COVID-19 Information | Stay up-to-date about the vaccination program for Winter Term

Search

University Arts Diploma

University Arts Diploma
NEW!
Credential
Diploma
Duration

2 Years

Location
Main Campus
The Program

The two-year University Arts Diploma offers students the opportunity to learn about the issues and people shaping their world through a holistic approach to knowledge that is interdisciplinary in emphasis and chronologically broad in its topics. Students are able to determine their futures through a focus on general University Arts, which allows students to concentrate on a particular area of interest within the Humanities (English, History/Classics, Philosophy) and Social Sciences (Anthropology, Communications, Economics, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology) or through one of three thematic specializations—Global Perspectives; Science and Society; Culture, Societies, and Gender—that centre on timely themes and subjects. With a choice of pathways, resulting in a University Arts Diploma, students are able to concentrate on what matters to them while gaining transferable knowledge and skills that will give them a leg up in an ever-uncertain future. In an age where intricate problems do not respond to traditional solutions, the ability to think beyond disciplinary boundaries, offer critical analysis, craft well-considered assessments, supported by adaptive thinking in pursuit of solutions, will be the foundation for students’ further educational goals or employment aspirations.

Please note: all students apply to the University Arts Diploma. Following Admission, students may, if they choose, declare a specialization in Year 1 or Year 2 prior to graduation. Specializations are noted on transcripts. Students who choose not to specialize, or who do not meet the requirements of a specialization, will graduate with the same University Arts Diploma (without a specialization noted on their transcripts).

Program Outcomes

1. Recognize the provisional nature, inherent complexity, and ambiguity of knowledge.

2. Acknowledge a variety of critical and theoretical approaches to local and global issues and identify the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches.

3. Engage in scholarly inquiry, both independently and collaboratively, to identify and investigate questions of a theoretical and applied nature using appropriate disciplinary methodologies and sources.

4. Integrate knowledge and perspectives across disciplinary boundaries.

5. Demonstrate intellectual integrity and academic accountability.

6. Recognize reasonable objections to positions one endorses and to the arguments one uses to support their own position when presenting oral and written arguments.

7. Acknowledge the diverse social, cultural, and historical forces that shape identities and values and examine personal and cultural diversity.

8. Analyse and interpret historical and contemporary events, texts, and data within disciplines.

9. Demonstrate collaborative, independent, and inclusive attitudes and practices.

Program Content

60 credits of university-transferable course-work including:

36 Core Credit Requirements - all students take within their 60 credit University Arts Diploma, the following 36 Core Diploma Requirements:

  • ENGL 219 (3 credits)
  • 2 Science Options (6 credits)
  • 2 Humanities Options (6 credits)
  • 2 Social Sciences Options (6 credits)
  • 1 Indigenous Course Option (3 credits, chosen from a list)
  • 1 Wellness Option (3 credits, chosen from a list)
  • 3 University Transfer Course Options (9 credits) 

Students also take:

24 Credit Requirements for the Diploma (8 courses)

  • For the University Arts Diploma (non-specialization), students will take 24 credits (8 x 3 credit courses) with 4 courses (12 credits) from Humanities and 4 course (12 credits) from Social Sciences.
  • For specializations, students will take 24 credits (8 x 3 credit courses) in the chosen area of specialization (from an approved list).

At least 21 of the 60 credits (7 courses) must be at the second-year level (300 level) or higher; student can take more than 7 courses at the senior level (300 or higher).

Catalogue of Courses for the Thematic Streams

Planning Note for Students:

1.    Please be advised that not all courses listed in a stream are offered every year. Students are advised to plan their program pathway and registration in consultation with the timetable published each spring to ensure program completion.
2.    Courses listed in streams may have pre-requisites or course-specific requirements. Students are advised to plan accordingly. Pre-requisite courses may be selected in Term 1 or Term 2 and would count as junior Humanities or Social Science requirements.

Global Perspectives Stream: 
Today’s world is linked through commerce, culture, and crisis, to name only three elements of globalization.  This interconnectedness can be a cause of great optimism but also of great unease for the citizens of nations that form the global community.  In this Diploma Stream explore the historical and contemporary issues of an interrelated world, from the perspective of various humanities and social sciences disciplines, and learn that the questions arising from globalization have deep roots. 

(Choose 8 courses from the following list) 

First Year Courses: 
ANTH 201: People and Culture 
ANTH 204: Global Citizenship  
ART 201: Art History I 
ART 203: Art History II 
CLAS 209: Ancient Greece and Rome 
FILM 202: Film History 
HIST 207: Early Modern World, 1450-1789 
HIST 208: The World since 1789 
HIST 209: Medieval World History  
PHIL 201: Values and Society 
POLI 201: Introduction to Political Science 
POLI 283: Global Issues 

