Bachelor of Arts - Actuarial Science

at York University - School of Continuing Studies Canada

Why take our Public Relations program?
Managing a brand’s reputation in the public eye is no simple task. Whether you’re responding to a last-minute media inquiry, dealing with negative publicity, or monitoring the web for newsworthy content, the message is clear: to succeed in public relations, you need to be strategic and quick to adapt to new trends and technology. Top public relations executives agree that career success means being an incredible storyteller and trusted strategic business advisor—Someone who can leverage emerging technologies and critical thinking to build lasting relationships with stakeholders. This shift in skill demands is why top companies are struggling to hire and keep the right public relations professionals.

Program Benefits
Created in collaboration with industry leaders, the 8 course full-time Post-Graduate Certificate in Public Relations gives you the expertise to broadcast your brand message to the right audience, at the right time, using both traditional and digital media. Real-world project work will give you the chance to learn and practice effective public relations strategies, business principles and stakeholder relationship management, as well as how to respond to crises and manage brand reputation. All this, while building the core job skills that top employers are looking for when hiring for public relations jobs.

What you will learn
Use the technology you need to get the public opinion you want
Using the right tools at the right time can mean the difference between a media firestorm or the recruitment of countless new brand influencers to support your cause.

You will gain in-depth public relations knowledge, including:

• Public relations fundamentals & strategy
• Digital storytelling
• Marketing principles
• Internal communications
• Data analytics
• Effective writing
• Presentation skills
• Reputation & crisis management
• Media relations
• Stakeholder engagement

In public relations, it’s all about the story. Make sure the story of your career is a success.

Information technology deals with information and its use in organizations and society. York's Information Technology (ITEC) programs provide you with the educational background to pursue an exciting career in the application of computers to a variety of tasks faced by organizations today.

Unlike traditional computer science and engineering programs, which focus on developing broad computing skills, ITEC focuses on applications of software and information technologies and how they can be systematically designed and developed to meet critical business and organizational problems.
 
This way, ITEC prepares you to become a versatile Information Technology professional who possesses a strongly developed intuition about business, organizational and societal needs, and combines it with robust technical and methodological skills to analyze, design, implement, customize and manage information technologies to fulfil those needs. 

The following Bachelor programs are offered by ITEC:

• Bachelor of Arts – Information Technology, with a strong technical orientation.
• Bachelor of Commerce – Information Technology, which adds more business depth.

Bachelor of Arts – Information Technology
The BA in Information Technology aims at offering its students the necessary technical skills for developing and managing IT solutions for organizations, while also learning how to systematically organize such development and management efforts. 

Through courses in computer programming, database systems, data analytics, user interfaces and web development, you will learn how to analyze, design, develop and maintain information systems. In parallel, courses such as systems analysis and design, IT project management, requirements management, and IT risk management, will teach you how professionals work together to bring information systems to life in order to fulfil complex business needs. 

The French Studies program focuses on the study of language, linguistics and literature while exploring francophone culture around the world. We keep our classes small to give you plenty of opportunity to speak French and interact with professors and classmates. You will be taught oral and written production and comprehension, guided by teaching assistants from France.

The linguistics program exposes you to the many branches of linguistics (syntax, semantics, phonetics, sociolinguistics, etc.) through a variety of practical and theoretical approaches. You will have the opportunity to study linguistics as applied to translation and to second language teaching.

The literature program opens doors to the literatures and cultures of the francophone world with a particular focus on French and French Canadian literature. You will develop analytical skills through the analysis of texts using various theoretical and philosophical approaches.

Learn what it takes to lead HR teams and projects as you investigate everything from compensation practices to labour relations.

