Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies / Classics

at York University - School of Continuing Studies Canada

Violations of human rights occur across a broad range of social, economic and cultural areas as well as within the civil and political order. Today we are faced with local and global issues that, in one way or another, impact all of us: denial of education or basic health rights; surveillance and suppression of speech; polarization of incomes or denial of economic security; atrocities of military occupation and war.

Students in York's innovative Human Rights & Equity Studies program explore the roots of human rights violations as they occur across a broad range of social, economic and cultural areas. You'll tackle local and global issues, that, in one way or another, impact us all:

• Denial of education or basic health rights;
• Surveillance and suppression of speech;
• Polarization of incomes or denial of economic security;
• Atrocities of military occupation and war.

York's program investigates rights and equity concerns through a range of disciplinary lenses. Courses drawn from units across York confront problems of basic rights involving physical, emotional and economic security, cultural autonomy and freedom of political expression, viewing rights in relation to the whole person.

• Gain multidisciplinary knowledge by exploring human rights and equity in a diverse array of fields, including sociology, anthropology, philosophy, political science, social work, economics, health, education and the arts.
• Core professors are experts in social and cultural rights and equity concerns related to health and healthcare, economic inequality and poverty, work and unemployment, and social and labour policy.

Anthropology is the study of different societies around the world — their origins, development and cultural similarities and differences.

Using the theories and methods of anthropology we explore how people in the world are subjected to, participate in and contest the processes of living in a world that is interconnected by new and powerful economic, cultural and technological forces.

Our program is ranked in the top 100 Anthropology programs in the world, and top 10 in Canada, according to QS Rankings, 2021. With 17 faculty members and five affiliates, we are one of the largest socio-cultural Anthropology departments in Canada. We offer a comprehensive and engaging program of study with a large selection of course offerings.

We offer a major program, as well as minors/certificates in Medical Anthropology and Advocacy & Public Engagement Training. Our programs focus on experiential education with a capstone placement course.  Our courses explore a wide variety of topics such as:

• Development and the environment
• Media and popular culture
• Health
• Illness and disability
• Gender and sexualities
• Tourism
• Religion and science
• Diasporic communities and displaced peoples
• Violence and conflict
• The colonial process

Other courses focus on processes of change in the prehistoric and historic past. Our overall goal is to prepare you to ask questions about contemporary, past and future social life and to provide you with the critical analytic tools to understand our place in the social and cultural diversity of the world, past and present.

York's Biophysics program draws on the long-established strengths of our Biology and Physics programs, with uniquely interdisciplinary courses highlighting their interfaces.

Biophysics is an exciting discipline at the intersection between physics and biology. It is an interdisciplinary field in which the laws, methods and techniques of physics are applied to biological processes and organisms. Biophysics applies the knowledge of physics to explain biological questions, such as the transmission of nervous impulses or muscle control.

For example, the DNA of salmon has been found to improve the performance of light emitting diodes, and areas of nanotechnology are founded upon the unique mechanical and electrical properties of DNA. Biophysicists study organisms at all levels of biological organization from the macroscopic (e.g. movement, muscle contractions, breathing) to the microscopic (e.g. cell division, molecular motors, energy generation and conversion, cellular reactions to physical stimuli).

Unique to the program is a scope sufficiently broad to expose you to knowledge and techniques applicable not only to humans but also to plants and animals, providing a solid background for positions in the environmental and agricultural sectors.

• York offers the opportunity to work side-by-side with professors through the more than 40 summer research and work-study programs offered each year.

Biophysics is an exciting interdisciplinary frontier of science in which the principles and techniques of physics are used to study living things and how they work. For instance, biophysicists have applied laser physics to map cells in three dimensions and reveal bacteria in drinking water, and have developed or improved techniques for analyzing organisms such as EM (Electron Microscopy), CT (Computer-aided Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and X-ray crystallography. Studies of biological systems can also find applications to problems in physics. For example, the DNA of salmon has been found to improve the performance of light emitting diodes, and areas of nanotechnology are founded upon the unique mechanical and electrical properties of DNA. Biophysicists study organisms at all levels of biological organization from the macroscopic (e.g. movement, muscle contractions, breathing) to the microscopic (e.g. cell division, molecular motors, energy generation and conversion, cellular reactions to physical stimuli).

York’s Biophysics program is strong in both physics and biology, with uniquely interdisciplinary courses highlighting their interfaces. The program has a scope sufficiently broad to expose students to knowledge and techniques applicable not only to humans but to all of the kingdoms of life. Students acquire a theoretical and practical understanding of biology, physics, and supporting fields through both lecture- and lab-based courses.

In today’s media-centric and technologically saturated environment, knowledge of communication is essential for both professional and everyday life. We teach students to question, analyze and creatively reflect on the wide range of media systems and communication technologies that permeate our lives.

