Bachelor of Science, Major in Physical Geography and Environment

at EduCo - Western University Canada

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.

High Energy Physics
Topics of interest to high-energy physicists include the phenomenology of elementary particle interactions, quantum field theory, the dynamical breakdown of quantum field theoretical symmetries, the quantization of gravity, string/brane models underlying known-interaction physics, and the unification of fundamental interactions of nature.
The high-energy physicists in our department participate in the Collaborative Ph.D. Program in Theoretical Physics, and have strong ties with the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in nearby Waterloo, Ontario.

Materials Physics
Water droplet graphicAt the other end of the spectrum, materials physics is a research area that connects physics with chemistry and computational mathematics. The Material Physics group in our department uses computer simulations of nano-scale phenomena to make important discoveries about the properties of materials we use every day.
Overall, the research in theoretical physics is devoted to the study of soft condensed matter physics, physical chemistry and fluid mechanics. Research topics include microfluidic devices, colloidal systems, nanotribology including friction in biological systems, ceramics under high pressure, quantum-mechanical many-body systems, quantum chemistry, polymers, liquid crystals, disordered systems, phase transitions, wave propagation and nonlinear interactions.

Software engineering is a systematic and disciplined approach to the design and development of software. It applies technical computer science skills and engineering principles to the creation, operation, and maintenance of software systems. In Western’s Software engineering program, you will experience a real world education approach to allow you to specify, design, implement, and maintain innovative software systems. You will engage in experiential learning opportunities and project-based courses, building software systems, ranging from apps for mobile devices to systems used by world-wide organizations.

The dynamic field of Health Promotion has been growing over the last decade and is now a critical emphasis within the public and private sectors. Health Promotion, which can be described as 'making the healthier choice the easier choice', is a multi-dimensional field of study that helps students acquire health-related knowledge in both the social sciences and life sciences. Students interested in careers in health program development, community health, and public health education should explore the Honors Specialization Health Promotion.

By studying German at Western, you can gain a solid foundation in the language of Europe’s most influential economy and explore the language and culture in which figures such as Bach, Goethe, Mozart, Nietzsche, Brecht, Kafka, and Benjamin lived and worked and in which recent Nobel Prize winners, Elfriede Jelinek and Herta Müller, are thriving. Investigate and analyze culture through upper year seminars about German literary, visual and performing arts, covering periods from the medieval, classicist, romantic agesto the contemporary culture of unification and integration or about cities such as Vienna and Berlin. Major, Minor or Certificate module options are available and final-year capstone experiences include research seminars or project courses, and completion of an undergraduate honors thesis.

Student learn the German language through a multi-media, communicative approach, that focuses on the cultures of all German-speaking countries and integrates authentic materials such as articles, websites, film and literature. Challenge yourself with study abroad or exchange opportunities and receive credit at Western or engage with hands-on intercultural experience through in-class and community service learning.

An interdisciplinary and dynamic field, Women’s Studies has undergone impressive expansion in recent decades. In the Department of Women’s Studies and Feminist Research at Western, students study gender, and sexuality in terms of cultural norms and their implications from a variety of feminist perspectives. We explore how gender intersects with other axes of identity such as class, race, ethnicity, socio-economic standing, (dis)ability, age, and more. Encouraging the development of critical thinking skills, our discipline asks students to consider how knowledge gets produced and to what effect. We question how gendered understandings shape and shift our world in relation to local experience, historical realities, and the global present.

Discover how the immune system protects us from infections micro-organisms and cancer cells to maintain our health, yet can cause disorders like autoimmune diseases and allergies. Learn about antimicrobial therapies, vaccine strategies/challenges and lab techniques used to identify bacteria and measure immune health.

The most important alphabet on Earth is its smallest — the four letter code of DNA.  How hereditary information is conveyed using such a small code began to be understood by studying organisms in which something was wrong (mutants).  Today this traditional approach is complemented by molecular genetics, which takes advantage of a wealth of DNA sequence information as well as technologies that allows one to easily disrupt and replace specific genes. As a student, you can take a range of courses focused on gene structure, function and regulation that are taught using a range of animal, plant and microbial systems. Courses in genetic engineering, developmental genetics, behavioral genetics, and evolutionary genetics convey the importance of the smallest alphabet has an all aspects of life.

Earth Sciences is the science of the planet Earth. We seek to understand the Earth's internal structure and composition; its dynamic character (earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics); the processes that occur within it; the processes that shape its surface and the materials that constitute its surface layers; the origin, occurrence, extraction and conservation of the Earth's natural resources (minerals, fossil fuels, soils, and water); the place of the Earth within the Solar System, and the history of life on Earth. Earth Sciences puts the human race in planetary perspective within space and time. As our awareness of human interactions with the environment increases, our need for better understanding of the way the earth works becomes more urgent. Increasingly, a grounding in Earth Sciences is seen as essential for those concerned with care of the environment and assessment of natural hazards, as well as for those involved with utilising Earth's resources. Solutions to problems of pollution and waste disposal, to major civil engineering problems such as those encountered at dam sites, and to the effects of global change arising from human impact on the environment, must all be sought within the framework of Earth Sciences.

Western's new Creative Arts and Production (CAP) program is a unique, student-centred option that focuses on creativity, creative practice and collaboration.

As a CAP student, you will be registered in one of three home faculties - the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, the Faculty of Information and Media Studies, or the Don Wright Faculty of Music - while taking advantage of expertise and resources across all three faculties. You will work towards a degree that integrates both theory and production as you select from a broad range of elective courses within arts, media studies, and music.