What you will learn
This full-time post-degree certificate program was developed by an advisory committee of senior human resources executives to prepare you for excellence. Consisting of ten courses covering the core human resources topics as determined by the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA), this program will help you better understand:

• Human resources management
• Organizational behaviour
• Finance and accounting
• Human resources planning
• Occupational health and safety
• Training and development
• Labour relations
• Recruitment and selection
• Compensation
• Business Communications for Human Resources Professionals

Program Benefits

• Benefit from a curriculum that integrates critical soft skills that employers want in new hires
• Become a member of the Human Resources Professional Association (HRPA) at the student rate
• Fulfill coursework required for the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) designation
• Program recognized by the HRPA
• Develop skills through experiential assignments and projects
• Learn from practicing HR instructors
• Build your professional network as you advance through the program with the same cohort of peers
• Complete the program in nine months of accelerated study

Biology was the pioneer science at York, offering the first undergraduate and graduate programs in the 1960s.
Biology studies living things and the discipline defines a living creature, technically called a living "organism", as one that has a metabolism and reproduces. Biologists study living organisms from many different angles, including behaviour, evolution and ecology as well as cell and molecular biology and genetics. They study all different kinds of species from plants to insects, viruses to humans. Biology can also be combined with other fields. For example, biochemistry, biophysics, biotechnology and biopsychology are all important fields related to biology.

Biologists can be found working everywhere — on and off the planet:

• In a variety of environments to investigate ecosystems;
• In the laboratory to examine how organisms work;
• In the microscopic world to explore cells and the submicroscopic to explore molecules in cells;
• In space to study the effect of space travel on organisms;
• Back in time to investigate the history of life.

The Biology program, York’s longest-established scientific program, is home to internationally recognized teaching and research faculty. It offers you a diversity of courses from across the discipline, providing you with the flexibility to choose courses from many different areas or to specialize in a particular field of life science. In your upper years, you can choose to specialize in such areas as:

• Biotechnology
• Biochemistry
• Biomedical Science
• Biophysics
• Environmental Biology

Urban Studies at York stresses the importance of fieldwork when studying the social and spatial fabric of cities.

The city is among the most fundamental human institutions. Across history, cities have been sites of basic innovation in economic, political and cultural life — centres of trade, seats of empire and the locale of scientific, social and artistic creativity. Cities retain these roles today and are the home of a growing majority of the world’s population who increasingly live in large metropolitan regions of several million people. Often, as in many Canadian cities, these urban regions are marked by complex social diversity, striking contrasts of wealth and poverty and a challenging array of planning and environmental dilemmas.

Urban Studies is the attempt to understand cities and city life — how they function, the current and future concerns of their residents. This encompasses the political institutions, economic and social relations, physical landscapes and cultural frameworks that constitute the city.

As a student in Urban Studies, you will focus on cities as distinctive entities and explore the meaning and function of cities in the larger society. You'll be taking courses from a broad range of fields including:

• History
• Environmental studies
• Geography
• Anthropology
• Political science
• Sociology
• Psychology.

You will also examine the processes that produce certain patterns of human settlement and chart the changing relationships among areas shaped by urbanization, such as metropolis and countryside, city and suburb, municipality and region.

The Sexuality Studies program is an undergraduate program affiliated with York’s world renowned School of Gender, Sexuality and Women's Studies.

Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary field that explores artistic, cultural, economic, geographic, historical, literary, political, psychological and social aspects of sexuality. Our program examines sexuality in transnational contexts and investigates intersections of sexuality with ability, age, class, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, health, nationality, race and religion.

You will learn alternative ways of organizing sexualities and alternatives to sexuality, in the past, present and future, as well as explore and gain a comprehensive understanding of sexual:

• Desires
• Acts
• Identities
• Communities
• Movements

Students in Sexuality Studies can choose from more than 50 courses from various academic areas and take discipline-based courses in fields such as anthropology, geography, history, literature, philosophy, political science, and sociology. Explore further with interdisciplinary courses that use diverse theories and methods derived from the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, fine arts and professional studies. Courses, seminars, lectures and special events address lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, intersexual, cissexual, heterosexual and heteronormative topics.

• You will have the opportunity to learn from more than 20 affiliated professors with international reputations for outstanding work in the field of sexuality studies.
• Sexuality Studies at York is unlike other programs because it is interdisciplinary and transnational. You can combine a sexuality studies degree (major or minor) with another more traditional degree (like psychology), or complete a Sexuality Studies certificate (open to all, regardless of educational background).
• Outside the classroom, you can participate in the activities of the Centre for Women and Trans People at York which offers resources, seminars, and activities. At the Keele Campus students are welcome to join SexGen, a program responsible for addressing issues and concerns of sexual and gender diversity, whether in terms of university policy areas, academic climate or the general university environment.

