineering and business teams to seek innovative solutions to significant challenges, including: climate change, renewable energy, environmentally friendly buildings, food and water security, autonomous transportation systems, and much more.

Epidemiology and Biostatistics trains students to understand why some people get sick and others do not, why rates of disease vary by person, place and time and to learn how to investigate disease causation, prevention and intervention. Develop skills to contribute to health policy by providing data relevant to health promotion and illness-prevention programs. Study areas concerned with the determinants and distribution of diseases in human populations while discovering new statistical methods for collecting, analyzing and interpreting data.

Canada is currently experiencing a shift in demographics. For the first time in our nation’s history, seniors now outnumber children. This shift significantly affects the healthcare system, and means that there is tremendous career potential for those who wish to working with aging adults. The Honors Specialization in Health and Aging provides students with the knowledge they need to understand the health issues of older adults, as well as the effects on health care services. Students who graduate from this module will be well-equipped to work in programs and services geared toward older adults, and also to address systemic challenges.

Economics is a social science devoted to the study of scarcity, and how individuals, organisations, and governments make choices. The discipline’s guiding principle is found in the idea that all of these choices can most usefully be seen as decisions to allocate scarce resources across a range of competing uses. This single principle is always in play, and leads economists to study a wide array of social questions.

In the first year Economics courses you will be exposed to the use of this basic principle and the analytical tools that go with them in both the microeconomic and macroeconomic realm. The first of these (micro) refers to the study of choices made by individuals and/or individual firms, and how these decisions interact in markets. The macro segment then looks at how this principle allows us to better understand the behaviour of the economy in the aggregate. This leads to the study of unemployment, inflation, government budgets and international trade balances. These courses then provide the basis for all of the more senior – and more specialized – courses offered by the Department.

The Major in Economics Module, by itself, can be either a 3 or 4 year Degree. The Economics Major can be combined with a Major in another subject in order to create an Honors Double Major Degree. For the purposes of progression and graduation, ALL Honors Economics courses taken shall be counted as principal courses, and the requirements for both majors must be met in order to graduate with an Honors Double Major.

Build on a foundation of normal anatomy, biochemistry, cell biology and physiology to look at the structural and functional changes that occur in human disease. Learn about human illness that can also result from adverse effects of biological and chemical toxins, environmental pollutants, and occupational exposures to toxins.

Explore the dynamics that shape your everyday experiences as a gendered person in contemporary culture. In our courses you will learn how to develop a critical perspective that takes factors such as sex, gender, sexuality, race, class and (dis)ability into account. You might find your worldview transformed as you apply these perspectives to your study in other classes and to all aspects of your life. Our courses reflect an expanding field of feminist research including feminist theory, sexuality studies, health, queer and legal issues, philosophy, violence against women, women and equity in the workplace, and women and the creative arts.

Women's Studies and Feminist Research officially became a department at The University of Western Ontario in July 2006. The Women's Studies program was established in 1987 and is a department in both the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, and the Faculty of Social Science. The Department offers a variety of degree modules and promotes feminist scholarship through provision for resident scholars, a Distinguished Speakers Series, faculty colloquia, annual conferences, and publications. It also has an active and lively Women's Studies Student Council.

Biology can be studied at the level of molecules, cells, organisms and populations. Selecting a Biology module affords you the opportunity to study at all of these different scales or to focus in upper year courses on only one or two. Another reason the Biology modules are a popular choice is it allows you to study a wide range of organisms from microbes to humans. Students interested in the area of ecology will find that the Biology modules will allow them to take a wide range of engaging courses covering aspects of community, population, molecular and chemical ecology. Similarly, students interested in evolutionary biology can be engaged by courses on more quantitative aspects of evolution to evolutionary genetics. Both plant and animal physiology courses are also popular choices of students in these modules built on a strong cohort of research faculty in these areas.

Genetics is the study of the process and implications of trait inheritance which is linked explicitly to the concept of the gene and the molecule DNA. The Department offers four modules in this foundational area of biology that are built upon its research and teaching strengths. In the area of molecular genetics students will be able to take a range of courses focused on gene structure, function and regulation that introduce modern 'omic' approaches (e.g. genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics) that are taught using a range of animal, plant and microbial systems. Related topics such as genetic engineering and developmental genetics form the basis of additional courses. Building on research expertise in other subdiscipline there are courses in behavioural genetics, and evolutionary genetics.

Are you moved by crisis in Darfur? Do social movements such as the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street interest you? Do you want to work for a public service or a non-profit organisation? Then the Media and the Public Interest (MPI) program might be for you. The MPI program is the only one of its kind in Canada and connects issues of communication and media to social justice issues such as democracy, equity, class, race, and gender. Students in MPI examine social movements and how media can be used to further these causes. Some example courses in the MPI program include Alternative Media, Social Movements and Media, and Activism in Mainstream Media. A primary goal of the program is to connect media theory learned in the classroom to real world experiences. Students are encouraged to put what they learn to use. Many of the courses feature a service learning component or practicum that gives students the opportunity to volunteer in a community organisation.