Bachelor of Arts in Honours Arts - Political Science (Co-op)

at University of Waterloo Canada

One of the joys of being in university is having time to broaden your horizons, discover new interests, and get involved in a range of extracurricular activities. Liberal Studies gives you that freedom.

Commonly called a liberal arts degree at other universities, Liberal Studies allows you to explore many different subjects in the humanities, social sciences, languages and cultures, and fine and performing arts – plus courses you’d like to take from some of Waterloo's other faculties.

You can add focus to your degree with a minor or minors, or keep it completely general. (And if you do fall passionately in love with a subject along the way, you can switch into a major at any point.) An academic advisor can help you plan your degree and choose courses.

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!

Who or what is the divine? What does it mean to be human? How do spiritual beliefs shape our world? In this program, you’ll examine how religions have influenced politics, economics, culture, art, science, and society throughout history — and continue to do so today.

Tailor your degree to your passions. We offer more than 100 undergraduate courses covering the religions of the world, Jewish studies, Christian traditions, and religious culture and society. Thanks to strong links with the Department of Religion and Culture at neighbouring Wilfrid Laurier University, you’ll have access to even more learning opportunities.

You’ll graduate equipped with the multicultural understanding, critical thinking skills, and historical knowledge to succeed in a variety of careers. And, if you take the co-op stream, up to two years of work experience on your resume.

The world of finance requires professionals with strong mathematical and analytical skills. You’ll hone them both in this challenging program — one of just a handful across the country recognized by the CFA Institute.

Whether you choose to specialize in Chartered Financial Analyst or Professional Risk Management, you’ll study a mix of mathematics, finance, accounting, and economics — giving you the perfect foundation for a career in banking, investment management, or risk management.

Meanwhile, if you opt for the co-op program, you’ll also have two years of paid work experience on your resume.

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!

Love the written word? An English degree at Waterloo gives you all kinds of opportunity to explore that passion, with more than 150 undergraduate courses available in both the regular and co-op streams.

Take rhetoric courses and learn the art of persuasion. Focus on digital media, where you’ll merge the latest technology with enduring principles of effective communication. Or explore the pleasures and insights of English literature, from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf.

At Waterloo, you’ll be learning from the best: the Department of English features internationally recognized scholars. In their classes, you’ll develop all-important skills in communication, critical thinking, analysis, and persuasion.

At the end of first year, you can choose one of three majors within the English program.

• Literature
• Literature and Rhetoric
• Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication

Literature and Rhetoric
The Literature and Rhetoric degree brings together the dual strengths of the UWaterloo Department of English. It provides a structured course of study to train you in both disciplines and considerable freedom in exploring your own interests. 

In studying literature and literary theory, you will be grounded in the traditions of British, Canadian, American, and Postcolonial literatures. In studying Rhetoric and Professional Writing, you will explore the history and theory of rhetoric, the nature of professional writing and information design, and digital media.

Delve into the roots of Western civilization and gain a deep understanding of ancient Greece and Rome — cultures that continue to shape our thinking and our society today.

Discover the enduring ideas of greats like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Master enough ancient Greek and Latin to study classic texts in their original language. Explore the many facets of antiquity: from history, religion, and philosophy to art, science, and technology.

Meanwhile, you’ll have lots of room to round out your education with courses from other departments or faculties and with work experience through co-op. Once you’ve graduated, the broad thinking demanded by the program will serve you well in a range of careers, including law, policy, culture, education, and more.

Today, economists are turning to sophisticated mathematical models to understand and predict economic behaviour. Meanwhile, the problems that come up in economics have driven many advances in mathematics.

That why we’ve created this program, jointly offered by the Faculty of Mathematics and the Department of Economics in the Faculty of Arts.

Over the course of your degree, you’ll become an expert at using differential calculus, differential equations, and mathematical optimization to understand economic behaviour. If you enroll in the co-op stream, you can add paid work experience on top that.

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!

Whether you want to create a VR training program for surgeons, the next "swipe right" dating app, or an autonomous car, software engineers have endless career options in today’s tech-enabled world.

At Waterloo, you won’t just write code. You’ll also analyze software architecture, apply algorithms, understand digital hardware systems, and design human/ computer interfaces. Plus, you’ll learn how to work in teams and manage projects, all while being taught by one of the best universities on the planet for software engineering (Shanghai World University Rankings 2020).

Then, during your co-op, you’ll put those skills to work at leading companies like Snapchat, Facebook, or hot new startups. When you graduate, you’ll be ready to create reliable, affordable, and faster software for all kinds of different purposes.

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!

Public Health has some of the smallest class sizes in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Waterloo. This means that you will get to know your professors really well—and they'll get to know you too—which will position you for success in your studies.

Gain a new perspective on illness and health
Biology isn't the only thing that determines health... social, cultural, political, and geographical conditions play a pivotal role in individual and population health. In the Public Health program at the University of Waterloo you'll learn how to improve human health by understanding these determinants and seek innovative ways to prevent diseases from occurring in the first place.

We recognize that the world is constantly changing, and so too should the policies, practices, structures, processes, and tools we use to improve health and health care. With this systems-thinking approach, you'll be able to tackle some of the world's toughest health challenges.

Public Health is a direct entry Bachelor of Public Health (BPH) program available through our co-op or regular system of study. You must choose regular or co-op when you apply.

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. Refer to the Undergraduate Calendar - Health Research Specialization page for a full list of courses in this specialization.

Experience: Co-op or Regular
As a Public Health 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.

At Waterloo, we offer much more than just German language courses. Explore German culture, film, literature, and linguistics, or add classes in other Slavic languages like Russian and Croatian, all with the additional appeal of work experience through co-op.

The language skills and cultural competence you develop over the course of your degree will serve you well in a variety of careers, including education, business, and government.

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!

Love the written word? An English degree at Waterloo gives you all kinds of opportunity to explore that passion, with more than 150 undergraduate courses available in both the regular and co-op streams.

Take rhetoric courses and learn the art of persuasion. Focus on digital media, where you’ll merge the latest technology with enduring principles of effective communication. Or explore the pleasures and insights of English literature, from Beowulf to Virginia Woolf.

At Waterloo, you’ll be learning from the best: the Department of English features internationally recognized scholars. In their classes, you’ll develop all-important skills in communication, critical thinking, analysis, and persuasion.

At the end of first year, you can choose one of three majors within the English program.

• Literature
• Literature and Rhetoric
• Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication

Literature
Your literature degree will give you a comprehensive foundation in English literature while allowing you to pursue your literary interests and passions. Literature is one of three majors we offer.

You will have the opportunity to explore literatures from all over the world--British, postcolonial, Canadian, and American. You'll study a broad variety of texts, from Renaissance drama to fantasy and science fiction, from poetry to graphic narratives.

When you graduate you'll be prepared for further study in fields like law or education, for graduate study, or for a variety of careers in areas such as government, business, industry, or art—any career, in other words, that values excellent communication and analytical skills.