52 undergraduate courses in the 2026–27 Undergraduate Calendar.
This course introduces major political ideologies, their influence in political institutions and public discourse, and their impact on contemporary Canadian social policy and social development.
This course is an introduction to human development that spans conception to death. It provides an overview of events which occur throughout the lifespan and considers how biological, psychological, and social factors may impact healthy development.
This course considers the development of education as an institution within Canadian society and provides an understanding of significant educational issues and policies from a historical perspective.
This course examines children's rights from a moral and comparative legal perspective. Students explore the welfare and developmental interests of children; the corresponding duties of parents, custodians, educators, and social workers; and the nature and scope of public educational authority in the common law jurisdictions of Canada.
This course explores education and social development from a critical global perspective. Students learn the connections between educational practices and global conditions by focusing on themes such as citizenship, human rights, peace, and environment.
Childhood has changed as a social and cultural concept. This course will trace these changes, examining sociological, psychological, cross-cultural, historical and political factors. Art and literature will also be used to reflect attitudes about childhood.
This course examines the policy-making process in Canada at the municipal, provincial, and federal levels to give students a sense of the players and their roles. It examines how policy agendas are set and the role of power and interest groups in the policy-making process. It also examines the various types of policies and the implementation process.
Social issues and themes explored through the arts. Topics include art and social change, war and peace, propaganda, art of conscience, and the response of artists to poverty, hunger and catastrophic events. Specific applications include art as cross-cultural awareness and art as therapy.
Religious traditions and beliefs contribute both positively and negatively to social development. This course explores the interrelationship of religious diversity, multiculturalism, and attitudes towards social issues.
This course explores end-of-life topics including epidemiology of dying and death in Canada; sociocultural aspects of palliative and end-of-life care; and individual, survivor, and care provider experiences. Students will perform critical analysis of concepts related to dying and death; reflect and expand on personal perspectives of dying and death; and build awareness of dying, death, and grief from the professional, patient, and family/caregiver perspectives.
In this introductory level statistics course students will learn when and how to apply basic principles in the collection, manipulation, presentation, and analysis of numerical social science data. Students will build capacity to be informed consumers of quantitative and hypothesis testing information in social science research.
This course provides students with a fundamental grounding in social science research. Students will examine various conceptual and practical approaches to planning research and learn to apply both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigating social science research questions.
This course introduces theory and concepts of social ecology, an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the interrelationship of social and environmental well-being. Students critically examine the implications of environment and environmentalism for human society and social justice, and explore ideas for community action and social institutions that reflect a social-ecological ethic.
This course examines disability through a social justice lens. Engaging with key texts in critical disability studies, students will explore how dominant ideas of embodiment, difference, expertise, and social value produce (dis)ableism and inequity. Through the social model of disability, it introduces concepts of access, inclusion, disability culture/justice, and universal design.
Framed within truth, justice, and reconciliation processes underway in Canada, students will examine the historical and ongoing colonial processes and impacts of government policies that target First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Students will engage in critical analysis of government policy as a cause of (and response to) social, political, and economic problems experienced by Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Students will explore the root causes of the multifaceted problem of housing insecurity, examine its impact on individuals and society, and deconstruct the programs and policies for addressing it. Through a combination of theoretical exploration, case studies, and real-life examples, students will gain a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by unhoused people and the systemic factors that contribute to their status.
This course highlights the importance of community engagement for individual, community, and societal well-being and introduces theory and methods related to social inclusion and participation in community. Through case examples and hands-on experience, this course explores approaches to research and professional practice designed to stimulate social development through community engagement.
In this course students explore the relationship between structural power and social inequality through engagement with historic and contemporary social justice movements. Students will critically analyze economic, social, and cultural factors that perpetuate inequality and develop tools to amplify the voices of marginalized communities and seek meaningful social change.
