Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Geography (Co-op Optional)

at University of Ottawa Canada

Public Administration
The study of public administration seeks to advance our understanding of how governments work and of their role in contemporary societies. It examines public management principles from various perspectives (administration, financial management, human resources, ethics, administrative reforms, governance, etc.) and the processes involved in designing public policies (policy cycle, roles of various stakeholders, ideologies, contextual factors, etc.). The program offers a high-quality education to students seeking a career in the public or para-public sectors, as well as those who seek to work in the private or non-profit sectors, or in government relations.

Political Science
Politics is omnipresent in our lives. Political science seeks to describe, analyze, understand and assess the principles and power relations that govern social life. It revolves as much around the structures and institutions that define these relations and principles as around the ideas and practices that drive them. It studies everything that influences political life and institutions (ideologies, groups, social movements, etc.) on a local, regional, national and international scale.

Our programs offer in-depth training in political science and encourage critical reflection on pivotal issues like citizenship, identity, political participation, globalization and development, governance and the state, and ethics and democracy. A discipline open to many theoretical and methodological approaches, political science constantly exchanges and shares with other fields. At the University of Ottawa's School of Political Studies, you build your knowledge in four subfields of political science: political thought, Canadian and Quebec politics, comparative politics, and international relations and global politics.

Why is our world the way it is? How can we understand and explain what we observe around us, from the smallest sub-atomic particles to the largest galaxies? How can we apply this understanding to manipulate our world? Studying physics gives insight into the fundamental laws of nature. 

But an education in physics gives so much more. The rigorous training our students receive in analyzing and understanding complex problems is valuable in many future careers. While many of our graduates have established careers in universities and in the high tech sector as research and development scientists, others have used their physics degrees as a springboard to careers in finance, administration, medicine, management or education. The range of career opportunities is perhaps wider than for any other students with a science education. 

Physicists have revolutionized the way we live our lives, with groundbreaking discoveries and new technologies, transferable to other fields such as biology or finance. Our professors and graduates are an important part of this chain. Many of our professors have also been recognized for their teaching and are seen as world-class researchers in their fields of expertise. 

The research conducted by the professors in the Department of Physics is concentrated in several sub-specialties, including the physics of biological and complex systems, condensed matter physics, photonics and the physics of geomaterials. Depending upon your choice of program, you have the opportunity to take courses and participate in research projects in these specialized areas. 

In addition to the Honours BSc in Physics, we offer three other Honours BSc programs. The first is in physics-mathematics, which provides enriched mathematics training within a physics program. The second is the option in photonics, which gives students a solid training in physics and a more applied and industry-related training in photonics. The third is the option in biological physics, which teaches students to apply a rigorous education in physics to various areas of life sciences. We also offer a Major in Physics that can form the core of an Honours BSc when combined with a major or a minor in another discipline in the Faculty of Science, or in another faculty. Finally, starting in fall 2016, we will offer a five-year integrated program in physics (BSc) and electrical engineering (BASc), jointly with the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). This unique program will offer a full education in physics and electrical engineering. Graduates will be sought after by industry and academia, as they will have the capacity to develop technology from a basic physics idea to the final product. 

The Department of Physics also has strong graduate programs, leading to an MSc or PhD. They give students the opportunity to work on cutting edge science in a research group led by one or more department professors.

Our marketing program is designed to teach how and why people and organizations purchase and consume goods and services. Marketing is a system of interacting business and organizational activities designed to plan, develop, price, promote and distribute products and services. The study of marketing concepts has expanded to include an understanding of the environment in which buyers and sellers operate. Recent applications of marketing to formerly unrelated activities, such as political elections and promoting government programs and agencies, are introduced in more advanced courses for analysis and discussion. As a result of the increased breadth of marketing and the complexity and size of the decisions to be made, marketing requires a good knowledge of both the quantitative and the qualitative concepts, models, theories and techniques of the other areas taught at the Telfer School of Management.

Students will acquire knowledge and have opportunities to apply what they learn in various types of organizations and contexts related to sport, leisure and physical activity. They will gain theoretical and practical training in governance and management principles, related to planning, policy making, marketing, entrepreneurship, and communications. Students will critically examine the impacts of organizations, sport events and festivals, and learn to evaluate the influence of policy relating to sport, leisure and physical activity, on individuals and society.

Students will acquire the management skills needed to understand the Canadian sport system, its organizations and people. For example, they will gain an enriched understanding of governmental, for-profit, and non-profit organizations in sport and leisure, ranging from local to international organizations in professional sport, municipal recreation departments, sport events, and the commercial sector. Students will receive training informed by social sciences (e.g., management, sociocultural, leisure studies, psychology). Management courses will give students opportunities to gain competencies in the planning, organizing, marketing, leadership, and evaluation of sport, leisure and recreation organizations and events. Students will acquire cutting-edge knowledge and skills related to the latest developments in branding and marketing a sport, leisure or recreation organization, and managing volunteers in a sport event or festival. Sociocultural courses will enable students to learn about historical and contemporary issues affecting how people interact in organizations and in society. Students will have opportunities to understand the reasons behind current situations and gain skills in critical inquiry they can use to facilitate change in organizations.

