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Bachelor of Arts in Political Studies

Canada

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What will I learn?

Politics can be understood as a community's deliberations about such fundamental matters as justice and injustice, freedom, human rights, democracy, law making, dispute settlement, governance and citizenship. Political Studies addresses critical questions such as: Who gets what, when, and how? Who can do what to whom? What is the point or objective of political action or inaction? The study of these questions and others provides students of Political Studies with a grasp of political issues and solutions at the domestic level and international level.

The civic and political life of Canadians is rapidly becoming more diverse and more global. Yet timeless political questions also lie below the changing surface. An awareness of what is possible and even desirable in the future depends upon familiarity with the history of political thought. New opportunities are opening to those who are equipped to meet the challenges of a changing Canada and a changing world. Political Studies helps students be a part of those new opportunities by providing them the intellectual tools needed to understand and analyze real world problems, conduct research, and be more informed citizens.

Political Studies prepares students for jobs in rewarding career areas such as public service in local, provincial or federal levels of government; international affairs; international organizations or non-governmental organizations; teaching; journalism; social research; and consultancy. A Bachelor of Arts, Major in Political Studies from VIU prepares students to pursue graduate degrees in Political Science (MA), International and Global Studies (MA), Public Policy and Administration (MPA), Business (MBA), interdisciplinary studies, or Law (LLB).

VIU offers undergraduates the option of studying Political Studies as a Major or as a Minor in a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree program. The B.A. Minor and Major in Political Studies are designed around four fields of political inquiry that together represent a core range of the discipline: international relations, comparative politics, political theory, and Canadian politics. Students are exposed to a representative range of this core in their choice of lower level courses, but are then given the opportunity to more freely choose field specializations in their choice of upper level courses.

Which department am I in?

Faculty of Social Sciences

Study options

Full Time (4 years)

Tuition fees
CAD$21,741.44 (US$ 15,624) per year
Fees for One Year - Tuition (2 semesters x $10870.72 per semester) - CAN $21,741.44; Ancillary Fee (2 semesters x $463.40 per semester) - CAN $926.80
Application deadline

Expected December 2024

Start date

Expected January, September 2025

Venue

Vancouver Island University

Nanaimo Campus,

900 Fifth Street,

NANAIMO,

British Columbia (BC),

V9R 5S5, Canada

Entry requirements

For international students

Graduation from high school or equivalent.

Proof of English Language proficiency is required from any country or citizen where English is not the official or first language.

For students who meet the academic requirements but not the English language requirement, conditional acceptance to VIU may be granted. In this case, admission is granted pending completion of VIU’s English Language Centre program (level AP5 for undergrad and Grad Prep for Graduate programs). Exceptions may apply.

International students who are BC high school graduates must have a minimum grade of “C” in English 12 for direct entry into an academic program.

To meet the English language requirements for academic program, students must have completed:

VIU English Language Centre's - Successful completion of University Preparation Level 5
International Baccalaureate English A1/A2 - Higher Level (HL)/ Standard Level (SL) grade 3 or higher
IELTS 6.5 (with no band under 6.0)
TOEFL 550 (with no section under 56)
TOEFL iBT 88 (with no section under 20)
Pearson (PTE) 60 no section below 60
Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English with a minimum Cambridge English Score of 176.
Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English with a minimum Cambridge English Score of 176.

*There may be different IELTS requirements depending on your chosen course.

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