<York Calendars<Undergraduate Calendar 2001-2002<Atkinson Faculty of Liberal and Professional Studies

Schools and Departments

Brief descriptions of the Schools and Departments are outlined below. Detailed School and Departmental information is available on the Web at www.atkinson.yorku.ca.

• School of Administrative Studies
• School of Analytic Studies and Information Technology
• School of Arts and Letters
• Department of Computer Science
• School of Health Policy and Management
• School of Nursing
• Department of Psychology
• School of Social Sciences
• School of Social Work
• School of Women's Studies

School of Administrative Studies

The School of Administrative Studies is home to a full range of business and administrative disciplines taught by leading experts in a variety of fields. Our innovative programs provide the knowledge and skills that you want and employers demand.

Whether you are planning to pursue a career in business and management, or are already working and want to expand your knowledge of business concepts and practices, the Bachelor of Administrative Studies programs (BAS, BAS Honours) or the Bachelor of Human Resources Management (BHRM, BHRM Honours) will prepare you to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead.

School of Analytic Studies and Information Technology

The School of Analytic Studies and Information Technology (SASIT) encompasses degree programs in Business Economics, Conservation and Environmental Studies, Economics, Information Technology, Mathematics, Philosophy, Professional Ethics, and Science and Technology Studies, as well as General Education offerings in Natural Science and Modes of Reasoning. The School's programs bridge liberal and professional studies within an interdisciplinary setting. Leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree, SASIT programs offer rigorous intellectual training, and share an integrated critical and analytical approach to our contemporary social, institutional and physical landscape.

School of Arts and Letters

The various disciplines in the School of Arts and Letters provide excellent training in critical and analytical thinking, and effective written expression. All the areas of study within the School of Arts and Letters concern themselves with human experience and values, and how these have been expressed over time. They provide an excellent foundation for many careers, and are a preferred preparation for the study of law. When combined with or followed by professional Certificates, degrees in this area comprise an education that combines broad knowledge, intellectual flexibility and more focused workplace training.

Department of Computer Science

If your goal is to pursue an exciting, challenging, and rewarding career in a Computer Science field, Atkinson's Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree programs will help you get there. Offered as a joint program with the Faculty of Pure and Applied Sciences, our Computer Science programs are designed to provide you with both the theoretical grounding and practical knowledge that will make you a sought after professional. You will study with top ranked professors and students, enjoy the flexibility of day and evening classes, and utilize state-of-the-art computer laboratories and facilities. You may even become involved in one of many exciting research projects in the areas of vision, graphics and robotics, or computer systems.

School of Health Policy and Management

The School of Health Policy and Management is an interdisciplinary centre dedicated to scholarship, research and learning relating to human wellness, the health care system and the institutional structures that deliver and influence health services in Canada and internationally.

School of Nursing

Atkinson's School of Nursing focuses on the development of the theoretical, scientific, and philosophical knowledge of human caring. The role of nurses in promoting and preserving health and healing through caring relationships is emphasized within the context of both theory and self-reflective practice. As a graduate of one of our programs, you will be well prepared to practice collaboratively in a variety of settings to enhance individual, family, community, and global health.

Department of Psychology

Atkinson's program in Psychology benefits from its integration with the Faculty of Arts' Department of Psychology to form one of the largest and strongest in North America. As an Atkinson Psychology student, you will have access to the Department's rich and exciting course offerings. Faculty members with whom you will interact and study include many nationally and internationally renowned researchers, teachers, and clinical practitioners.

The Psychology program features a broadly-based curriculum through which you will gain exposure to the full range of subjects and specialized fields within the discipline. Some of the topics you will explore in introductory courses include motivation, emotion, learning, sensory processes, perception, memory, cognition, development, social behaviour, intelligence, personality, and abnormal behaviour. Upper-level courses enable you to study specific areas in greater depth, reviewing theories, methods and empirical evidence in the scientific study of human behaviours.

School of Social Sciences

The School of Social Sciences encompasses the major disciplines of Geography, Political Science, Social Science, Sociology, and Urban Studies. Afforded by the School's strong interdisciplinary orientation, you can choose to pursue degree programs that are either discipline-specific or that combine areas of study within a particular thematic focus.

School of Social Work

The School of Social Work at Atkinson is committed to providing you with a professional social work education, characterized by the development of practice strategies that promote human rights and social justice. Recognized as one of the most progressive and socially responsive social work programs in Canada, the School's unique curriculum addresses issues that have significant implications for the lives of marginalized and alienated segments of society. As a graduate, you will be well prepared for a career as a critical practitioner and effective agent of change in the lives of individuals and communities.

School of Women's Studies

Women's Studies is both a complement and a corrective to established fields at York and a new academic discipline of its own. Until recently, both the humanities and the social sciences reflected predominantly male perspectives. Women have been largely invisible in literature, art, history, philosophy, politics, social sciences and law. Through cross-cultural and disciplinary assessment, Women's Studies exposes misconceptions about women expressed through myth, ideologies, teachings and writings. It replaces negative cultural images of women with visions that reaffirm women's strength, capability and intelligence.

In December 1997, Women's Studies resources at York University were formally linked under one administrative structure - the School of Women's Studies. The School of Women's Studies unites academic resources at York University in Women's Studies, bringing together the undergraduate and graduate programs, the non-credit bridging program and the Centre for Feminist Research/Le centre de recherches féministes à York.

A feature which distinguishes the Glendon Women's Studies Program from the other two offered at York is its bilingual focus. Non-parallel courses are offered in both languages. As a result, a genuine dialogue develops between the approaches of anglophones and francophones to theory, philosophy, literature, legal structures and language.