Bachelor of Science - Honours Integrated Science

at York University - School of Continuing Studies Canada

To see health in its social context is to look beyond the limits of medicine as we know it.
York’s Health and Society program is an interdisciplinary program bridging critical heath studies, humanities (history, creative writing), and the social sciences (indigenous studies, anthropology, sociology) to consider the social, cultural, political, historical and economic forces that shape health, well-being, and illness in both the Global North (Canada, US, EU, and the UK) and Global South (including nations like Peru, Kenya, Nepal, and many more).

This exciting and innovative program explores a wide range of influences including social media, art and aesthetics, cultural values, capitalist networks, and political ideologies as they shape everyday health and healing. In this program students will consider the scientific controversies surrounding mammograms, female circumcision, vaping, and supervised injection sites; the barriers in providing equitable health care delivery in resource poor and resource developed communities; and structural forces that contribute to poor health like environmental racism (Alberta’s oil sands, Dakota Access Pipeline), the contemporary effects of colonial legislation (like the Indian Act), and exclusionary practices and policies in health care development and delivery.

Gain an in-depth understanding of the impact of business on society and the relations between business, social structures and government - crucial factors in understanding the social environment of business.

Choose from an array of courses within 10 streams of study.
Choose from a dynamic array of courses that explore the political, social and cultural context of business, both in Canada and around the world, including:

• Economics
• Political science
• Law and governance
• Communications
• Business ethics

If you'd like to further specialize your studies, you may wish to pursue a certificate while working on your degree. Certificate programs offer additional background in areas such as management, finance, marketing and organizational behaviour.
Thanks to the flexibility of the program, you'll be prepared to work in public service, corporate business, community and international development, teaching, marketing, human resources, public relations, finance and labour relations.
Gain the knowledge to help you account for, evaluate and transform the various ways that business influences society and society influences business.

Solutions for 21st-century challenges involve complex systems that no single discipline can fully address. Mathematical Biology, a program in the field of Applied Mathematics, aims to represent biological processes using a variety of mathematical tools and techniques. Mathematical modelling has direct impact in areas such as disease prevention, the development of ecosystems and waste management. York offers Canada’s only degree in Mathematical Biology, and as a fourth-year student, you will have the opportunity to acquire real-life problem-solving skills in a required research project. Experience directly the intersection of math and the life sciences, as well as the role it plays in our everyday concerns. As a program graduate, you will leave with the tools and knowledge allowing you to help solve the problems of modern life. 

The School of Kinesiology & Health Science at York University is an integrated unit which offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs and is responsible for co-curricular (practica) and service programming in Athletics & Recreation for all students of the University.

Kinesiology & Health Science is the study of human movement and the relationship between physical activity and health. Most students enter the Kinesiology and Health Science Program because they have a keen interest in physical activity and health and plan to work in an applied health or education field.

York has one of the largest course offerings in Kinesiology in Canada, including more than 50 professionally focused practicum courses that let you apply your studies to everything from game strategy and injury assessment to event management.

Small classes (groups of only 25 Anglophone and Francophone students) provide an ideal setting for learning and mastering skills of translation.
Unique in Southern Ontario, our program addresses a significant shortage of English, French and Spanish translators in Canada. Our graduates work for the United Nations, the Government of Canada, law firms, publishing houses and more. They have also developed careers in editing, writing and teaching.
Stay ahead of the curve

Gain experience and earn course credits by participating in an internship with the provincial or federal government, the private sector, or with other organizations. As a Translation student, you’ll forge a strong professional network and will obtain a free membership to the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario with access to all its services, job postings, workshops and networking opportunities.

Crime, criminality, and criminal justice are central concerns in contemporary Canadian society. In politics, law, policy and popular culture, the problem of crime and what to do about it command increasing attention and interest. The Criminology program will provide you with an exceptional opportunity to pursue study in this evolving and expanding field. You will explore the ways in which concepts of crime, criminality and criminal justice have developed over time. You will also investigate how crime is understood legally, politically, economically and culturally.

The program’s interdisciplinary approach is reflected in complementary relationships with a number of other academic disciplines including anthropology, history, philosophy, political science, psychology, socio-legal studies, and sociology. Students are able to choose courses from these disciplines as well as from the core program courses, each of which draws from a range of disciplines and is devoted to making connections between different areas of study.

Note: Criminology is not a pre-law preparatory program.

The Criminology program will focus on the analysis of:

• Crime
• Criminality
• Processes of criminalization and social control
• Organized crime
• Systems of justice
• Criminal justice systems

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.

The Professional Writing Program in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University offers students a unique opportunity to study and to acquire practical expertise in a wide range of written expressions that inform and shape our culture. The combination of knowledge and expertise is highly sought after by employers who recognize the spiralling need for effective communications in today’s and tomorrow’s economy. Students in our program develop inventive approaches to writing that keep pace with cultural, social, and technological transformation in the contemporary world.

Why Professional Writing at York?
York’s Professional Writing Program is unique.  As a program of the Liberal Arts & Professional Studies Faculty, we strive to connect and complement the traditional strengths of a Liberal Arts degree with practical, professional experience.  Our program core provides a firm grounding in the history, theory, and critical investigation of writing practices while providing  hands-on experience in the creation, management, and presentation of dynamic, responsive writing.

Political Science encompasses not only the actions of governments, political parties and the courts, but also political movements in society and in the power relations of everyday life.

Choose from a rich and diverse range of courses that allow you to focus on a number of topics such as:

• Global politics
• Political economy and political power
• Development and inequality in the Third World
• Social justice
• Ethics
• Law and democracy
• Violence and security

This breadth of choice will help you to gain a comprehensive understanding of critical issues facing our world and the political context in which they exist while acquiring in-demand analytical and communications skills.

• You will learn to conceptualize and to think critically about crucial dimensions of political life, both values and processes, especially those linked to such issues as the uses and abuses of power; the articulation of rights and responsibilities; and the intersections of community and nation-state with more globally-defined realities.
• Our first-year classes are taught by our most distinguished scholars who not only cover the essentials, but also design the courses with flair and expertise.
• Our Political Science professors are internationally known. Professor Leo Pantich is the Canada Research Chair in Comparative Political Economy and Professor Leah Voskos is the Canada Research Chair in Feminist Political Economy.
• We are well known in many areas including Canadian Politics, Comparative Politics, International Relations, Political Theory and Women and Politics

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.