Bachelor of Arts (Major) in Economics

at Thompson Rivers University - Kamloops Campus Canada

Of interest to students who have a non-business degree and want to return to university for one or two years to acquire a specialty in a functional area of business. Students with a first degree in business, but who want to change their area of focus, may complete a post-baccalaureate diploma as well.

Bachelor of Arts, Major in Communication
This four-year degree allows you to choose between two streams:

• Communication and New Media Studies
• Communication and Public Relations

Although there is some overlap in core courses, the two streams have different lower and upper level requirements.

Communication and New Media Studies
This stream covers the aesthetic, narrative and theoretical aspects of technology, as well as computer-mediated communication. If you have an interest in the ways technology, design and business interact, this program is for you.

Taking this stream will help you understand how "new" media fit in with forms and practices that are a part of "old" media. You will be able to anticipate developments in new media, and the genres and other patterns that they manifest — such as story and play in computer games; community, conversation and interpersonal communication with smartphones and social software; the way charisma, character and identity are communicated across a range of media.

Opportunities within the community
Three 3700 CMNS students tried their hand at deep mapping the Kamloops Art Gallery (KAG). Each played a different role on the team — social media/blogging, mapping and videography. Their objective was to deploy deep mapping as a strategy for TRU students and the Kamloops Art Gallery to co-placemake, to move away from just the consumption of the cultural products in the KAG to the creation of a community of producers and consumers where the distinction between the two is a little more blurred. One of KAG’s mandates is to create community, and one of TRU’s mandates is to connect with the community, so this worked well on so many levels. Please visit their website below. They were guided in their studies by their professor, Dr. Kathleen Scherf, employees and members of the KAG and by TRU webmaster Robline Forsythe.

Communication and Public Relations
This stream covers the practical and commercial application of communication. If you have business, tourism, entrepreneurial and public service ambitions, this program will show you how communication can enhance your business practices. Close ties with the Tourism and Business faculties offer the benefit of preparing you for a wide variety of business and event planning situations. No other such program exists in the Kamloops region.

This program offers graduates a background in communication history and theory, a wide reservoir of meaning-making skills (image-based, language-based, etc.), marketing knowledge and event planning. The communication courses offer training in strategies of communication design and the application of theory through pragmatic application. Public relations graduates should be well-rounded professional communicators who are prepared to enter the public or private sectors.

Learn from strong teaching and research expertise about sustainable urban and rural landscapes, environmental geography, economic geography, hydrology, climatology, geomorphology and emerging geomatic technologies, including Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

The Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies is a two-year degree program which students generally enter after two years, or 60 credits, of undergraduate study. The program allows you to design your own customized curriculum.

Students who want a more flexible and varied learning experience in their university degree program, and those who are not yet sure of a career path, can complete a wide range of courses during their first two years of study before entering the BIS degree. This allows students to explore their interests, passions and potential career options without having to plan a specific major within an arts, science or business degree program.

The BIS degree is also designed to build on two-year diplomas and associate degrees offered across British Columbia and throughout Canada, and can normally be completed in four semesters of full-time study.

The Accounting Technician Diploma is a two-year program designed to prepare graduates for positions as para-professionals that serve alongside professional accountants in industry, public practice, and government doing much of the support work. Graduates find employment with public accounting firms working on files and basic tax returns; as payroll, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or general accounting clerks in larger organizations; or as bookkeepers with smaller businesses.

The Bachelor of Computing Science degree consists of two years of concentrated computing studies preceded by two years of general study. It is designed for those wishing to enter a in Computing Science, or for those wishing to pursue graduate studies. The program will mainly concentrate on small to medium business environments.

The degree will:
Enable students in academic streams to obtain a computing science degree.
Allow students with a 2 or 3 year Computing Science Diploma to continue their education and obtain a Degree in Computing Science.
Permit students in the B.Sc. and B.A. degrees more course options, including obtaining a Minor in Computing Science.
Allow past students the ability to upgrade skills to maintain or enhance employability.
Allow employees required to upgrade their skills, but not necessarily interested in completing the degree, to take needed courses.

Program Highlights
Explore a career in the technology industry—software and hardware design, system architecture, operating system structure, and modeling and simulation. The BCS degree consists of two years of general study followed by two years of concentrated computing studies. Double degree option with Business Administration available.

The Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree in Visual Arts is shaped around a core curriculum of Studio and Art History/Theory courses. There is also the option to pursue a program stream in Gallery Studies. The BFA degree encourages an interdisciplinary approach to learning which takes advantage of the many facets of the university community. A student completing the degree may pursue a variety of employment opportunities or further educational studies.

Gallery studies:-
Students interested in Gallery Studies are able to take courses in and, if they choose, specialize in this area. Courses such as Gallery Management and Public Art provide the student with an understanding of gallery infrastructures and programming at the local, regional, national, and international levels, as well as the economic structure and impact of Arts communities. Other courses in curating and exhibition installation deal more specifically with the planning and implementing of exhibitions. The TRU Visual Arts Gallery and the Kamloops Art Gallery are potential teaching spaces. Directed Studies in Gallery Studies at the fourth year level allow students to pursue this area in greater depth.

Studio and art history offerings:-
The Visual Arts Program is equipped with extensive studios for courses in Ceramics, Drawing, Foundation, Painting, Photography, Printmaking (etching and silkscreen), and Sculpture, as well as Directed Studies. While instruction is offered in each studio area, we encourage students to work across these disciplines as well, particularly in the fourth year Graduating Studies offerings. Courses in these areas, as well as courses in historical, modern and contemporary Art History and Theory make up the core of the BFA.

TRU’s Visual Arts facilities also include an Art Gallery for student, faculty and other exhibitions. Students are encouraged to take part in Gallery activities through the submission of work for scheduled exhibitions, and are invited to consider proposing exhibitions for the Gallery as well. The Gallery is also used as a venue for presenting the work of artists from across Canada who come to TRU as part of our Visiting Artist program.

Communication and New Media Studies
This stream covers the aesthetic, narrative and theoretical aspects of technology, as well as computer-mediated communication. If you have an interest in the ways technology, design and business interact, this program is for you.

Taking this stream will help you understand how "new" media fit in with forms and practices that are a part of "old" media. You will be able to anticipate developments in new media, and the genres and other patterns that they manifest — such as story and play in computer games; community, conversation and interpersonal communication with smartphones and social software; the way charisma, character and identity are communicated across a range of media.

Communication and Public Relations
This stream covers the practical and commercial application of communication. If you have business, tourism, entrepreneurial and public service ambitions, this program will show you how communication can enhance your business practices. Close ties with the Tourism and Business faculties offer the benefit of preparing you for a wide variety of business and event planning situations. No other such program exists in the Kamloops region.

This program offers graduates a background in communication history and theory, a wide reservoir of meaning-making skills (image-based, language-based, etc.), marketing knowledge and event planning. The communication courses offer training in strategies of communication design and the application of theory through pragmatic application. Public relations graduates should be well-rounded professional communicators who are prepared to enter the public or private sectors.

Of interest to students who have a non-business degree, and who want to return to university for one or two years to acquire a specialty in a functional area of business or economics in order to enhance their employment opportunities. Students with a first degree in business, but who want to change their area of focus, may complete a post-baccalaureate diploma as well.

Earn a professional teaching certificate from the BC Teacher Certification Branch, qualifying you to teach in an elementary school setting—public, independent, private, religious, and First Nations—as well as secondary school. An extensive teaching practicum at selected elementary schools in the BC Interior enhances your studies.