Bachelor of Arts in Honours Arts - English - Literature

at University of Waterloo Canada

As a Waterloo Health Studies student you'll be working with world-class professors that are making a difference in health in Canada and worldwide.

Health Studies is shifting the focus of traditional health
At the University of Waterloo, you'll study human health in a non-traditional way. Rather than a focus on treatments after diagnosis, we have a larger vision: to find strategies for preventing disease, promoting health, and improving health care services to make them more integrated and responsive.

Be prepared to tackle health challenges and look for the keys to transforming the health of individuals, communities, and health care systems in Canada and around the world.

Health Research Specialization
A specialization provides a secondary area of study in addition to your major. It is an academic plan that offers an area of concentration and provides depth to a student's primary area of study. Specializations are only available to students within their primary department.

Employers need professionals who can understand, generate, and interpret health research to help them make effective decisions. Graduate and professional schools are looking for students who have experience in research design, data management, and analysis.

The Health Research Specialization will provide you with advanced opportunities to generate and interpret health research and evaluation data that is vital to the development of health programs, services, and policies. This specialization will provide you with a strong understanding of research methods, access to advanced seminars, and the opportunity to conduct an honours thesis (research project) under the supervision of a professor.

Experiential learning: co-op or regular
As a Health Studies student, you have two great ways to study - co-op or regular. Regardless of which path you choose, you’ll take the same academic courses, learn in state-of-the-art facilities, and have the support of friendly, helpful staff.

Become a high school teacher and help students excel at math. There’s no better place to hone your skills than Waterloo, where you’ll gain eighth months of high school classroom experience (along with paid work experience if you enrol in co-op) even before you apply to a Bachelor of Education program.

During your academic terms, you can take a wide variety of math courses or choose to focus your studies in a particular area in math. Add a second teachable from Waterloo's Faculties of Science or Arts.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Explore earth processes as they relate to human activities to better understand the impacts of human (and natural) influences on environmental sustainability, biodiversity, and hydrology/hydrogeology.

Environmental science applies geologic knowledge to address and solve problems related to the more than seven billion humans occupying the Earth. Topics you'll learn include climate change, groundwater flow and contamination, environmental impacts of pollution, responsible extraction of earth resources, waste disposal, and human engineering of earth processes. Enjoy examining the interactions between and within the Earth's four spheres that include both living and non-living components.

Train with cutting-edge professors and the latest technologies, at Canada's most innovative university, to directly address challenges facing humanity today and future generations.   

Ecology
Address ecological sustainability and biodiversity while learning about the fundamental science of life on Earth. Delve into environmental disciplines that examine the history, interaction, and possible future of Earth’s species and ecosystems.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Design bionic limbs. Create laser-guided surgical devices. Develop wearable tech to help athletes perform better. In Biomedical Engineering, you’ll use engineering know-how to develop better ways to diagnose illnesses, treat health problems, and enhance health.

You’ll study biomechanics, physics, chemistry, and design. With that broad knowledge, you’ll be able to collaborate with all kinds of different experts: biologists, medical practitioners, policy makers, and engineers, to name a few. You’ll also learn to model and design complex biomedical systems—and you’ll get plenty of hands-on experience through two years of paid co-op work terms, plus a fourth-year design project.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

The only one of its kind in Canada, this program goes far beyond basic anatomical knowledge and sexual health. Use different perspectives to explore relationships, communication, parenting skills, how media affects our understanding of gender/sex/relationships, the impact of culture on sexual values, and more, all from a social justice perspective.

Meanwhile, the program itself has a real family vibe. You’ll enjoy small classes and a tight-knit community at St. Jerome’s University, one of Waterloo's on-campus University Colleges.

With your degree, you can choose from a slew of high-impact career paths, including teaching, counselling, social services, community engagement, and more. And you can always explore them early through the co-op stream.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Explore how people shape the planet we live on. Delve into the dynamics of the Earth’s physical systems. Help solve many of the world’s most pressing problems, such as climate change, water scarcity, resource management, global population growth, natural resource sustainability, and more.

Waterloo's Geography and Environmental Management department is one of Canada's largest and is ranked 39 in the world for research and reputation (QS Subject Rankings 2019, Shanghai World Rankings 2020). Choose from more than 70 geography courses, including lots of field studies, and maybe even take the opportunity to gain paid work experience through co-op.

Geography offers the flexibility to focus your degree with a variety of specializations and options or even add another major.

You’ll quickly connect with other students in the Faculty of Environment’s welcoming and close-knit community. And when you graduate, your degree can take you literally anywhere around the globe.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

In a bilingual country and an ever-more globalized world, knowledge of French as a second language gives you an edge in almost any field.

At Waterloo, you can choose language courses that range from basic to advanced, as well as a wide variety of courses in French linguistics, literature, culture, and civilization. You’ll learn from professors that include Governor General prize-winners and world experts in French.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

In Canada’s longest-standing Medieval Studies program, you’ll explore the ideas and events of Europe and the Near East from the fall of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the modern era in 1500 CE.

When you study medieval history, art, philosophy, legal systems, and politics, you’re not just living in the past. This is a field that offers valuable insights into European politics, modern gender norms, the rise and fall of superpowers, the connections between Islam and Christianity, and more, and you'll have the opportunity to implement that into your work early if you choose the co-op stream.

You’ll have lots of opportunity to connect with other students, thanks to small classes and the regular social and academic events organized by the Classical and Medieval Students Society.

Use your understanding of mathematical concepts to solve complex problems in engineering, medicine, business, and science, from the behaviour of ocean waves to the structure of space-time.

In Applied Mathematics, you’ll deepen your knowledge of calculus and differential equations: the foundation for most mathematical models. You’ll have lots of opportunity to put those tools to work on real-life problems — in the classroom and, if you choose co-op, during your work terms.

Many of our Applied Mathematics graduates work in research, development, and consulting. Others pursue graduate studies in applied mathematics, computer science, engineering, or physics.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money!

Philosophy has long been a central component of a liberal arts education — and with good reason. It teaches you critical reasoning like no other discipline. It’s also an excellent addition to studies in mathematics and the sciences. 

In the Philosophy program at Waterloo, you’ll explore enduring dilemmas of human existence, learn the fundamentals of formal logic, and apply philosophical reasoning to highly topical issues and current events. And have the opportunity to apply it all in your co-op work terms, too.

Once you graduate, you’ll have a wide range of options. A philosophy degree is ideal for a career in law and valuable preparation for just about any field that demands breadth of thinking, careful reading, thorough analysis, and clear argumentation.

What is co-op?
Co-op lets you explore careers and gain paid work experience while earning your university degree. What could be better than that?! As a co-op student at Waterloo, you’ll normally alternate between four months in school and four months as a full-time employee of the organization you're working for. It's an amazing way to learn to successfully interview for jobs, see how your degree relates to real-life problems, graduate with up to two years of valuable experience – and make money.