Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts

at Mount Allison University Canada

Biology is the scientific study of living things — their form, function, origin, and behavior. Disciplines include cell biology, ecology, genetics and evolution, and animal and plant diversity.
The Department of Biology at Mount Allison is committed to providing students with opportunities for hands-on learning, as well as research and laboratory experience.

First-year courses include studies of evolution, ecology, human biology, and cell biology, as well as biochemistry.
Upper-year courses allow students to explore topics such as:

• Marine biology
• Aquaculture
• Embryology
• Genetics
• Microbiology
• Ornithology
• Physiology
• Animal biology
• Plant biology

Faculty are actively involved in research and students are strongly encouraged to participate in research through faculty-supervised independent research projects during summers or during academic terms.

Research opportunities in the Department of Biology at Mount Allison include:

• Phytoplankton physiology
• Neurophysiology
• Environmental animal physiology
• Fish ecology
• Molecular genetics
• Marine botany
• Field ecology

History helps us understand the individuals, groups, ideas, and institutions that have shaped our world. It encourages critical analysis and helps develop your communication and writing skills.

The Department of History at Mount Allison offers courses in a wide variety of subjects. It has a particular strength in European history, with courses also available in Canadian, American, Asian, Acadian, and women’s history.

Courses examine subjects such as:

• Class and gender
• Wealth and poverty
• Faith and science
• Self and social identity
• Government and politics
• War and peace

Unlike many programs, which begin with introductory courses, history offers courses on a diverse range of topics beginning in first year.

The number and variety of courses available increases each year, with the greatest selection in third year.

In fourth year there are also opportunities for independent studies, which permit you to pursue an interest in an area not covered by other courses.

International relations is the study of the relationships between countries and between governmental and non-governmental organizations. It examines the impacts of economic, social, technological, environmental, military, and political processes, as well as issues of justice, responsibility, and human well-being.

The international relations program at Mount Allison is centred around courses in economics, language, and political science.

In first and second year you will take introductory courses in economics, political science, and international relations.

In third and fourth year you will begin to specialize. International relations is inter and multidisciplinary and in addition to your core courses, you will have the opportunity to choose two streams of study from the following disciplines:

• Political science (politics in Europe, the U.S., Africa, the Middle East; security studies; foreign policy analysis)
• History (war and society in Europe, Japan and modern Asia, environmental history)
• Sociology (social movements, refugee studies, globalization)
• Anthropology (indigenous knowledge systems, social inequality, globalization and social change)
• Economics (game theory, environmental economics, international development)
• Geography and environmental studies (Canadian environmental policy, international environmental affairs, sustainable development)
• English (African literature, Caribbean literature, literary representations of race and culture)
• Religious studies (gender issues in eastern and western religions, contemporary ethical issues)

International relations also has a university-level language requirement. Mount Allison offers courses in French, Spanish, German, and Japanese.

You are encouraged to gain international experience by studying or working abroad or by doing international work in Canada, and to carry out independent research.

Environmental Science provides a strong but diverse scientific foundation required to understand environmental issues from a multi-disciplinary perspective.

Environmental Science is an ideal discipline if you have both a strong interest in science and a concern for the environment. This interdisciplinary program is science intensive and provides you with the foundation necessary to understand environmental issues from many different perspectives.

At Mount Allison, Environmental Science students study issues like:

• the mechanics of weather and climate
• the biological consequences of climate change
• the impacts of environmental degradation
• the effects of climate on the distribution of animals and plants
• the impact of environmental change on freshwater systems

In upper years, you will compliment your major with an in-depth concentration of courses to provide you with a scientific specialty when you graduate.

Concentrations include:

• Aquatic environments
• Environmental chemistry
• Environmental modelling
• Environmental monitoring and management

You also have the opportunity to investigate issues you are passionate about through independent research (honours).

The study of Fine Arts helps you develop your artistic and creative abilities, and your ability to think critically, write, and speak about works of art.

At Mount Allison, Fine Arts offers a unique approach for students looking to obtain professional training — combining studio work and instruction with the freedom of an immersive liberal arts and sciences curriculum.
The Fine Arts program gives you the opportunity to develop your creative and critical ability through studio courses in:

• Drawing
• Painting
• Photography (analog and digital)
• Printmaking (lithography, silkscreen, intaglio, relief, and letterpress)
• Sculpture and installation
• Open media

The first-year studio courses give you a broad knowledge and skill base. The second and third years courses build on this foundation and focus on selected studio areas. In your final year, you create a body of work through independent study. In addition to studio classes, you'll undertake courses and seminars that foster an understanding of art history and visual culture.

Learning Spanish and about Hispanic culture and literature will open doors that you never knew existed. It will change the way you think about the world around you. As one of the most-spoken languages in the world, Spanish can also serve you in the workplace, while on vacation, or in your career as a student.

We offer three degree options.

1. If you’ve already selected a major, consider a MINOR in Spanish. Many students specializing in International Relations, History, Commerce, Sociology and even Biology pursue a minor in Spanish because knowledge of the language helps them pursue career paths in international contexts or in the developing world. 

2. A MAJOR in Spanish truly embraces the language, cultural and literary contexts of the Hispanic world, drawing from the rich cultures of Latin America as well as Spain. Our courses entice students to travel or study abroad and offer authentic encounters with the Hispanic world through art, film and most importantly, literature.

3. An HONOURS in Spanish via the Interdisciplinary Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures degree, with an emphasis on Spanish. Combined with the study of two other languages, this degree option allows you to gain intimate knowledge of three languages while focusing on the culture and literature of the Spanish-speaking world.

