Sociologists investigate how societies work. We critically examine the social world at every level, from personal relationships to the functioning of institutions and nations, right up to global interconnections. Our department is particularly well known for its strengths in criminology and the law; media, information, and surveillance; power, inequalities, and social justice.
Religion plays a major role in shaping and influencing various cultures and historical and political movements around the world. Understanding religious traditions and their impact on diverse modern issues is vital preparation for building a career in the global marketplace. At Queen’s, our approach to the study of religion is multicultural, diverse, and interdisciplinary.
Politics is about power – who has it and how it is exercised by nation-states, individuals, groups, classes, or political parties, and how different interests are reconciled in and between communities. Political Studies is also concerned with the institutions created to govern communities, as well as with political practices such as voting habits or protests, and how rules, behaviours, and cultures are created in societies. Since power in society is often dependent upon material resources, political scientists also study the distribution of wealth, both within and between nations.
The only Engineering program in North America primarily offered by a mathematics department, Mathematics and Engineering blends engineering with advanced mathematics and provides a rigorous treatment of engineering concepts and ideas. You will learn to analyze and solve engineering problems requiring sophisticated mathematical skills, such as those involving modern communications, control, and mechatronic systems, as well as emerging areas such as artificial intelligence and data science.
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.
The Earth’s environment is under stress, and the search for solutions is anything but simple. It requires an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving and education. Our program emphasizes the diverse contributions of the natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences to understanding and solving environmental problems.
What determines the prices of goods and services? How do individuals decide how much to spend and save? How can government policies help reduce environmental pollution? These are questions we all face every day. Economics is our attempt to analyze and understand them. Often seen as being all about money, at its more basic level, economics is concerned with the material well-being of human societies. Economics at Queen’s is widely recognized as one of the leading Economics departments in Canada. The programs are challenging, rigorous, and of small to medium size.
Computer science is one of the most exciting and diverse subjects of study today, particularly at the Queen’s School of Computing. Whether you’re interested in software design, artificial intelligence, game development, or biomedical computation, we can offer you a vast range of courses to fit your interests – and that’s only scratching the surface.
Studying Classics leads to a wider appreciation of human values and achievements, and a more objective understanding of ourselves and our times. Multi-disciplinary in approach, Classics involves the studies of history, literature, archaeology, religion, mythology, drama and philosophy, in addition to the ancient languages of Greek and Latin. Today our understanding of Greek and Roman culture is further enhanced by the latest digital techniques that increasingly pervade studies in archaeology, epigraphy, papyrology, and ancient science and medicine.
Chemistry explores the composition, structure, and transformation of matter. Frequently called the central science, it provides the basis for studies in many other disciplines, ranging from biology to materials science, in addition to being a booming discipline of its own. A degree from Queen’s Department of Chemistry is highly regarded and an important consideration in today’s competitive science and technology job market.