This course examines interdisciplinary approaches (sociological, developmental, psychological, critical, sociocultural perspectives) to identity formation, development, and maintenance. Relevant theories, literature, and research will showcase diverse approaches to understanding social and cultural factors that impact identity formation.
A study of normal events occurring during the adult years, why they happen, and how we cope with them. Relying on research, popular literature, and life experiences, students examine social change, the future, adult development and adjustment.
Engaging in histories, stories, language, and media, this course examines how qualitative research can support movements for social change. Students will learn how to conduct research and evaluations through a humanizing approach and have opportunities to participate in diverse research environments while reflecting on their positionalities and identities as researchers.
This course examines the evolution of family law in Indigenous, francophone, anglophone, and other communities in Canada. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, the course not only explores the demographic, economic, social, and political contexts in which family law developed but also assesses its significance for Canadian society.
An exploration of how religious, economic, political, and other social institutions shape values in our society, and what impact society's changing values are having upon families.
This course is a survey of resilience and social support grounded in interdisciplinary study. Students explore how factors such as gender, age, culture, physical and mental health, personality, cognition, severity, and social/interpersonal systems of support affect stress, coping, and resilience.
An application of the principles and models of medical, psychogenic, and sociogenic adjustment to an understanding of family violence. The treatment of victims of family violence, the prevention of such violence and social policies affecting family welfare are considered.
The objectives of this course are to provide an understanding of the dimensions and causes of child maltreatment, to develop skills identifying cases of this social problem, and to explore current methods of management and treatment of persons involved in child maltreatment situations.
This course examines aging from the perspective of human and social development. On individual, group, family, community, and systemic levels, it analyzes interventions for enhancing the well-being of the elderly, emphasizing the roles of social justice and civic engagement in Canadian society.
This course examines sociocultural realities of a country other than Canada through on site experience and academic study.
This course will deal with selected topics in interdisciplinary social science. Subjects will be dependent upon the research and/or instructional interests of faculty.
This course explores the rise of globalization; its impact on economics, politics, society, and culture; and its implications for national development and social policies.
An independent in-depth study of a selected area of concern to the student within the interdisciplinary scope of social development studies. Available to individuals or small groups of third- or fourth-year Social Development Studies majors and arranged with one of the faculty members.
An independent in-depth study of a selected area of concern to the student within the interdisciplinary scope of social development studies. Available to individuals or small groups of third- or fourth-year Social Development Studies majors and arranged with one of the faculty members.
In this course students are introduced to key issues involved in comparative social policy research and develop their analytical skills in systematic comparison. Students will explore the implications of globalization and climate change for social policy development; consider the impact of transnational policy making bodies; and learn how comparative approaches can be used to critique, improve, and reimagine social policy for a just and sustainable future.
What does it mean to be a "citizen of the world"? Cosmopolitanism is a social and political philosophy that views all human beings as members of a moral, political, relational, or cultural community. By exploring the philosophy of cosmopolitanism and its implications for social development, students will come to appreciate the complexity and diversity of the current world across intellectual, health, economic, social, cultural, and political factors.
Centering 2SLGBTQ+ cultural and political contributions, this course examines the ways in which sexualities, bodies, relationships, and identities have been regulated and transformed. Students will analyze how ideas about gender and sexuality structure the contemporary social context, make historical connections, and apply core concepts from queer and trans studies.
Drawing on theories of decolonization, students explore the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples within, against, and beyond settler colonialism. Students consider and apply the concepts of decolonization, resurgence, unsettling, and reconciliation within today's social and political context.
This course focuses on gender in education as both an analytical category and a teaching/learning tool. The course introduces students to the study of gender as it intersects with class, race, sexuality, and disability, by focusing on pedagogy, curriculum, and identity development. Students will develop an understanding of intersectional gender oppression and an awareness of research, policy, and practices for gender justice in education.
This course explores issues fundamental to human nature and related theoretical explanations. The approach is interdisciplinary and intercultural/interreligious. Through various assignments, students will gain an understanding of their own perspectives on human nature, the questions of human "being" that those raise, and the purpose of human existence.
