Bachelor of Arts in Geography and Urban Studies

at York University - School of Continuing Studies Canada

Did you know that studying philosophy is great preparation for law school, an MBA or other graduate studies? Philosophy majors regularly perform much better than average on the Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE).

This program is offered by the Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies on the Keele Campus.

The word 'philosophy' is derived from the Greek for "love of wisdom" and is one of the world's oldest subjects of study. Philosophy pursues questions in every dimension of human life, and its techniques apply to problems in any field of study or endeavor. It is a reasoned pursuit of fundamental truths, a quest for understanding and a study of principles of conduct.

Explore life’s deepest questions concerning the nature of happiness, the requirements of justice, the limits of knowledge, and the meaning of freedom. You’ll discover how to develop answers to these questions and how to engage in fruitful argument with alternative points of view. These skills are applicable to all areas of modern life: intellectual, professional and personal.

Efforts are made to blend contemporary and historical issues and many of our professors draw their inspiration from widely separated philosophical approaches. In keeping with this, there is a great deal of cross-disciplinary work. The department offers a wide range of courses which examine contemporary problems and issues such as:

• Applied ethics
• Philosophy of mind
• Social and political philosophy
• Argumentation theory
• Feminism

Drama Studies can lead to a career in various aspects of theatre and is also excellent preparation for a career in teaching, public speaking and many other fields.

Get to know drama as a study of literature and performance with courses that integrate the study of language, literature, critical theory, performance media and genres (such as film or television). You’ll learn from award-winning experts in their fields, explore varied works of dramatic literature and performance and get hands-on experience with productions in English, French and Spanish with our student-led production company. Glendon's black box theatre boasts excellent lighting, sound and multimedia technologies.

Statistics is a field that provides the foundations and techniques to collect, analyze, and present information in an effective and efficient manner. Recent trends involve a resurgence of interest in methods for informal exploratory analysis of data. This relies increasingly on friendly computing environments supported by efficient algorithms. York's Statistics program is an exploration of the nature of measurement, chance variation, probability, uncertainty, inductive logic and inference, and combines naturally with studies in the life and social sciences.

An increasingly important aspect of modern statistics is the design of experiments and surveys — as well as analyzing the resulting data — in areas of application ranging scientific studies to the insurance industry. Statisticians use surveys to predict the patterns of behaviour of large groups based on relatively small samples.

Through its applications in almost every branch of modern professional life and research, statistics is a fast-growing discipline that provides a statistician with a variety of career opportunities. Statistics is offered as both a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science options. Why take one instead of the other? All Mathematics students (Mathematics, Applied Math, Statistics, Math for Commerce) take common first- and second-year courses. It is in the third and fourth years that the programs begin to differentiate.

For a Bachelor of Science (BSc) math degree, you will combine your math courses with other science courses such as physics, earth and atmospheric science, biology or computer science.

An actuary is a professional concerned with: the design and administration of insurance policies, pension plans, government welfare plans and similar programs. The main responsibility of actuaries is to ensure that these programs operate on a sound financial basis. To do this, they use many areas of mathematics and statistics, as well as general principles of economics and finance.Actuarial Science is the area of mathematics that applies quantitative methods to assess risks in the insurance and finance industries. It became a formal discipline in the late 17th century, when the increased demand for such long-term insurance coverages as life insurances, annuities, and burials expense coverages emerged. Since then and for a long time, actuaries have been interested in studying the present monetary value of future obligations as well as the variability of these present values in the contexts of life and health insurance, property and casualty insurance, pension funds and social wealth-fare programs. Today actuaries are also being employed in the areas of enterprise risk management, and even in general finance and investment.

This Specialized Honours BA program blends English and Professional Writing into a single degree program that highlights and enhances the relationship between the two fields of study as opposed to a traditional double major or major/minor degree in which the two fields are treated as separate rather than complementary disciplines.

English and Professional Writing is a “keeping doors open” program for students as devoted to reading and thinking critically about literature as they are to writing. The English side of the degree keeps open the possibility of graduate work in literary studies or a post-degree program in Education, while the Professional Writing side attends to practice and more immediate employability.

English and Professional Writing is, so far as we know, unique in Canada in offering this dual qualification, which produces graduates with a greater range of practical skills than graduates of English programs and greater theoretical sophistication and rhetorical flair than graduates of writing programs. It is not for every student but, for some medleys of aptitudes and aspirations, it is a glove.
For more information on the Professional Writing side of the ENPR program, please visit  http://prwr.writ.laps.yorku.ca/about/

Study in one of the largest Geography programs in any university in Canada. Whether you're pursuing your Bachelor of Science and focusing on physical geography or gaining expertise about human geography through a Bachelor of Arts, York's program offers you the world at your doorstep.

Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment. There are two main branches of geography: human geography and physical geography.

Geographers also study the linkages between human activity and natural systems. Geographers were, in fact, among the first scientists to sound the alarm that human-induced changes to the environment were beginning to threaten the balance of life itself. They are active in the study of global warming, desertification, deforestation, loss of biodiversity, groundwater pollution, and flooding.

