Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Biotechnology with Management Option (Co-op)

at Wilfrid Laurier University - Waterloo Campus Canada

Biochemistry is a fundamental multidisciplinary science that explores the molecular aspects of life and is the basis for many other disciplines in life sciences, including cell and molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, and molecular medicine.

Biotechnology is the application of biochemistry to develop technologies, materials and products that help improve, replenish and sustain the health of our planet.

ABOUT BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY AT LAURIER
In our program, we emphasize the health and pharmaceutical sciences, which constitute more than 50% of the total activity in biochemical research and biotechnology in Canada.

You’ll take several courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and biochemistry, along with courses in applied biochemistry, and gain the practical skills and the academic knowledge you’ll need to succeed in a career in research, service, industry or academia.

You’ll benefit from a research-intensive environment. In your fourth year, you'll have an option to complete a senior thesis research project. The thesis option will provide you with hands-on experience using state-of-the-art equipment in a new and challenging area of biochemical research.

Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science will help you develop strong algorithm analysis and design skills in procedural, object-oriented and low-level languages, with an optional introduction to functional, parallel, and logical paradigms. 

In senior years, you will select courses in application areas ranging from internet computing to writing apps for mobile computing, from applied cryptography to quantum computing.

Our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Computer Science program teaches you the fundamentals of programming, algorithm design and computation. You'll learn about data management and analysis to gain a fundamental understanding of big data and its use within industry.

Our BSc in Physics program provides a strong foundation in Newtonian and modern physics, quantum mechanics, electricity, magnetism, optics and electronics, all in combination with mathematics. You also have the opportunity to learn about electronics and applied physics in more depth through specialized courses.

When combined, our BSc in Computer Science and Physics program provides you with a unique opportunity to obtain practical computer programming skills and, at the same time, gain knowledge of modern physics.

Graduates of this combined program are ready to fill the demands of a developing technology sector in careers such as a computer analyst, an optical engineer, or a business intelligence consultant.

Laurier's Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Financial Mathematics program is structured to teach you mathematics and its financial applications with a focus on how mathematics is connected with social science and business. Our program's modern approach involves simultaneously analyzing financial risks, evaluating prices of complex securities, valuing investments and combined assets, and liability management.

Program Highlights:-

• You have the option to concentrate in specific areas of mathematics and applied mathematics, or take a wide range of courses.
• Our program will give you experience solving real-world problems in financial mathematics and risk management in our math labs, where you will use mathematical and statistical software.
• In fourth year, you can choose to pursue a project of special interest under the supervision of a faculty member.
• Our Mathematics Assistance Centre can help you with your assignments and exam preparation.

The information explosion of the modern age has resulted in extremely large data sets and a need to understand how to analyze and make sense of big data. Advances in hardware, software and statistical techniques are giving rise to automated methods to analyze patterns and models for all kinds of data, with applications ranging from scientific discovery to business intelligence and analytics.

As a result, data-driven decision making is quickly becoming the standard in almost every industry and has created an unprecedented demand for data-oriented professionals across a wide range of industries, organizations and disciplines. Given the volume of the data sets in question, it is nearly impossible to extract patterns, trends and behaviours without some degree of mathematical guidance and programming expertise.

About Data Science at Laurier
Our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Data Science is the first undergraduate degree of its kind in Canada.

Our Data Science program seeks to address the data-related needs of modern business and industry. As a graduate of this program, you'll be prepared for many and diverse career opportunities through your study of mathematics, statistics, data analytics and computing technologies and methods. You’ll also take courses in computer science, data analysis, business and economics.

Geographers examine interactions between humans and their environment. Over the past few hundred years, humans have modified urban and natural systems at a staggering rate. As the human population continues to increase and the demand for space becomes more competitive, graduates of Geography will have a sound basis for understanding these pressing issues.

Our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Geography offers you the opportunity to focus on the field of physical geography. Physical geography includes the sub-disciplines of geomorphology, climatology, biogeography and hydrology, and focuses on understanding how processes in the natural environment function, such as the changing surface of the earth, weather and climate, or the distribution of water on our planet.

The BSc in Geography program prepares you to seek professional registration as an environmental geoscientist (PGeo). Professional registration allows you to practice geoscience in the province of Ontario. The work involves analysis of different Earth systems and geoscientific situations in natural settings, so geoscientists need to gather on-site data and make direct field observations. Worksite locations can be remote and physically challenging. As a BSc in Geography graduate, you'll be able to confidently apply to seek professional registration.

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AT LAURIER
In our Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Science program, you will learn and understand how concepts from biology, chemistry and geography can be integrated to explain the processes that affect the physical environment and how these processes influence the biotic performance, from individual organisms to whole ecosystems.

The Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Environmental Science will give you the skills needed to understand how to use analytical tools, including lab and field methods, to quantify and assess the physical and chemical properties of soil, water and air for assessing and monitoring populations of organisms.

You will develop a broad range of techniques that will allow you to identify and devise solutions to environmental problems caused by human activities. You will be able to communicate these issues to diverse audiences for a number of purposes, such as helping to restore ecosystems or advocating for environmental issues.

Students in Environmental Science take one mandatory field course, and have opportunities to take others through the Ontario Universities’ Program in Field Biology.

Faculty members hire students as research assistants to work help with studies in the lab and field.

HONOURS THESIS OPTION
Students completing an honours thesis will conduct a yearlong research project that includes data collection, analysis and write-up.

Examples of honours thesis topics include:

• "Relating intensity of forest fires to caribou herd depletion in the Northwest Territories"
• "Effects of climate change on frozen landscapes in the north"
• "Effects of atmospheric processes on the movement and fate of pollutants"
• "Identification and conservation of rare and threatened plant species"

Laurier's Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Financial Mathematics program is structured to teach you mathematics and its financial applications with a focus on how mathematics is connected with social science and business. Our program's modern approach involves simultaneously analyzing financial risks, evaluating prices of complex securities, valuing investments and combined assets, and liability management.

Program Highlights:-

• You have the option to concentrate in specific areas of mathematics and applied mathematics, or take a wide range of courses.
• Our program will give you experience solving real-world problems in financial mathematics and risk management in our math labs, where you will use mathematical and statistical software.
• In fourth year, you can choose to pursue a project of special interest under the supervision of a faculty member.
• Our Mathematics Assistance Centre can help you with your assignments and exam preparation.

Biochemistry is a fundamental multidisciplinary science that explores the molecular aspects of life and is the basis for many other disciplines in life sciences, including cell and molecular biology, microbiology, genetics, and molecular medicine.

Biotechnology is the application of biochemistry to develop technologies, materials and products that help improve, replenish and sustain the health of our planet.

ABOUT BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY AT LAURIER
In our program, we emphasize the health and pharmaceutical sciences, which constitute more than 50% of the total activity in biochemical research and biotechnology in Canada.

You’ll take several courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and biochemistry, along with courses in applied biochemistry, and gain the practical skills and the academic knowledge you’ll need to succeed in a career in research, service, industry or academia.

You’ll benefit from a research-intensive environment. In your fourth year, you'll have an option to complete a senior thesis research project. The thesis option will provide you with hands-on experience using state-of-the-art equipment in a new and challenging area of biochemical research.