Bachelor of Arts in International Development & Business (Honours Arts)

at Trent University Peterborough Canada

As a B.E.S.S. student at one of Canada’s top postsecondary environmental institutions, develop a strong understanding of solutions to natural resource and environmental problems and learn how to combine scientific and social knowledge effectively in this interdisciplinary joint arts-science degree. You will gain an understanding of the scientific aspects of contemporary environmental issues that are linked to policy and planning decisions leading to an environmentally sustainable future. Your studies will address environmental challenges, science, policy and politics from multiple perspectives.

Accelerated Master's Degree:-
Earn your M.Sc. in Environmental & Life Sciences (ELS) in only 12-16 months after graduating from your B.Sc.

Resume Boosters:-

• Conduct hands-on research in state-of-the-art labs and Trent’s extensive “living laboratory” of nature reserves right here on campus
• Minimum entrance and performance requirements challenge you to maintain a high standard of academic performance throughout your degree
• Pursue a capstone or community-based research project or write and defend an undergraduate Honours thesis

Making sound decisions. Managing business growth. Creating short-term and long-term strategies. Each of these actions (and more) are rooted in a sound understanding of accounting. This specialization allows students to not only gain a thorough understanding of accounting, but also make and gain critical career experience and connections through the specialization’s co-op stream. Across three work terms, you can explore different areas and analysis of accounting, get paid, and prepare for a potential future as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) or other professional track.

Resume Boosters:

• Explore your strengths and career interests, and graduate with 12 months of work experience (and income) through the new four-year B.B.A. co-op option, giving you the competitive edge for future job prospects.
• Prepare for your CPA designation or springboard into an M.B.A.
• Complete 100-hours of hands-on professional experience through an internship with business sector companies and organizations
• Network with industry experts and organizations through program-led events

The Specialization in Small-scale Farming provides students in Trent’s one-of-a-kind Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems (B.A. or B.Sc.) program with a comprehensive background and hands-on experience in growing food and contributing to resilient regional food systems.

Through a new, intensive hands-on field course, that covers the principles of vegetable and field crops in terms of sustainable management on the Trent Model Farm, students study the principles to cultivate crops including field preparing, soil and nutrient management, seeding, pest management, irrigation techniques, harvest and post-harvest.

Resume Boosters:

• Get your hands dirty as you gain firsthand insight into the principles of vegetable and field crops including field preparation, soil and nutrient management, seeding, pest management, irrigation techniques, harvest and post-harvest by working on the Trent Farm.
• Put theory into practice at one of Trent’s on-campus food and farming assets, the most extensive in the area, including the Trent Farm, Market Garden, Vegetable Garden, Apiary, First Peoples House of Learning Medicine Garden, and the Seasoned Spoon.
• Work alongside leading experts and thought leaders in agriculture businesses and community organizations and gain diverse experiences in the practice of small-scale farming.
• Make your mark in our engaged student community by joining the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Society, Trent Apiary, or Food Services Sustainability Committee.

Create a unique educational focus based on your passions and interests, with an interdisciplinary knowledge base
Trent’s joint major programs give you full license to create a degree that's uniquely your own, by combining courses in the arts, sciences, or professional programs. Have a passion for social justice? Combine your Politics degree with Gender & Women’s Studies. Interested in all things tech? Join Media Studies and Computing Systems. Mix and match programs that best appeal to your interests, preparing yourself for a future with more possibility.

Combine degrees. Expand your horizons.
At Trent, you have the flexibility to combine nearly any two programs of your choice. To help you narrow it down, here’s a list of some of our most popular combinations:

• Media Studies and Psychology 
• Anthropology and History 
• English and Media Studies 
• Biology and Psychology 
• Anthropology and Psychology 
• Environmental Studies and Biology 
• Anthropology and Sociology 
• Geography and Canadian Studies 
• Computing Systems and Media Studies 
• Economics and Philosophy 
• Economics and Psychology 
• English and Psychology 
• Psychology and Sociology 
• Computing Systems and Economics 
• English and Sociology 

You can also explore the popular joint major combinations within our professional programs like Business Administration and Forensic Science.

Study at the only university in Canada to offer a wide range of joint majors in Business Administration for more career choice and flexibility.

Environmental Resource Studies:-
Choose to complete a B.A. degree in ERS and explore sustainable solutions to environmental challenges in courses such as environmental law and global environmental policy. At Trent, you'll study in one of the only Environmental Careers Organization (ECO)-Canada accredited environmental science programs in the country, choosing from the broadest range of environmental courses available at any Canadian university.

