Contemporary Studies (BA)
Analyze contemporary issues from multiple perspectives.
Why choose this program?
Today's world is diverse and complex and our assumptions about it are constantly challenged. How is our world distinct from all that has come before? How do biology and culture shape what it means to be human? What is progress? What does it mean to live with the memory of the Holocaust? You'll examine these and other issues through Contemporary Studies.
Admission requirements
Minimum admission requirements
To be considered for admission to this program, you must meet minimum academic criteria:
- Completion of secondary school (Grade 12)
- Achievement of the minimum average for your program of choice.
- Completion of Grade 12 English (or equivalent course).
Admission to many AV¾ãÀÖ²¿ programs is competitive. This means that meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee admission.
Program-specific admission requirements
Minimum overall average: 70%
Academic English 12
Four additional academic subjects
Financial information
A university education is a significant financial investment. Every student is unique, and so are their financial circumstances. We offer competitive tuition, a robust scholarship and bursary program, and resources and support to help you explore financial options and develop a plan that works for you.Ìý
Program options
If you are registered for a Bachelor of Arts, or a Bachelor of Science, you can pursue a degree in the Contemporary Studies program as a Combined Honours degree, or as a Minor. As part of the program, you can opt to study abroad in Berlin, Germany.Ìý
The following Contemporary Studies program options are offered by AV¾ãÀÖ²¿â€™s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Connect with an academic advisor after you start your studies to explore options such as:  
Bachelor of Arts with Combined Honours in Contemporary Studies
Bachelor of Science with Combined Honours in Contemporary StudiesÌý
Minors in Contemporary Studies 
What you will learn
The Contemporary Studies program engages with the ideas, thinkers, and movements of the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries. Courses give you a framework for understanding political, scientific, and aesthetic phenomena in the contemporary period. Through electives, you can opt to explore ideas about ethics, politics, contemporary art, modern film, and digital media, new biotechnologies, nature, the body, and more.
Sample courses may include:
Basic French
Reading Popular Culture: Writing Requirement
Comparative Global History
Narrative and Meta-narrative
Modern Social and Political Thought: Politics of Recognition
Apocalypse: The Revolutionary Transformation of Politics and Culture
Kant and Radical EvilÌý
Critiques of Modernity
The Rise of Nietzscheanism
European Nihilism
Marxism, Critical Theory and Society
Contemporary Technologies: Living with Machines
The Contemporary Studies program engages with the ideas, thinkers, and movements that have contributed to new understandings of the world, community, self, and other.
Careers
Our graduates are committed not only to understanding our world today, but also to shaping and challenging it in thoughtful and innovative ways.
Future studies could include programs at the graduate level in Arts, or a degree in law.Ìý