Senior Courses: 
ANTH 321: Survey: Latin America 
ANTH 327: Cultures in Global Context 
ANTH 361: Mesoamerica and Central America 
ANTH 370.1: Special Topics: Ancient Civilizations 
ART 305: Art History 
ART 306: Art History 
CLAS 320: Roman History 
COMM 321: Special Topics (depending on the topic) 
COMM 341: New Media and Society
ECON 323: International Economics 
ECON 325: International Trade 
ECON 327: International Money and Finance 
ECON 337: Developmental Economics 
ENGL 312: Contemporary Canadian Literature 
ENGL 327: Topics in American Literature 
ENGL 335: English Literature Pre 1700  
ENGL 336: English Literature Post 1700  
ENGL 347: Victorian Period 
ENGL 371: Topics in Canadian Literature  
ENGL 391: Topic in International Literature 
ENGL 395: Topic in Shakespeare 
HIST 314: Wartime Europe, 1900-1945 
HIST 315: Cold War Europe, 1945-1991 
HIST 334: Modern English Society 
HIST 351: The British Empire 
HIST 361: The United States to 1865 
HIST 362: The United States since 1865 
HIST 363: American Civil War in Context 
INTD 370: Intersections of Global Health 
PHIL 345: Early Modern Philosophy 
PHIL 355: Philosophy of the Environment 
POLI: 308: Political Thought to 1550 
POLI 309: Political Thought since 1550 
POLI 388: Global Trade I 
POLI 389: Global Trade II 
SOSI 305: Selected Topics in Sociology 

Science and Society Stream:  
Discover how humanity’s collective and evolving understanding of reality is increasingly enlightened by the pursuit of scientific knowledge.   Students can choose from a variety of courses exploring the ongoing and historical development of the sciences, their philosophical assumptions and methodological commitments, their social significance, and their value commitments. Course work will also explore the way in which science transforms social, political, economic, environmental, and culture factors as well as the ways in which the sciences, themselves, are shaped by those factors.  

(Choose 8 courses from the following list) 

First Year Courses:
ANTH 200: People and Biocultural Evolution
PHIL 202: Knowledge and Reality
PHIL 221: Critical Thinking

Senior Courses: 
ANTH 306: Archaeology 
ANTH 309: Biological Anthropology 
ANTH 330: Technology and Culture 
COMM 341: New Media and Society 
COMM 381: Communications History 
ENGL 387: Topics in Literature and Society (if topic is appropriate) 
ENGL 393: Science Fiction 
HIST 325: Science and Religion since 1500 
HIST 330: History of Health and Healing  
PHIL 323: Philosophy of Mind 
PHIL 355: Philosophy of the Environment 
PHIL 364: Philosophy of Science 
PHIL 386: Bioethics 
PHIL 399: Technology and Computing  
POLI 324: Politics of Healthcare 
PSYC 305: History of Psychology 
PSYC 341: Social Psychology 
PSYC 391 Health Psychology 
SOSI 305: Selected Topics in Sociology 
SOCI 374: Sociology of Health and Illness 
SCIE 599: Applied Work Study 

Culture, Societies, and Gender Stream:  
Cultural perspectives on gender have profoundly shaped past societies and changing views on gender and sexuality continue to transform our lives today. By analyzing gender through a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework, students will investigate gender and sexuality as understood in both historical and contemporary contexts, and reflect upon a variety of social, moral, political, and economic issues.  

(Choose 8 courses from the following list)

First Year Courses: 
ANTH 201: People and Culture 
ANTH 204: Global Citizenship 
COMM 271: Introduction to Communication Studies 
PHIL 201: Values and Society 
SOCI 260: Introductory Sociology 
SOCI 261: Canadian Society 

Senior Courses: 
ANTH 307: Cultural Anthropology 
ANTH 308: Linguistic Anthropology 
ANTH 327: Cultures in Global Context 
ANTH 331: Anthropology of Gender 
COMM 371: Critical Media Studies 
ENGL 364: Literary Theory: Contexts  
ENGL 387: Topics in Literature and Society 
ENGL 389: Topic in Women's Literature  
HIST 327: The European Witch Craze 
HIST 333: Victorian English Society 
HIST 334: Modern English Society  
HIST 357: Gender & Sexuality in History  
PHIL 348: Gender and Sexuality  
PHIL 364: Philosophy of Science  
POLI 309: Political Thought Since 1550  
PYSC 347: Psychology of Gender  
PSYC 367: Human Sexual Behaviour  
SOCI 371: Sociology of Families  
SOCI 301: Sociology of Gender  
SOCI 344: Mass Media & Popular Culture 
SOCI 365: Social Stratification  

Delivery Options

The University Arts Diploma may be taken several different ways. Students may attend part-time or full-time on the RDC campus or online. Depending on course selections and specializations, it may be possible to complete the University Arts Diploma online.

Transfer Features

The University Arts Diploma provides numerous transfer pathways. Please see an Advisor about your goals and options.

Apply Now

Request More Information

Contact Us

Red Deer Polytechnic Inquiries

Mon-Fri 8:30 am - 4:30 pm
Main Phone: 403.342.3400
Toll-free: 1.888.732.4630 (in Canada only)
Email: inquire [at] rdpolytech [dot] ca

Virtual Tour

Get to Know Us
View our Faculty & Staff Biographies