Business:-
You want to become an innovative business leader or entrepreneur. No other program will help you get there better than Trent's exclusive Bachelor of Business Administration. By examining corporate, self-employment, online, small business, and other business models, you'll learn the fundamentals of leadership and management, gaining a deep understanding of the organization of business and its role in today's highly-digital world. Benefit from 100 hours of hands-on professional experience completing internships with business sector companies and organizations. Prepare for your CPA designation or springboard to an M.B.A., benefiting from the knowledge and expertise of a dedicated community of business leaders and mentors.

Resume Boosters:-

• Gain the diversity of knowledge today’s employers are looking by studying and specializing in not one, but two academic disciplines
• Hands-on learning experiences abound in all Trent programs – gain the competitive edge on your resume

Not only will you graduate with two degrees in just six years, but you’ll also have the chance to take your education global while you learn, travel, explore, and live abroad.

If a career in law is what you want, this is the program for you. In this one-of-a-kind program, you will undertake either a Bachelor of Arts Honours or a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Trent – Ontario’s #1 undergrad university, while also obtaining a law degree from Swansea University’s renowned Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law in the UK – no need to write the LSATs.

How the Program Works:-
The first two years of your degree take place at Trent, where you’ll pursue your choice of 14 degree options. In third year, you’ll transfer to the coastal city of Swansea in Wales to complete three years of law studies, earning your Bachelor of Laws degree. Once your LL.B. is complete, you’ll return to Trent to complete your Honours degree credentials. By simultaneously taking several Canadian Law courses in your final year at Trent, you’ll be well-prepared for the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) exams, enabling you to take the required steps to practice law in Canada.

Degree Program Options:-
Business Administration*; Canadian Studies; Cultural Studies; Economics; English Literature*; Environmental & Resource Studies; Gender & Women’s Studies; History*; Indigenous Studies; International Development Studies; Media Studies*; Philosophy*; Political Studies; Sociology*

Resume Boosters:-

• Combining your law degree with your choice of B.A. or B.B.A. degree means that you will graduate with a unique set of skills and perspectives
• Meet and learn from top law professionals through our Visiting Lawyers in Residence program
• Join the Trent Law Society and benefit from field trips, workshops, and events, all with a focus on law and the legal system

You want to become an innovative leader or entrepreneur. No other program will help you reach your career goals better than Trent’s exemplary Bachelor of Business Administration, and its leading co-op stream which has students putting their in-demand skills into practice across three work terms. By examining a range of contemporary business models—in class and in action in the workplace, if you choose--from corporate and online to small business and self-employment, you’ll learn the fundamentals of leadership and management, gaining a deep understanding of the organization of business and its role in today’s ever-evolving and highly-digital world.

Resume Boosters:

• Explore your strengths and career interests, and graduate with 12 months of work experience (and income) through the new four-year B.B.A. co-op option, giving you the competitive edge for future job prospects.
• In fourth year, gain valuable hands-on professional experience by completing 100 hours of placement in an academic term or a 6, 8, or 12 month internship, with diverse companies and organizations.
• Gain leadership experience as part of the Trent Business Student Association – a student-run organization that creates engaging and career-ready experiences for Business students.
• Sharpen your entrepreneurial skillset as you take part in a hands-on exercise on new venture planning and design or compete in local and national business competitions, including Jeux du Commerce, Pitch It, and Durham Ideas
• Network with industry experts and organizations by tapping into the local business community through Chambers of Commerce in Peterborough and Durham, entrepreneurship communities, and the recently announced Trent Enterprise Centre at Cleantech Commons
• Through Trent’s CEO-in-Residence program, build a connection with a globally-recognized business executive (like our inaugural CEO-in-Residence, Dr. Katie Taylor – the first woman to chair a Canadian financial institution) through mentorship meet-ups and events

Not only will you graduate with two degrees in just six years, but you’ll also have the chance to take your education global while you learn, travel, explore, and live abroad.

If a career in law is what you want, this is the program for you. In this one-of-a-kind program, you will undertake either a Bachelor of Arts Honours or a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Trent – Ontario’s #1 undergrad university, while also obtaining a law degree from Swansea University’s renowned Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law in the UK – no need to write the LSATs.

How the Program Works:-
The first two years of your degree take place at Trent, where you’ll pursue your choice of 14 degree options. In third year, you’ll transfer to the coastal city of Swansea in Wales to complete three years of law studies, earning your Bachelor of Laws degree. Once your LL.B. is complete, you’ll return to Trent to complete your Honours degree credentials. By simultaneously taking several Canadian Law courses in your final year at Trent, you’ll be well-prepared for the National Committee on Accreditation (NCA) exams, enabling you to take the required steps to practice law in Canada.

