Bachelor of Commerce

at Memorial University of Newfoundland - St Johns Campus Canada

The bachelor of arts degree requires students to complete a minimum of 120 credit hours (normally 40 courses) and generally takes four years to complete. During your studies, you will examine culture, thought, prehistory and history, human interactions and the social and natural forces that constantly transform our society. You will gain the critical-thinking, analytical and communication skills needed to succeed and adapt in a changing world through the study of a major and minor.

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Classics
• Communication studies
• Economics
• English
• Folklore
• French
• Gender studies
• Geography
• German
• History
• Law and society
• Linguistics
• Medieval studies
• Philosophy
• Police studies
• Political science
• Religious studies
• Russian
• Sociology
• Spanish

Laws are fundamental to any successful society. Law and society is the study of the place of these laws in social, political, economic and cultural life. Throughout history, as communities and countries have struggled to define and serve justice, social, cultural, and legal institutions have been essential. By studying how legal and social systems are interconnected and how law is woven into communities, students gain an understanding of what happens when legal instruments and institutions succeed and when they fail.

Law and society at Memorial
The law and society major encompasses many diverse disciplines of study, among them anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, political science, police studies and sociology. It introduces you to different facets of law and the role of law in society through the ages.

The law and society major is housed in the Department of Political Science.

Economics is a versatile field that deals with the analysis and management of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. Economics gives us the analytical tools to understand questions such as how prices are determined, why some people are unemployed, why interest rates rise and fall, and why product is traded between nations.

Political science is the systematic study of politics. Political scientists consider not only the structure and operations of government, but also public opinion, political parties and elections, and the way in which they interact with governments and shape the polices they make.

Political science at Memorial
Memorial's Department of Political Science has research strengths in public policy, European and international politics, as well as elections, campaigns and voting, particularly in Canada. Students who work towards a B.A. honours or major have the option of concentrating in Canadian government or in global studies. You can also gain job experience in a work internship, pursue a co-op degree, or spend a semester in Europe.

The Department of Political Science offers a Co-Operative Education Option available to political science majors. Admission to the co-op option is competitive for a limited number of places.

French
The French language is more than a thousand years old and has created one of Europe's greatest cultures. Much of the world's finest philosophy, cinema, history, science and literature are in French. French is one of Canada's official languages and is indispensable for anyone seeking a national career in any field. Having a second (or third!) language is a huge asset in an increasingly competitive global marketplace.

French at Memorial
All students majoring in French are required to participate in an immersion experience. Study abroad opportunities include the Frecker Program in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, the Canadian third-year in Nice, and the Université de Bretagne Sud.
The Frecker program is a total immersion program in St. Pierre-et-Miquelon where students will enrol in five Memorial University French courses and live with a French family. The program is offered every Fall semester and, when resources permit, in Winter semester as well.

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language through exploring language structure, language variation, language change, the development of language, as well as through the exploration of the psychology and biology of language. Linguistics evaluates the different facets of language, like childhood acquisition of language, the sounds of language and the ways in which social groups use language.

Memorial has the only linguistics department in Atlantic Canada. Through our data-driven, theoretically informed inquiry into aboriginal languages, we explore variation and change in language and its acquisition. Memorial is host to exceptional in-house data archives, broad library holdings and state-of-the-art labs and analytical tools.

Archaeology studies past human culture through the material left behind, including physical objects, bones, plants, building foundations, and landscapes such as settlements.

Within archaeology there are several areas of specialization. Bioarchaeology concentrates on how human beings acquired their present form and behaviour by tracing human evolution. Historical archaeology is the study of documented cultures since the 16th century. Prehistory is the study of ancient civilizations and hunter-gatherer societies.
Archaeology at Memorial
Memorial University has the only archaeology department east of Alberta. Archaeology students at Memorial regularly participate in digs throughout the province. Our department specializes in the North Atlantic and the Canadian Subarctic. Faculty interests range from the study of ancient Native cultures, through the historical archaeology of European expansion, to downed Second World War aircraft.

Experiential learning is at the heart of the archaeology major. You can expect to participate in field work, train in state-of-the-art laboratory techniques, and gain experience with the conservation and care of collections.

The Department of Archaeology offers a co-operative education option available to archaeology majors. Admission to the co-op option is competitive for a limited number of places.

Anthropology is the study of the origins of human beings and their culture worldwide. In addition to documenting a particular culture, anthropologists are interested in how and why human cultures change. Anthropology students at Memorial University will focus on core concepts, theoretical perspectives and case studies while examining a wide range of issues that exist in the contemporary world. 

Why study anthropology?
Anthropology courses provide a strong background if you intend to specialize in any of the social sciences and humanities or in medicine, nursing, social work, education, law, business, government and many other fields which require a cross-cultural understanding of human behaviour. 

Anthropology at Memorial
Our Faculty have addressed a wide range of important topics, including the Northern Ireland Peace Process, the political transformation that took place in Spain after the fall of Franco’s fascist regime, the politics of authenticity in Newfoundland’s fishing and tourism industries, historical memory of the Vietnam war, issues of development in Latin America, and social and political struggles over access to ocean spaces and resources.

If you speak Spanish you can communicate with nearly 500 million people in the world. Spanish is one of the most important languages in the economy, politics and culture of our hemisphere. It is the second language of the United States and is becoming popular in established economic powers such as China and emerging ones like Brazil and India. Knowing Spanish will give you greater job opportunities in the labour market.

Spanish at Memorial:-
Students are offered opportunities to study abroad, including a summer immersion program in La Coruña, Spain.

Russian is one of the five official languages of the United Nations and is the native language of 142 million citizens of the Russian Federation.

Russian at Memorial:-
The Russian major combines learning the Russian language and developing a specialization in various aspects of Russian culture, literature and contemporary issues, relevant to the importance of Russia as a world power in the 21st century. Students can avail of study abroad and internship opportunities in Russia.