Undergraduate Programs

With a focus on critical thinking, our students examine a wide variety of media – including film, television, web and social media – in order to better understand and contribute to contemporary visual culture. Our program integrates this material with a diverse range of studies courses in history, theory, and criticism as well as foundational and advanced production courses in digital video, animation, and open media.

As a Fine Art (Visual Art) student at Queen’s, you’ll be part of a small group of 30 students benefiting from intensive training in painting, printmaking, sculpture, and new media/installation. Our courses are taught by instructors active in their fields, and supported through insight into the practices of visiting artists from across the country. Along with an internationally renowned artist in residence and courses in art history and the liberal arts, our program provides a broad spectrum of approaches and experiences. It isn’t all about classrooms or studios: Fine Art students make relevant field trips to exhibitions and workshops, including an annual trip to New York.

Ontario Post-Grad Certificate in First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Studies

Our Post-Graduate Certificates allow you to enhance your expertise in a specific area of education. Credits from a Post-Graduate Certificate can be used for advanced standing into a Graduate Diploma or Professional Master of Education via our laddered SAGE Graduate Program.

About Ontario Post-Graduate Certificates in Education

Each post-graduate certificate program consists of 5* AQ / ABQ courses (4 required and 1 elective) accredited by the Ontario College of Teachers. Each certificate focuses on an area of education that's relevant to Ontario teachers. Our courses reflect Ontario Ministry of Education policies, OCT regulations, and current research-driven theory and are written and taught by highly experienced educators from across the province.

Studying French opens a wide range of opportunities, especially in Canada. The Department of French Studies offers undergraduate students interested in pursuing the subject in-depth the chance to study French as either a minor, a medial, or a major. We also offer courses for the complete beginner and Certificates of Competencies for students not registered in a French Plan. Courses offered focus on oral and written French as well as on literature and culture. For interested students, it is also possible to study French in either Quebec or France on exchange.

Gender Studies opens doors for students to address growing concerns about inequity, equity and justice across national and global societies. Gender affects everyone, making Gender Studies a space where our theory and our practice attend to the differences and connections among diverse peoples worldwide. As an interdisciplinary field, Gender Studies helps students connect social science, humanities, arts, and natural science methods to produce innovative new knowledge.

Geographic Information Science (GISc) is the broad umbrella under which geospatial data is collected, processed and analyzed. The Queen’s University Department of Geography and Planning offers a Geographic Information Science Certificate (GISC) to enhance the skills of students not only in Geography and cognate disciplines, but across the gamut of concentrators in the university.

For more information about certificate eligibility and how to apply, visit our webpage.

Among academic disciplines, Geography is unique in combining the social sciences and humanities with the physical sciences. In physical geography, or earth system science, we study natural processes, their interactions, as well as natural and human-generated environmental issues, such as climate change. Explore critical questions about our environment and our society as you develop research skills. Study with award-winning faculty in an interdisciplinary department that combines fundamental analysis and research with practical, applied approaches to planning and implementation.

Geological engineers combine core engineering fundamentals with a broad slate of geological knowledge, ranging from geology to geotechnical engineering. You will study physics, chemistry, applied mathematics, and natural processes such as earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, and mountain formation. You will also acquire field, laboratory, and computer simulation skills and training in state-of-the-art geological investigation and engineering analysis tools.

Geoscientists interpret the natural world. They bring methods such as geophysics, geochemistry, geobiology and field geology together to understand the modern and ancient Earth. Clues concealed in rocks and minerals, fluids and fossils, mountains and sediments, glaciers and volcanoes are marshaled to understand and explain the Earth system at all scales. Managing water, mineral and energy resources, designing sustainable strategies for infrastructure and industrial growth, and coping with natural and anthropogenic hazards facing increasing global populations, including climate change, all depend on a deep understanding of natural processes.

Knowledge of German is extremely important in today’s world. Germany has the third largest economy in the world and is the economic powerhouse of the European Union. Knowing German will increase your job opportunities with German and foreign companies in your own country and abroad. German is a language of science and scholarship, since Germans have been prominent in virtually all the cultural and scientific disciplines. Knowledge of the language will make huge resources available to students of history, music, art history, philosophy, physics, etc.

The Global Action and Engagement (GAEN) certificate is a fully online Queen’s certificate for students seeking to better understand global development issues and contexts. It is for students who wish to prepare for overseas or volunteer community work and who are looking to enhance their skills with a better theoretical understanding of development concepts.

For more information about certificate eligibility and how to apply, visit our webpage.

With dynamic courses and dedicated instructors, Global Development Studies (DEVS) empowers students to engage the pressing global challenges that define our age. Our unique interdisciplinary program connects big-picture thinking with problem-solving approaches to open a wide range of career choices. Upon completing their DEVS degree, our students have gained the specialist knowledge and tangible skills they need to realize their commitment to making the world a better place.

