Bachelor of Arts in Economics

at University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) - Prince George Campus Canada

Computer Science
The Computer Science program gives students a thorough exposure to basic areas like computer architecture, programming languages and methodology, algorithms and data structures, systems programming, operating systems and networking, knowledge-based and database systems, software engineering, and theory. The student will develop the advanced practical computing and problem-solving skills required for professional work in modern industry, based on a strong conceptual foundation and on insights into the nature of this rapidly changing field. Each student will use advanced development tools, and will be encouraged to approach problem-solving from a multidisciplinary point of view.

Mathematics
An important feature of the mathematics degree program is the early emphasis on the development of abstract reasoning and the relation of the abstract to the concrete. The degree requirements have been chosen so as to provide students with a broad background in mathematics while still leaving them room to pursue their individual interests.

As an environmental engineer, you can serve society by ensuring we all have clean air, water and soil, and by creating sustainable solutions to today’s critical environmental questions.

This program prepares you for important employment opportunities where your technical expertise and problem-solving skills as an engineer are required, in addition to your strong awareness and understanding of environmental issues and a passion to improve the communities you live in.

Program Details
You will take design courses that begin in your first year, giving you the chance to engage your creative thinking. Hone your problem-solving skills as you continue to take design courses in every year of the program. 

During the first two years, build a foundation in basic sciences, engineering tools and environmental issues. In the final two years, you will develop an in-depth knowledge of environmental engineering.

Along with developing a solid background in environmental engineering, you will also gain strong communication skills and the ability to work across various disciplines including resource-based industries, government departments, research organizations, and environmental engineering consulting.

Example projects that an environmental engineering graduate can work on include the following:

• Designing and building processes to bring clean drinking water to northern communities 
• Designing and building processes to treat municipal or industrial wastewater
• Designing and building processes to recover energy from municipal and industrial waste 
• Developing methods to clean contaminated soil
• Developing flood control plans
• Mapping groundwater flow and contaminant transport in subsurface environments

Tourism has become the largest industry and employer in the world.  One of the most important and fastest growing sectors in tourism is nature-based tourism, which comprises attractions, activities and experiences involving interaction with natural and cultural resources (e.g., ecotourism, adventure tourism, indigenous tourism).  This degree examines the various components of the nature-based tourism system, giving emphasis to the entrepreneurial perspectives and sustainability issues in the industry.  Reflecting the interdisciplinarity of the field, and related career directions, students select from the following Areas of Specialization: marketing and entrepreneurship, outdoor education and leadership, indigenous/cultural tourism, or environment and society.

English
Study for a degree in English and prepare to be an effective communicator, critical thinker, or creative writer. Apply your skills to many rewarding careers including public relations and writing novels, blogs, textbooks and advertising copy.

Women's Studies 
Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary field dedicated to studying the historical, cultural, literary, and societal role of women and gender. UNBC's program has strengths in areas such as women's and gender history; gender, literature, and literary theory; gender, colonialism, and postcolonialism; gender and globalization; feminism, justice, and ethics; gender and health; and gender and international studies.The Women's Studies program offers majors and minors in Women's Studies and, in cooperation with other programs, four joint majors. At the graduate level, the program offers a Master's degree in Gender Studies.

The BSc Wildlife and Fisheries degree at UNBC is administered by the Ecosystem Science and Management Program. It provides students with a solid foundation in wildlife and fisheries biology with considerable indoor and outdoor laboratory experience. It also exposes students to an integrated approach to resource issues that confront today's professionals. As such, the BSc Wildlife and Fisheries encompasses a combination of theoretical and applied ecology that prepares students for different avenues including public- and private-sector employment as well as  graduate studies.

Why Choose the Wildlife & Fisheries at UNBC?
The BSc in Wildlife and Fisheries at UNBC is one of very few degrees of its kind in Canada. It gives students the theoretical background they need to work as a biologist, but it also exposes students to extensive hands-on and practical labs and exercises. Consequently, a student graduating from this degree has a sound biological background for pursuing post-graduate studies as well as a degree that can lead them directly into the wildlife or fisheries professions. The relatively small class sizes in upper-division courses provide an ideal learning environment. Faculty teaching the courses for this degree are of extremely high calibre – many of them have  won UNBC teaching and research awards. As a student in the program, you benefit greatly from taking courses from faculty who are actively engaged in wildlife and fisheries research and who can bring examples and experience from their research to the classroom and lab.

To be able to work for the government (either employed by or as a consultant for) in British Columbia, it is important to be accredited as a Professional Biologist. Currently, a student taking all of the courses needed to complete the BSc Wildlife and Fisheries at UNBC should meet the education requirements for eligibility as a Registered Professional Biologist (RPBio) in BC.