In the Faculty of Science, the Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree emphasizes physical geography, which examines the physical, chemical and biological processes that occur in the immediate vicinity of the Earth's surface. Physical geographers study patterns of climates, land forms, vegetation, soils, and water. They forecast the weather, manage land and water resources, and analyze and plan for forests, rangelands, and wetlands. Many human and physical geographers have skills in cartography and geographic information systems. Field work is also emphasized, including outdoor laboratory sessions, field trips and periodic field courses in Southern Ontario as well as to remote and exotic regions.

Statistics is a field that provides the foundations and techniques to collect, analyze, and present information in an effective and efficient manner. Recent trends involve a resurgence of interest in methods for informal exploratory analysis of data. This relies increasingly on friendly computing environments supported by efficient algorithms. York's Statistics program is an exploration of the nature of measurement, chance variation, probability, uncertainty, inductive logic and inference, and combines naturally with studies in the life and social sciences.

An increasingly important aspect of modern statistics is the design of experiments and surveys — as well as analyzing the resulting data — in areas of application ranging scientific studies to the insurance industry. Statisticians use surveys to predict the patterns of behaviour of large groups based on relatively small samples.

Through its applications in almost every branch of modern professional life and research, statistics is a fast-growing discipline that provides a statistician with a variety of career opportunities. Statistics is offered as both a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science options. Why take one instead of the other? All Mathematics students (Mathematics, Applied Math, Statistics, Math for Commerce) take common first- and second-year courses. It is in the third and fourth years that the programs begin to differentiate.

If you're interested in a Bachelor of Arts (BA) math degree, you will combine your math courses with other Arts courses such as psychology or economics.

Challenge what is. Imagine what could be. Transform the Future. The Faculty of Environmental Studies provides a unique educational experience in an expanding field of study, research and employment.

Studying the environment has never been more important or complex. In order to make change, we need to recognize the impact we have on the world around us. Our program examines the interconnections of human life on our natural surroundings and explores the various perspectives, approaches and inequalities that exist in the world today.  An introductory first year allows you to expand your passion for environmental and social justice through a common core course approach. Then, specialize for your future career success in one of the following: Environmental Management; Urban & Regional Environments; Environmental Politics, Justice & the Arts.

Program Highlights
The Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) defines "environment" as everything that surrounds us. Environmental studies is, therefore, not only about natural environments, but also about built, social, cultural, political and organizational environments as well as all of the relationships between them.

After completing a common first year, you will have the opportunity to focus on one of three Areas of Concentration:

• Environmental Management
• Urban & Regional Environments
• Environmental Politics, Justice & the Arts

Computer science blends theoretical knowledge and practical skills to explore intriguing topics –computer systems that mimic human vision or helping design pharmaceutical drugs. Learn the theoretical limitations of computing and methodologies that lead to efficient, accurate computing.

What You’ll Learn

We offer BA and BSc degrees – both providing you with the same computer science and math expertise. In the BA program, you’ll complement your studies with courses from the Liberal Arts (e.g., humanities, social sciences). In the BSc program, the complementary courses will be in the sciences (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics). A degree Minor or Double major will allow you to just sample or deeply explore another discipline.

You may also choose one of our three International Honours degrees – iBA, iBSc or the Dual Specialized degree. In the iBA or iBSc degree, you will add a study abroad component to your learning, with culture and language courses of your exchange destination. The International Dual degree leads to two degrees, one from York and one from the Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University in Germany while completion of your undergraduate thesis at the University of Crete in Greece!

After the third year of your Honours degree, you can take part in our internship program to gain valuable professional experience.

Some Courses You’ll Take

• Data Structures
• Software Design
• Communication Networks
• Artificial Intelligence and Logic Programming
• Database Systems
• Building E-Commerce Systems
• Data Mining
• User Interfaces

Do you know that Spanish is spoken by more than 400 million people in over twenty-one countries? Of the 56 million people who speak languages on the Internet other than English, Spanish speakers represent almost a quarter.

Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world. Both globally and locally, fluency in Spanish is a valuable asset in any career.. University graduates with a knowledge of Spanish and the Spanish-speaking world are in demand not only in the international business community, diplomatic circles, and international agencies and Non-governmental organizations such as the World Bank, the World Health Organization and the United Nations, but also throughout Canada and the United States. Spanish is a common home language in urban Canada and is the de facto second language of the United States.  Spanish is useful in careers from Social services and medical fields, to media and the arts: any fields that engage with the public.

The Spanish program introduces you to the language and literature of Spain and the Spanish-American world. Spanish represents many cultures and countries. The rich cultural heritage and ethnic diversity of the language is discovered through literature and linguistics and you can develop a strong command of the language itself through intensive training in listening, reading writing and speaking.

• Our professors are experts in their respective fields, dynamic and responsive teachers who look forward to sharing their perspectives on the Spanish-speaking world. 
• Our courses explore a range of topics from the development of the Spanish language to an examination of Renaissance and Baroque literature when Spain's prolific playwrights rivaled Shakespeare; from the literature of the Spanish Civil War to the vast, innovative work of Latin America's writers.
• Our program offers opportunities for experiential education and co-curricular activities, including opportunities to edit and publish creative work in Spanish and experience working with professors to conduct primary research. You will benefit from our respected Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean on the economic development, political and social organization and cultural contributions of the region.