Recognized as one of the most progressive and socially responsive social work programs in Canada, our Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) combines practical experience with in-class studies in professional techniques and methods.

Social work is concerned with social justice and the impacts of structural inequalities such as poverty, unemployment, discrimination and oppression. It aims to work with individuals, families, and communities and to address policies in order to increase their capacity to bring positive social change, social development, and social cohesion. Social justice work can happen in different employment contexts including family service agencies, children’s aid agencies, general and psychiatric hospitals, school boards, correctional institutions, welfare administration agencies, federal and provincial departments.

Social workers also work in local and international community-based agencies and grassroots organizations to engage in various community organizing and development work to challenge social inequalities and oppression.

The School of Social Work fosters intellectual curiosity and a spirit of inquiry through its emphasis on critical perspectives in social work. In light of its belief in social work as social justice work, the School consistently teaches applied practice skills throughout the curriculum. This curriculum is designed in collaboration with professors, students, field instructors and community representatives to ensure our program responds to the needs of people in their social environments.

You can enter York’s Social Work program two ways:

• The Direct entry program accepts students in their first year of university. You don't need a degree to apply to this program. This is a full-time program with courses offered during the day and evening and takes four years to complete. In the first year, you will concentrate on social sciences, humanities and natural science courses. In the final year, you are required to complete a field placement – giving you vital hands-on experience – in a social service setting.
• The Post-degree program requires you to have a university degree to be admitted. This  program offers courses in the day and evening and could take a minimum of two years to complete. The post-degree program was developed for university graduates who are social work practitioners or who want to pursue a career in social work. You will be exposed to contemporary and socially relevant issues that address the many techniques and approaches used by social work professions as well as partake in a practicum experience that places you in real social work environments.

You will receive a professional social work education that is characterized by a commitment to human rights and social justice. Dedicated instructors, who draw from a strong contemporary curriculum and their own practical experience, give you the opportunity to develop your own social work philosophies and teach applied practice skills throughout the curriculum. You will graduate equipped for professional practice in a wide variety of social work arenas, from work with individuals and families to practice with community, policy, research and international settings.

Participate in the Canada-Taiwan exchange program sponsored by the Department of Human Resources Development Canada.
China, Japan and Korea — seats of ancient civilizations and modern societies of immense global significance — form the basis of this program. Bridging East Asia's dynamic modern milieu and its rich history, you will gain an appreciation of the importance of Chinese, Japanese and Korean language, literature and fine arts and of the political, economic and social impact of these nations.

New courses are being developed that deal with the areas of Southeast Asia that sustain close cultural ties with East Asia. Course offerings include:

• Culture and Society in East Asia
• East Asia: Tradition and Defiance
• Japanese Culture, Literature and Film
• Asian Art: Zen Painting and Poetry

Join the first and only technical blockchain certificate delivered by a Canadian university. Create real-world blockchain solutions as you build upon your existing knowledge and prepare to confidently launch your career.

What is Blockchain Development?
Blockchain is decentralized, transparent, and mostly unalterable. It improves data integrity through using an entire network of computers to record and validate transactions. This technology became popular within commerce, but its potential is being realized across numerous industries, including supply chain management, healthcare, finance, and public administration, specifically with electronic voting systems.

What you will learn
You’ll learn to go beyond understanding cryptography and data structures, by gaining the confidence to advise organizations on how blockchain can offer significant business value and knowing when and when not to implement the technology. You’ll develop the knowledge and competencies to be strategic about implementing blockchain technologies from concept to deployment at your organization. Aside from critical technical skills, you will build and practice foundational cross-functional skills like complex problem solving, business acumen, and social perceptiveness.

Program Benefits
Created in collaboration with industry executives, this full-time 9-course program allows you to create real-world blockchain solutions as you collaborate with like-minded peers. The program concludes with a unique capstone course, allowing you to further demonstrate your knowledge and graduate with a diverse portfolio of work. After completing the program, you’ll be prepared for real blockchain job functions, helping you secure your next career opportunity and greater success.