The Bachelor of Health Sciences Program was designed to prepare our students for a variety of health-related careers. In order to ensure this, we balance the biomedical and social science aspects of human health, and focus on the application of this content and the development of practical competencies. In both the on-campus and online programs, courses are designed to make sure our students are thinking about the material being presented in modules and extending it to real-life scenarios, either through in-person classroom sessions or online discussions and assessments.

Health Studies strives to understand the complex factors that influence physical, mental and social health and overall well-being. Drawing largely from social science disciplines, our courses explore the social determinants of health, approaches to health promotion, health policy, health behaviour change, epidemiology, and program planning and evaluation. You’ll be expected to challenge yourself and to think critically about health in relation to social justice, politics and culture. And you will gain the skills you need to do that.

Knowledge of Spanish is increasingly important in today’s world: there are over 350 million Spanish native speakers. With your language and culture skills you will have greater opportunities in the job market, be able to communicate with co-workers and customers, understand signage and documents, especially if traveling abroad. This major will also give you the opportunity to go abroad to a Spanish speaking country and immerse yourself in the language and culture.

The Department of History at Queen’s offers a challenging and innovative program in established and new fields of historical inquiry, spanning from the pre-modern past to the contemporary era and geographically circling the globe. Consider a degree in History for all it has to offer: well-developed skills in critical reading, writing, and research and, perhaps even more importantly, engagement with oneself and the world we all inhabit. We are a mid-sized university and department and are, therefore, able to create for our students a rich, supportive learning community.

The Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures in partnership with the Four Directions Indigenous Student Centre offers this certificate to current Queen’s students looking to gain a basic understanding of various Indigenous languages and cultures. Students will better understand these languages through instruction embedded in culturally rich and authentic practice, and be introduced to the many traditions, philosophies, and histories of Indigenous peoples.

For more information about certificate eligibility and how to apply, visit our webpage.

The major in Indigenous Studies is an interdisciplinary degree, designed to draw together a range of course offerings on Indigenous history, culture, experience, language, and ways of knowing from many departments within Arts and Science. It will give both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students the opportunity to immerse themselves in Indigenous history and culture, to ensure that future leaders and policymakers have a solid foundation in the histories of First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples. Students expand their knowledge and understanding of Indigenous cultures while developing professional skills, such as innovative Indigenous approaches to learning and research to work with Aboriginal communities

We have two Indigenous Teacher Education programs at Queen’s – a full-time, on-campus Indigenous Teacher Education Program and the Indigenous Teacher Education Program Multi-Session (community-based), which is a blended-format program with three community site options: Kenjgewin Tag, Lambton-Kent, or Mushkegowuk Territory. Most courses in the community-based program take place on weekends or in blended format, which provides the flexibility for students to work while finishing the program.

Both programs provide an opportunity for graduates to specialize in Indigenous education, a Bachelor of Education (BEd), and allow graduates to be eligible for Ontario College of Teachers certification.

 

Smith’s Master of International Business is a full-time program beginning each year in September. Available in single and double degree options, the curriculum covers topics ranging from understanding the global economy to leading effectively in a cross-cultural context. As a direct entry program, no previous work experience is required.

Preparing internationally trained teachers to teach in Ontario, the Post-Graduate Certificate for Internationally Trained Teachers is a 16-month program for internationally trained teachers who are certified to teach in another country.

This unique program offers cultural, educational, and social opportunities that will prepare you to teach in an Ontario classroom. Upon successful completion, you’ll receive a Queen’s University transcript and a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education.

The program counts toward the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) certification process.

If you complete the certificate you may also be eligible for advanced standing in the Professional Master of Education (PME) program at Queen’s University.

Knowledge of Italian is very important in today’s world. Italy is one of the top economies in the world, and many employers are seeking people who speak both Italian and English. Knowing Italian is greatly beneficial in several career fields. Italy is a world leader in the culinary arts, interior design, fashion, robotics, shipbuilding -- just to name a few! Italian can be tremendously beneficial, especially in music, art, and classical studies, and is complementary with many of the Major Plans offered at Queen's.

Jewish studies offers courses in the major disciplinary departments of the humanities and supports critical and analytical thinking in these areas. Because the Jewish people have interacted with so many cultures and societies, Jewish studies enhances any major in the humanities or complements any studies in the social or life sciences.

Kinesiology is the science of the human body in motion. You will learn about the physiological, biomechanical, psychological and sociological factors that influence human movement, exercise and sport performance, along with health. From the structure of the cell to the structure of society, your studies in Kinesiology will expose you to the complex factors that influence health and wellness.

The world can seem like a big place, but through the LLCU major, students will get a glimpse into how small and connected it really is and be able to engage with intercultural sensitivity and a palette of relevant skills. Through this program, students can learn a minimum of two languages from over 14 languages taught at Queen’s, understanding not only their linguistic structures but the cultures in which they are formed. Learning another language provides students with the ability to step inside the mind and context of that culture and to better understand their own.