This includes:

• How communication processes and information technologies can be used to profoundly shape and transform societies, from strengthening local communities to establishing global networks.
• How culture and media are intrinsically intertwined, from the expression of identities and social relations to the circulation of ideas and the shaping of social and political values.
• How struggles to create, define and regulate public, not-for-profit and for-profit communication systems are implicated in broader issues around citizenship, corporate power, and public accountability.

We offer an interdisciplinary and innovative approach to teaching and learning, and we provide a comprehensive curriculum that encompasses theoretical, applied and experiential learning. Our students become critical, independent, and creative thinkers able to engage with the various dimensions and complexities of communication, whether this involves creating or evaluating media content and information technologies, or addressing significant issues arising out of their production and use. Our graduates work in the communication and cultural industries sector, in the not-for-profit and advocacy sector, and in the public sector. 

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. 

Mathematics for Education is designed for students considering a career in teaching. Students can be enrolled in York's concurrent education program or may intend to take a two year consecutive education program. This program offers a broader background in a wider perspective on the teaching and learning of mathematics.

York offers two teacher education programs:

• Concurrent undergraduate programs for students already enrolled in other undergraduate Faculties
• Consecutive undergraduate full-time program for prospective teachers who have already graduated in another discipline

You enter the concurrent program in your third or fourth year. Selection is based on:

• Academic achievement
• Oral communication abilities
• Personal characteristics relevant to the teaching profession

Two years are added to your undergraduate studies and in the remaining four years you work concurrently to complete the requirements of your undergraduate program as well as the professional teaching program.

You enter the two-year consecutive full-time program if you hold an undergraduate degree. Selection is based on:

• Education-related experience
• Academic achievement
• Oral communication skills
• Personal characteristics relevant to the teaching profession

York offers some of the best Math support services in the country including a Math Tutorial Lab, a Statistics Tutorial Lab, a regular schedule of help sessions offered by professors, peer tutoring and study groups.

Health care is undergoing fundamental change from solely treating acute illness to focusing on a person’s whole needs for wellness—where physical health, mental health and social supports are explored—involving a team of health care professionals, including doctors, nurses, social workers, mental health specialists and others. In this new model, health managers, information specialists and policy experts are fundamentally important to leading the change and York’s Health Studies program prepares students for careers in these dynamic fields.

Not sure if you want to focus on Health Management, Informatics or Policy in your first year? Then choose Health Studies and explore all three. In addition to taking courses in management, informatics and policy, students study the breadth and depth of health and health care through a wide variety of issues and social contexts (e.g. status and disability, homelessness), including case studies in health care in the community. Societal factors that determine why some people stay healthy and others become ill are also examined such as income, stress, early life, social exclusion, work conditions, unemployment, social support, addiction, food and transportation.

Health Studies offers students the flexibility to attain a double major or do a minor in other Faculty of Health or York programs. The program also provides students with the prerequisites for postgraduate study in a professional program (e.g. medicine, law) or graduate school.

In Health studies you have different degree options. i.e Health Policy, Health Management. Health Informatics, and Health Studies. For more information please click here.

Foster the skills of teaching and learning

Education is future-oriented — it's about development and growth even when we are studying the past. Education is giving or receiving knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgement, using inspiration, tapping into creativity, taking risks and developing emotional and intellectual resilience. In our society, education implies school and whether you teach others or are in the process of learning yourself, education focuses on knowledge and on the intellect. Through the fine art of bringing out what is latent in a person, we learn as we teach.

To foster the skills of teaching and learning, York offers several Education programs. Click on the program name below to learn more about the program.

The Bachelor of Education (BEd), Technological Education is a full-time, professional degree program held at York University's Keele campus. Graduates will be qualified to teach one of the following technological subjects at the Intermediate-Senior (grades 9 to 12) certification levels:

• Communication Technology
• Computer Technology
• Construction Technology
• Green Industries
• Hairstyling & Aesthetics
• Health Care
• Hospitality and Tourism
• Manufacturing Technology
• Technological Design
• Transportation Technology

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.

Build on your accounting skillset with a leadership focus so you can pursue career advancement opportunities and prepare to earn a CPA designation.

What You Will Learn
In this full-time Post-Graduate Certificate in Advanced Professional Accounting, you’ll explore advanced accounting topics in areas such as auditing, taxation principles and accounting information systems. This program will also help you:

• Develop an advanced accounting skill set through experiential assignments and projects
• Hone cross-functional skills such as critical thinking, business acumen, problem solving and communication
• Practice key management and leadership techniques
• Prepare for CPA Professional Education Program (PEP) courses to become a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)

Program Benefits

• Gain relevant and in-demand accounting knowledge with a curriculum co-designed and taught by senior industry executives
• Advance through the program with the same peer group and build a professional network that extends beyond the program
• Engage in experiential assignments and apply your knowledge towards real-world business challenges
• Complete the program in 9 months of study