Interactions between Indigenous and Settler peoples are influenced by historical and contemporary stories told about each other. Students will experience diverse ways of knowing by examining the ideologies, knowledge, beliefs, values, and assumptions behind these stories, within the context of Canada's current Truth & Reconciliation process.
This course examines the social foundations of education (traditionally philosophy, sociology, and history of education, but also cultural and equity studies). Through an interdisciplinary framework, this course considers the roles that schooling systems, teachers, and students play in both reproducing and challenging social inequities and injustices. Students will critique education processes that reproduce and challenge social inequality through analysis of literature and policy and dialogue about contemporary issues and practices.
This course aims to develop understandings and approaches to restorative justice in education through dialogue, communication, and relational pedagogy. Students examine the current state of schools and communities engaging with restorative justice for children and youth, and learn how to explore transformative approaches for promoting equity and inclusion.
From an interdisciplinary perspective, students will critically examine the concept of living well, reflect on the conditions of their own well-being, and develop strategies to promote well-being in individuals, families, and communities. Specific topics may include the mind-body connection, healthy relationships, work-life balance, spirituality, community engagement, and healthy aging.
This course examines the role of popular culture in movements for social and political change. Students will explore both historical contributions and contemporary realities where popular culture becomes a site that fosters the radical imagination.
Engaging pedagogies for democratic education is a central goal of public and para-public organizations, particularly schools. Yet such democratic engagement is understood differently based on intersecting identities. Students develop their skills for democratic discourse through experiential education and learn how to critically examine democratic education, including civic knowledge, values, and action.
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach in examining causes of, impacts of, and ways to overcome stereotyping, prejudice, and discrimination. Students will analyze the experience and behaviour of both the target and the purveyor of discrimination from individual, interpersonal, and structural perspectives, and develop anti-oppressive practices.
Senior seminars may include weekly readings, individual and/or group projects, class presentations and discussions, research proposals, essay/literature reviews, assignments, midterms, and final exams. Consult departmental listings for topics and prerequisites for the current year.
This seminar emphasizes community relationships and applied learning in its pedagogy and practice using social justice informed research methods. Focusing on collaboration, communication, project facilitation, and problem solving, students will engage in practice-based learning in a community setting that addresses real-world issues.
An independent, in-depth study, based on empirical research and/or extensive reading from multiple disciplines on a contemporary social issue under the direction of individual instructors in social development studies. Available to individuals or small groups of Social Development Studies majors and arranged with one of the faculty members from the plan. The project must be approved by the academic supervisor of the course prior to registration.
This course invites students to work with a professor on the latter's research project. During this unpaid apprenticeship (six to eight hours per week throughout the term), students will do agreed-upon tasks to help them acquire skills and gain understanding of the research process and of the discipline itself. The faculty member and the student will determine the exact duties together. A document outlining these duties must be approved by the Social Development Studies chair and kept on file. Paid or volunteer positions outside this course are not eligible for credit.
This course provides third- and fourth-year Social Development Studies students with an opportunity for an unpaid apprenticeship in an applied setting. The course consists of two components. The apprenticeship component typically requires a commitment of 6-8 hours per week for 10 weeks. The seminar component requires students to meet bi-weekly, as a group, with the course co-ordinator to set learning goals, to discuss rewards and challenges arising from their apprenticeship (including how culture, education, and other aspects of identity may impact their placement) and to present their apprenticeship experiences and outcomes.
Under the supervision of a faculty member, students focus on an area of social development studies and either complete an essay involving in-depth literature research and analysis or complete a scholarly report on their own study involving literature review, research design, data collection, and analysis.
Under the supervision of a faculty member, students focus on an area of social development studies and either complete an essay involving in-depth literature research and analysis or complete a scholarly report on their own study involving literature review, research design, data collection, and analysis.