Post-Graduate Certificate in Business Administration

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

Gain insight into critical business topics such as strategic competition, the internal organization of firms and international issues facing businesses in the changing global marketplace.

Business Economics combines economic theories with the field of business administration. This field of study is concerned with the study and consequences of scarcity and strategic competition. Individuals, households, businesses and nations all experience some level of scarcity in that they do not possess all the resources to satisfy all their wants and needs. Decisions have to be made to balance those scarce resources in order to improve what can be achieved with them.

The Business Economics program is concerned with how:

• These decisions are made;
• The resources of a nation or business are allocated and utilized in the production of goods and services; and
• The rewards of these activities are distributed.

You will become acquainted with all the activities which illustrate the practical nature of the subject, such as commercial reports, articles in newspapers and periodicals and examples from daily life. This program integrates aspects of economics and business studies, focusing on the use of economic analysis and statistical methods to deal effectively with management problems in practical business fields. By applying economic theory to business management, you will become familiar with the analytical and decision-making techniques used in the business world and with the public and private institutional environments within which businesses operate.

Students who take our Marketing & Consumer Economics course work on a real-world market consulting project which gives them the opportunity to develop a full marketing plan for an outside organization.

Set yourself apart by studying with leading authorities about Canadian topics, including our national culture, environmental history, labour issues in Quebec and endangered Aboriginal languages.

Glendon's liberal arts environment is the perfect complement to its Canadian Studies program, and easily allows for cross-discipline research and study. If you're considering government or public sector work, gain a competitive edge with a bilingual degree and an understanding of the country in its various dimensions: political and legal systems, languages and cultures, history and Canada’s position in the global arena.

Apply your learning at the annual Crossing Borders Conference, support government officials and scholars from both sides of the Canadian-US border or get debate experience on current Canadian issues at provincial Canadian Studies conferences.

The Faculty of Science offers Bachelor of Arts(BA)and Bachelor of Science(BSc)degree programs in Applied Mathematics.

Applied mathematics or computational sciences encompasses the many analytical and numerical methods used to solve scientific problems. It is at the core of many disciplines ranging from engineering and science to business and economics. It is essential to be able to apply many different mathematical techniques and to handle problems involving statistical data. It is also necessary to be able to take a practical problem, from engineering for example, and turn it into a mathematical problem; this is referred to as mathematical modelling.

Applied mathematics includes the area of scientific computing, which involves many components of computational processes — numerical analysis, algorithms for machines with vector and parallel architectures, visualization, simulation and computer-aided design.

Applied mathematicians use equations and computer simulations to:

• design computer chips;
• set airfare and insurance rates;
• model electric power grids;
• study genetic engineering;
• create new automobile and airplane design;
• study global climate change.

It is mathematics used to model and solve practical, real-world problems.

The Applied Mathematics (BA) program aims to give students a solid base of knowledge of mathematics which has important applications in fields such as computer science, physics, earth and atmospheric science, chemistry, biology, psychology and also in economics and business. Bachelor of Arts students are given the opportunity to take electives in other areas of interest, such as business administration.

In AMPD's Department of Cinema and Media Arts students experientially learn to understand, think and work in the language of the moving image across all media. From idea to screenplay, camera to screen, screen to critical inquiry, our integrated curriculum offers exceptional training across the spectrum.

The BFA in Screenwriting, offering Canada’s only undergraduate screenwriting degree, provides intensive training in the art of moving image storytelling across genres, from short films to TV series, feature films to new media. Writing for today’s multi-platform universe, screenwriting students have the opportunity to collaborate with production students to see their work brought to life on screen.

This small program, which accepts a maximum of twenty students, supports intimate, intensive learning and high level of mentorship by the department's internationally recognized faculty.

The rich Cinema and Media Studies component included in the BFA in Screenwriting gives students an edge, developing their ability to not only write for screen-based media, but to think, talk and write about cinema and media, and to understand the historical and theoretical framework in which they are produced.

Software is used to control many aspects of the modern world, ranging from medical devices, nuclear power plants and airlines to Google and Amazon. It is valuable in developing software for prosthetic limbs to improve mobility or write the code for the next breakthrough in mobile communications. Software engineering makes the complex systems possible, safe and reliable. 

Our Software Engineering program is accredited by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB). 

What You'll Learn
Lassonde’s Software Engineering program prepares students for a career using state-of-the-art computing labs, a full suite of software development tools, and hands-on experience in the design and development of software products.

In a capstone project, you work with a team to design, test and deploy a significant and exciting product using all the knowledge and skills you have gained.