Studies in drama and in the theatre form an integral part of Mount Allison's special mission and tradition in the fine and performing arts, as well as playing a vital role in the University's overall efforts to provide a liberal education. The best in theatre and drama allows us to rehearse alternative realities. It shows us new perspectives, challenges us, and touches us, as our lives and the issues we face are reflected back in new and surprising ways. It can change our lives and change our world. Students involved in Drama at Mount Allison are challenged to work creatively and resourcefully, solving problems, and discovering and exploring new means of communication and expression - all within a cooperative collaborative environment that is intimate enough to allow special attention to the individual student.

In response to our mandate as an interdisciplinary program in Drama Studies within the liberal education focus on Mount Allison University, our curriculum focuses on breadth, introducing students to as many areas of the discipline as our faculty and staff are qualified to teach. Our capstone independent theatre projects course (DRAM 4011 Advanced Theatrical Interpretation) allows students to gain a measure of advanced work in areas of interest, while our extensive theatre season means all students (both drama and non-drama) have ample opportunity to experience a wide range of skills: artistic, practical, academic, social, managerial, critical, and experimental. All dimensions of drama work are fully contextualized in the broader degree structure, which means students are not only exposed to at least one other field in some depth through their Minor subject, but also introduced to a multiple of complementary and distribution study areas.
 
Students' involvement with the Interdisciplinary Program in Drama may evolve through the formal routes of the Major or Minor in Drama described elsewhere under programs on this website, or it may take the form of co-curricular or extra-curricular activities in support of Drama Program productions in the University's brand-new multi-functional Motyer-Fancy Theatre. Typically, a total of up to ten shows are mounted every year, performed and crewed by students, with direction and design by a mixture of theatre professionals and senior students.

Participation in the Motyer-Fancy Theatre is open to all Mount Allison students, regardless of their chosen field of study.

Many Mount Allison graduates - both those who followed the formal path of Major or Minor, and others who worked on Drama Studies theatre productions as enrichment of their academic programs have gone on to careers in acting, directing, theatre management, stage management, design, and playwriting both in Canada and abroad.

The study of geography develops an understanding of the principles of ecological and physical systems; of the cultural, social, economic, and political forces acting on those systems; and of the management, planning or scientific tools necessary to meet environmental challenges and opportunities.

Other degree options in the field of geography and environment at Mount Allison:

• BA environmental studies (honours, major, minor)
• BSc environmental science (honours, major, minor)
• Any degree, geographic information systems (minor)

The Mount Allison geography program explores courses in both human and physical geography, and is designed for students interested in the study of social sciences at various spatial and temporal scales.

Geography will often take you outside the classroom to learn through lab work, field study, and library and archival searching. Field trips to locations across the Maritime region and throughout North America have become an increasingly important part of this program.

You are also encouraged to become actively involved in research, either through independent summer research projects or as a research assistant to a faculty member.

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind, brain, and behaviour. The goals are to describe, explain, and predict behaviour, allowing for a scientific means of optimizing human development, abilities, and quality of life.

At its core, psychology is the quest to understand why people do what they do. The objectives of psychological study are to understand human nature, for its own sake, and to provide an increasingly reliable basis for the application of psychological principles to education, social policy, and medical treatment.

At Mount Allison, psychology can be pursued either as a science or an arts discipline, depending on your interests.

As the scientific study of mind and behaviour, psychology studies is a:

• Social science – how people influence the behaviour of others, why we do what we do, personality and self-concept
• Biological science – physiological mechanisms, neuroanatomy, evolutionary origins of mental and behavioural phenomena
• Cognitive science – sensation and perception, abstract thinking, reasoning, language, memory

The psychology program at Mount Allison offers students a diversity of courses, while maintaining a strong core curriculum. Courses are offered in areas of psychology like:

• Developmental
• Biological
• Neurological
• Cognitive
• Social
• Personality
• Abnormal
• LearningHealth

Psychology students develop their knowledge by using scientific methods to analyze behaviour, employing careful observation and experimentation to develop and test theories. The results are theories, backed up by facts, that further your comprehension of the human mind.

Chemistry is the branch of physical science involving the study of the composition of substances, the ways in which their properties are related to their composition, and the interaction of substances to produce new materials.
The general purpose of studies in chemistry is to increase our understanding of the structure and behaviour of the matter of our environment. A knowledge of chemistry is important to the solution of problems in important areas of the environment, medicine, and the utilization of resources.

The chemistry program at Mount Allison – fully accredited by the Canadian Society of Chemistry (CSC) – is designed to provide students with an education in the main branches of the subject, namely:

• Analytical
• Organic
• Inorganic
• Physical
• Computational

In upper years, students are offered some choice and flexibility with a curriculum that covers advanced courses, including:

• Advanced organic chemistry
• Physical organic chemistry
• Nanoscience and nanotechnology
• Physical chemistry: statistical thermodynamics, computational chemistry
• Inorganic chemistry: organometallics, physical aspects, bioinorganic, structure and bonding in main group chemistry
• Advanced quantum mechanics
• Environmental chemistry

The interdisciplinary nature of chemistry means you may also take courses in biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, mathematics, and psychology.

The chemistry and biochemistry department emphasizes experiential learning – you will graduate with 600 to 1,200 hours of lab experience, developing important analytical and presentation skills along the way.

Research is a key component of the department's approach. You will be encouraged to take advantage of faculty-supervised independent research, job opportunities as summer research assistants, and chances to contribute to faculty research projects, which often leads to co-authoring a paper with your professor for publication.