Degree Program Options:-
Business Administration*; Canadian Studies; Cultural Studies; Economics; English Literature*; Environmental & Resource Studies; Gender & Women’s Studies; History*; Indigenous Studies; International Development Studies; Media Studies*; Philosophy*; Political Studies; Sociology*

Resume Boosters:-

• Combining your law degree with your choice of B.A. or B.B.A. degree means that you will graduate with a unique set of skills and perspectives
• Meet and learn from top law professionals through our Visiting Lawyers in Residence program
• Join the Trent Law Society and benefit from field trips, workshops, and events, all with a focus on law and the legal system

Geography at Trent is more than learning in a classroom. It’s an expedition. You will learn about real-world issues and critical perspectives related to both human and physical geography. You will explore complex issues such as the causes and impacts of climate change, health geography, water resources, and the historical roots of geopolitical conflicts. At Trent, we believe the best way to learn geography is through an interactive environment. Small group learning and experiences outside of the classroom are pillars of the program.

Climate Change Science & Policy (Specialization)
Dive into the challenges and solutions for climate change—environmental, economic, political, social—and build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills that equip graduates for the growing number of climate-related careers.

Climate change is the leading global environmental issue, but its impacts extend beyond the natural world, into business operations, politics and policy development, social justice movements, law and more. If you find yourself trading the car for public transit, reviewing a company’s environmental initiatives or participating alongside millions of others in global Climate Marches, this specialization is for you.

Trent’s Climate Change Science & Policy specialization draws on faculty specialties in Trent’s School of the Environment (TSE) and from affiliated departments, providing students with a robust, well-rounded education that could lead to a variety of careers supporting climate solutions that can have profound impacts on societies for future generations.

Resume Boosters:-

• Graduate from one of only two climate change-focused programs in Canada
• Develop a broad-base of skills and background in the science of climate change and policy perspectives related to it
• Learn from and work alongside professors who are experts in their field and practicing climate change practitioners, such as the first-ever Canada research chair in environmental geoscience
• Study in the Trent School of the Environment, a research-intensive unit that nurtures collaboration with diverse faculty specialties and expertise as well as opportunities for applied learning
• Benefit from access to state-of-the-art labs and facilities in Trent’s DNA, Life & Health Sciences Building and Water Quality Centre

Gain critical and interdisciplinary understanding of criminalization and punishment, in a program that places critical focus on systemic oppression including the historical and contemporary realities of Indigenous peoples’, over-criminalization.

Justice served is about so much more than crime and punishment. In Trent’s new Criminology degree, you will gain a foundational understanding of the influence of social inequality as a cause of crime. Learning alongside faculty experts in Sociology, Law, Gender & Social Justice and Indigenous Studies, as well as the new Canada Research Chair in Community-Partnered Social Justice, you will apply your skills and knowledge to better understand the systems at play for both criminals and victims. This program is offered fully online or as a hybrid program with both online and on-campus, in-class learning. Students also have the potential to perform independent research on homelessness, the criminalization of women, as well as gain critical understanding of the realities of Indigenous peoples’ and the criminal justice system.

Resume Boosters:

• Complete a work placement with community organizations and agencies such as Correctional Services Ontario, the Crown Attorney, Kawartha Haliburton Children’s Aid Society, Elizabeth Fry Society, Canadian Mental Health Association or Youth Emergency Shelter
• Practice analyzing real crime data to answer pressing criminology-related questions in society today
• Form a dynamic and critical understanding of crime as a social justice issue with practical implications for research and policy
• Gain a solid foundation in legal research methodology and theoretical application that will prepare you for success in a variety of workplace settings

International Development Studies at Trent aims to equip students with the tools to understand and analyze societal transformation, and to act in ways that contribute to progressive social and political change. Here, you will learn from a range of experts, including anthropologists, political scientists, and economists, as you take courses that fuse theory and practical learning. You’ll explore wide-ranging themes such as global poverty, food systems, hunger, conflict, ecological degradation, industrialization, and cultural identity, as you better understand the sources and consequences of human development around the world. Your studies will pay particular attention to the world’s most vulnerable populations and their complex relations with states, corporations and international organizations.

Resume Boosters:

• Study and work in a developing country through the Trent in Ghana program – includes a 12-week placement with a development organization
• Translate learning into experience through our community-based research course, conducting an evaluation of a community organization in Peterborough or Haliburton
• Join the Student Association for International Development and contribute to the student-run Community Movements Conference