Graduates will have developed management skills allowing them to better integrate into the workplace upon graduation and contribute to their organization and society. They will have acquired skills to provide advocacy and recommendations to policy and decision-makers at all levels of the sport system, from the municipality to Sport Canada, and international sport organizations. Our graduates will also have gained interpersonal, networking, and critical thinking skills, which will benefit their job marketability. They can pursue career-paths in various segments of the sport, leisure and recreation industries (government, non-profit or for-profit) at the local, regional, national and international levels. The emphasis of our program on both foundational knowledge but also how knowledge translates into action enables our graduates to pursue different occupational roles. For example, our graduates can take on leadership, management, and governance roles in local and national amateur sport organizations (e.g., sport clubs, university athletics department, Olympic sport organizations), event organizations (e.g., FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015), professional sport teams and government departments (e.g., Sport Canada, provincial and municipal recreation departments). Our graduates can also pursue research-based or professional-based graduate degrees.

Environmental studies delve into some of the most significant issues of our day, such as anthropogenic climate change, urban pollution and possible threats to human health. You learn how to use applied research tools and management principles that can be applied in a variety of areas, such as conducting environmental impact assessments and resource management.

Healthcare systems are undergoing unprecedented transformation fuelled by the digitization of services and investments in health information technologies. Our option in Healthcare Analytics is a field built on the crucial role that data, systems engineering, management, and organizational innovation play in improving the quality and timeliness of service delivery in a high performing healthcare system. This field answers a need to develop expertise to create the research and training capabilities required for transforming healthcare into a system that adheres to the principles of patient-centered care and participatory medicine.

The University of Ottawa School of Music is among the few offering a full master’s in musicians’ health and well-being, particularly in prevention and treatment of pain and injuries, as well as performance anxiety. Through innovative research, professors apply academic rigour to music pedagogy.

The school has launched a Musicians’ Wellness Centre dedicated to clinical research and professional training, not to mention a network of health care services. You can complete an internship there to gain professional experience and work with experts in fields such as physiotherapy, yoga, Feldenkrais Method, Alexander Method, audiology and mindfulness meditation.

As the 21st century unfolds, the issues of international development and globalization are central to the future world order: the way in which the underlying economic challenges are resolved will fundamentally change our society. The International Economics and Development Program is built on a variety of economics courses that provide insight into the way in which globalization affects individuals, industry, the public sector and entire nations. The understanding it provides of economic concepts is framed by an awareness of the factors that shape economic growth and development, in both emerging and industrialized economies.

Electrical engineering is at the heart of today's exciting advances in technology. With five technical specializations—communications, systems, electronics, microwave and photonic, and power and sustainable energy—our curriculum will enable you to influence how the world communities communicate, generate sustainable energy and heal diseases. As an electrical engineer, you will work with other engineers or scientists on emerging technologies. 

The option of Engineering Management will prepare you with necessary skills to pursue entrepreneurial activities and start your own technology-related business. The double degree program—BASc in Electrical Engineering and BSc in Computing Technology—will put you at the intersection of the two areas that propel the waves of technological development.

Upon completion of a Bachelor of Applied Science in Electrical engineering, a student who completes the requirements specified below for 33 extra units will be eligible for a BSc in Computing Technology as a second degree. The remaining 120 units are from their engineering degree; students follow the engineering degree requirements and the Computing Technology degree requirements in parallel. It is not allowed to obtain the Computing Technology degree without also completing the corresponding engineering degree.

The Honours Bachelor of Science in Human Kinetics emphasizes the biophysical sciences of human kinetics, with a focus on the role that biological, anatomical, musculoskeletal, and neuro-motor systems have on motor performance, and the impact of sport and physical activity on the body. It provides the knowledge, skills and techniques required for you to play a leading role in developing and implementing evidence-based approaches that maintain and improve human movement, and lead to positive health outcomes for different populations in a variety of settings. While the program focuses on disciplines such as anatomy, biomechanics, exercise physiology, motor control and psychomotor behaviour, it also provides an understanding of how the social sciences contribute to human movement and performance. Students have the opportunity to do experiential education internships in a community venue, or do a research project supervised by faculty. This degree can lead to admission to graduate studies in human kinetics and advanced degrees in allied health and rehabilitation sciences such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy, medicine, or chiropractic studies. Potential additional certifications: College of Kinesiologists of Ontario (Registered Kinesiologist), Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Exercise Physiologist).