International Year One (UTP Stage II): Arts

The program in Environment and Urban Sustainability is designed for students interested in environmental and conservation issues. You will learn to evaluate effects of development on urban settlements and to assess and facilitate conservation and the development of sustainable responses.

• The program integrates the social sciences, natural sciences, and applied disciplines as related to environmental and sustainability issues. You can focus your studies on environment design, environmental management, environmental policy, community studies, or natural science.
• Put classroom concepts into real-world contexts through field trips and research projects in the field, seminars by working professionals, teamwork situations, and a capstone group project in which you will prepare a report for an external client.
• Build your experience and your contacts in the field through two optional, 10-week placements.
• After graduation, work in the private, government, or non-profit sector; pursue roles such as analyst, manager or sustainability officer; or complete graduate school or engage in advanced studies in teaching or law.

This unique program will teach you intercultural empathy, and help you understand and facilitate communication between cultures. The linguistic fluency and cultural intelligence you gain will prepare you to tackle challenges in varied sectors. All students major in either French or Spanish.

Philosophy explores some of the most fundamental and perennial questions such as:
How should we act? What is truth? What is beauty? What can we know? Are we free? In this program, students examine attempts to answer these and other basic questions by considering the contributions of some of history’s most inventive and critical minds.

• You will develop a well-rounded understanding of philosophy’s central debates and will examine the practical applications of philosophical theories and methods to contemporary political and social issues.
• You will acquire the intellectual insights and the analytical, critical-thinking, abstract-reasoning, and problem-solving skills needed to excel in a variety of professional careers in our knowledge-based economy.
• TMU offers a variety of Minors, such as in Psychology, Law, Politics, History, and Business Essentials, that will complement your studies in Philosophy and enhance your career preparation.
• After graduation, pursue career opportunities with employers in the private, public, and non-profit sectors that value critical analysis and problem-solving skills; or engage in post-graduate studies in Philosophy, Law, or teaching.

Politics and Governance has as its major focus a critical understanding of how important decisions are made – at the international, national, provincial, and local levels — by both governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). You will learn to question the assumptions behind both administrative practice and policies that emerge from a variety of sources, and to evaluate them on a range of criteria, including empirical, theoretical and ethical bases.

• Courses explore the actors and institutions of Canadian government, the emerging institutions and practices of global governance, controversial policy topics, western political thought, and comparative politics.
• Qualitative and quantitative research methods courses will help you study politics and governance effectively and enhance your professional skills in the workplace.
• Participate in an international exchange program to strengthen your skill set and broaden your understanding of politics and governance concepts and practices.
• After graduation, work for private companies, government departments or non-profit organizations; play a pivotal role in addressing management and government issues for local, national, and international organizations; pursue further studies in the fields of law or education; or engage in graduate studies in political science, public administration, public policy, public management or business.

Why do we think, feel and behave the way we do?  It’s the primary question of psychology, a fascinating scientific discipline that generates deep insights into the workings of our brains, bodies, and inner selves.  In Ryerson’s Psychology program, students learn about: the evolution of psychology as a thriving academic discipline; cutting-edge research findings on a wide variety of current issues; and how research is conducted.

• Your studies will delve into psychological theories and research methods with courses in neuroscience, lifespan development, memory and decision making, psychological disorders and their treatment, cultural diversity, gender, sexuality, psychology and law, health, and more.
• Develop advanced knowledge and skills in a particular area of psychology by pursuing paid or voluntary research positions, participating in a study, or joining a Research Interest Group.
• Explore a particular area of psychology in depth by completing an optional thesis project.
• Pursue careers in a diverse range of fields such as media development, human resources management, policy analysis, conflict mediation, rehabilitation counselling, addictions support, assessment and treatment of young offenders, and learning disability support; or complete advanced studies in psychology, medicine, law, nutrition and health, speech pathology and audiology, education or business.

Sociologists explore the social world: why things stay the same and how we achieve social change. Students in this engaging field  study how societies work, by critically examining power and inequalities, institutions, cultures, beliefs, values, and taken for granted practices. Ryerson’s Sociology program ensures you develop skills that are essential to career success: critical thinking, media literacy, research design and analysis, and effective communication.

• Courses allow you to study a range of areas: diversity, popular media, globalization, immigration and citizenship, the entertainment industry, social networks, families and cultural beliefs, the lives of children and youth, and work and employment.
• TMU’s location in vibrant, culturally-rich downtown Toronto provides students with opportunities to directly relate academic study to real-world issues and programs. The city itself is a laboratory.
• Community-based learning projects provide you with opportunities to link course work with real-world experiences.
• After graduation, work in community development, social service agencies, government, human resources, public relations, media analysis, marketing, or research; or complete graduate studies in sociology, or pursue a professional program in education, business or law.

The study of literature — including stories, poems, graphic novels, films and digital content — animates our experience of diverse identities, cultures and time periods. In this program, you can access co-op placements, independent research opportunities, community projects, campus journals, and practicums in creative writing, digital creation in a literary context, or writing in the arts. You’ll graduate with superior writing skills, ready to enhance the literary and cultural world around you, advancing the art of communication in various forms and industries.

Double major options available after your first year: English and History, or English and Philosophy.

Learn about the past and influence the future. We are surrounded by history – in our customs, cultures, and identities, as well as our national boundaries, laws, and institutions.

Through the career-ready skills history teaches, you will be equipped to choose a career in business, government, the non-profit sector, creative industries, heritage and museums, and other realms. Alternatively, you may enroll in a professional program in law, teaching, information management, museum studies, or another field. Double major options available after your first year: History and English, History and Philosophy, History and Politics and Governance, or History and Sociology.

The great philosophers throughout history have taught us the importance of questioning everything. Questions about the meaning of life, the nature of beauty, the foundations of political power, the existence of God, the concepts of right and wrong, the essence of reality itself and our knowledge of it – these all lead us closer to understanding who we are and the world around us.

In TMU’s Philosophy degree program you’ll learn to ask deeper questions, develop stronger arguments and write clearly. You’ll acquire the knowledge needed to understand the meaning of human existence and help solve social problems, and graduate ready to apply analytical skills in a knowledge-based economy.

Double major options available after first year: Philosophy and English, or Philosophy and History.