Students pursuing a BSc in Conservation Science and Practice focus on understanding and addressing the contemporary challenges facing the sustainable use and conservation of our environment. Navigating these challenges requires a strong scientific foundation, including the necessary appreciation for both the natural and human dimensions of conservation and management. This degree equips students with the knowledge to enter a solutions-based career that actively contributes to solving today’s conservation and management problems. Our goal is to provide students with the philosophical foundation, scientific theory, and technical skills to address the challenge of maintaining the functioning of ecosystems across developed, developing, and still-wild landscapes.

The BSc in Conservation Science and Practice allows students to pursue one of two majors:

•  Wildland Conservation and Recreation
• Landscape Conservation and Management

The major in Wildland Conservation and Recreation focuses on portions of the landscape where conservation values, including recreation and aesthetic values, are the priority land-use activities, and where these activities intersect with other values, priorities, and uses. Topics of study include: the promotion of and advocacy for conservation; integrated management of legally designated parks and protected areas; conservation area design; and human activities across these areas, including recreation, ecotourism and the associated positive and negative impacts on ecological integrity. Students develop the skills necessary to identify, plan, monitor, and manage conservation values within the parks, recreation and tourism sectors.

The MBA is recognized worldwide as the hallmark of the management professional.  Graduates of the UNBC MBA program develop a well-rounded understanding of the skills needed by leaders of private and public sector organizations, and the challenges facing enterprises in general, and northern ones in particular.

The program is designed to allow professionals to complete their degree within two years while continuing to work full-time.  During the first year of the program, students are introduced to the major disciplinary areas within the field of business, including strategy, economics, accounting, finance, organizational behaviour, marketing, and operations management.  This part of the program builds the broad base of knowledge and skills required by senior management. 

During the second year of the program, students gain a broad understanding of the global, legal and ethical environment in which organizations operate, and of the challenges facing organizations.  In the context of northern British Columbia, there are economic, social, and environmental challenges confronting small and rural communities participating in a resource-based economy.  Through the development of leadership and management capabilities, the MBA Program helps communities and organizations achieve sustainable success and prosperity in a changing and complex world.  

Course participants have the opportunity to focus on individual interests during the MBA Project.  Working under the supervision of a faculty member, students complete a major research project, applying relevant theory to the study of a substantial organizational problem or issue.

The MBA program course work normally includes work assessed on an individual and group basis.  Enterprise problems are seldom completely resolved through individual effort, and group work reinforces and enhances individual ability to work within multi-disciplinary teams.

Students come to the MBA program with diverse backgrounds, a range of social and cultural perspectives, and different industry and business experiences. The MBA program encourages this diversity as it fosters a rich learning environment.

Environmental and Sustainability Studies
Learn to be an effective agent of environmental, sustainability and social innovation as you promote the mitigation of, and/or adaptation to, environmental and sustainability challenges.

A degree in Environmental and Sustainability Studies leads to a rewarding career in sectors such as government, Indigenous government and agencies, the non-profit sector, law (with additional training), international development, environmental consulting, environmental health and more.

Political Science
Explore citizenship, democracy, justice and law in local, national and international communities. Learn about Canada’s political history and contemporary governance at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

Examine the theories and practicalities of social and economic policy, Indigenous relations, societal issues and international affairs. Our political science degree prepares students for careers in public service, law, business and media.

Explore the cause and effect of critical events throughout history such as warfare, activism, exploration, culture and science.

Historians study what people have thought, said, and done in the past. You will learn to think critically about the historical processes that shape the present. As a history major, you will develop the knowledge needed to pursue careers in law, education, journalism, civil service, politics, museum and library archives, or post-secondary professorship.

Program Details
This degree draws on almost every time period, theory and geographical space. Choose from a variety of subjects, including the record of First Nations in Canada, women in European medieval society, and history of law, or delve into religious, race and economic issues that span global borders.

Our faculty bring a mix of methodologies to their instruction—you are encouraged to follow your personal interests in course selection and independent research. The department offers specialized courses in the history of law, crime and punishment.

First Nations Studies takes the points of view of First Nations people and communities as the starting point for description and analysis, and contextualizes issues from this perspective. Courses in First Nations Studies will re-orient students to question the underlying assumptions of everyday understanding and will develop clarity in thought and presentation critical to advanced study.

First Nations Studies is a valuable part of any good undergraduate education in the contemporary world; it is an appropriate undergraduate major for students aspiring to careers in education, business, public administration, law, communications, cultural property management, social services, health care delivery and administration, and many other fields. With an undergraduate major in First Nations Studies students may apply for admission to graduate programs in several academic disciplines, and to many professional programs. Students intending to apply for graduate or professional programs should ensure that their programs include all required prerequisites.