After second year, you can take part in the co-op program, giving you an early start to becoming a licensed Professional Engineer.

Some Courses You'll Take:

• Advanced Object-Oriented Programming
• Software Development Project
• Design and Analysis of Algorithms
• Operating System Fundamentals
• Software Design
• Software Engineering Testing
• Mission Critical Systems
• Building E-Commerce Systems

Passionate about the environment? Gain the scientific acumen required to have an impact on environmental issues. Environmental Science is the application of a combination of scientific disciplines to issues and questions regarding environmental problems.

Gain extensive hands-on experience
Environmental Science at York includes a compulsory Research Design & Field Study course that gets you out using the equipment of the profession. This involves a long weekend at Algonquin Park at The Frost Centre working on a project. You'll learn to use water, soil and climate monitoring equipment and geographic information systems that can be put to use immediately and directly on the job with organizations like the Meteorological Service of Canada and Environment Canada.

Our professors are conducting research on such areas as the survival of plant life in the High Arctic, the Oak Ridges Moraine and the contribution of peat lands to the Greenhouse Effect. York is home to one of Canada's most sophisticated indoor flumes to predict water flows and the structure of rivers.

What's the difference between Environmental Science and Environmental Studies?

• Environmental Science is the scientific study of the environment and the effects of humans on environmental systems. You will acquire knowledge from many academic disciplines including biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, economics, political science and physics. You will also undertake specialized courses in the study of the environment. The program emphasizes field experiences, undergraduate research, and environmental problem-solving.
• Environmental Studies focuses on the complex issues regarding the sustainability of the global environment in the face of human development. The program integrates humanities, natural and social science, environmental policy and planning perspectives. You will gain a broad educational background needed to assist in developing sustainable development policies to create positive social change within the environmental context. Real world links to practical environmental issues are developed through internships, study abroad programs, environmental problem-solving at the local and regional levels and participation in campus environmental planning.

An optimal learning environment. Quality professors, small program size, group tutorials, help sessions, peer mentoring, laboratory experience and regular feedback helps you to get the most out of the program.

The School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design (AMPD) is pleased to announce a new degree stream, the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Media Arts in the Department of Cinema and Media Arts.

The cultural effects on technology mean that cinema is no longer a stand-alone art form. It increasingly overlaps with other evolving areas, such as video games, mobile media, social media, streaming media distribution, 3D graphics and computer generated imaging, and digital archiving.

In AMPD’s new Media Arts program, students are invited to become critical thinkers by doing, making and collaborating. In this program, for example, students will have the opportunity to create multimedia digital publications, practice social justice by using social media to engage with a community, write a trans-media story meant to cross film and game platforms, render 3D for animation, virtual reality or a gaming environment, and produce interactive documentary. Drawing on the powerful legacy of cinema history, criticism and theory, students will actively create in the expanded field of media studies, media culture and media industries, in which cinema is an integrated element.

This new program is framed around a series of flexible media practice courses taken concurrently with media history, theory and criticism, culminating in a capstone project and a media industry placement.

The resulting BFA will offer students a broad, expansive view on multiple types of contemporary practice including television, Internet practices, mobile media, gaming, interactive media, and cutting edge digital technologies such as 3D and virtual reality. Students will graduate with the ability to blend curatorial, producing, and media-making abilities with the historical investigation of contemporary media, especially screen-based and social media.

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.

Public management leaders must have multidisciplinary knowledge, critical skills and abilities to realize their vision to advance the public interest. At York, we prepare leaders for the broader public sector that spans all levels of government, public institutions and non-profit organizations, who can excel and thrive in a dynamic multicultural environment. Our graduates also work as policy analysts, legal and regulatory compliance officers, consultants and government relations managers in the private sector.

Through courses in areas such as public administration, Canadian government and public law, you’ll examine current and emerging debates regarding public institutions, law, human rights and diversity. You’ll also gain a clear understanding of the theory and practice of government while acquiring expertise relevant to policy analysis, program evaluation and other public service functions such as project management, human resources, budgeting and finance.

The Bachelor of Public Administration is an Honours only program and students also have the option to specialize in one of three streams:

• Law, Justice and Public Policy
• Management
• Policy Analysis

Many courses involve simulations and exercises drawn from real world scenarios at all three levels of Canadian government. A limited number of practicum and internship placements are available for qualified students.
Staffed by faculty with strong research records and many years combined experience in active public service, the School provides a sense of community for students who share a fascination with questions of governance, administration, public ethics and the law.