Okanagan College offers a four-year Applied Bachelor of Arts degree, located at the Kelowna campus with limited course offerings at Salmon Arm, Vernon and Penticton campuses. This baccalaureate degree provides graduates with employable skills in applied research and an understanding of how the social sciences and liberal arts actively contribute to a culturally diverse sustainable society. Developed for the context of the southern interior of B.C., this program includes studies of regional Indigenous cultures and prepares graduates for direct contributions to local and regional issues. Through contextualized learning, the goal of the degree is to provide applied research skills within a context of liberal arts studies and applied social science, emphasizing an empirical orientation to understanding, to application of knowledge, and to intervention. Characterized by the strengths of a terminal degree that produces employable skills, this degree can also prepare students for admission to selective graduate studies programs. All graduates of this applied degree program will be ready for today's job market through mastery of higher-order analytical skills and techniques for applied research. Practical related field experience is a central component of the applied degree education.
This degree enables students to develop competencies in academic and professional writing, qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical thinking skills, ethics, applied research, program evaluation, multi-disciplinary world views, and languages other than English (including regional First Nations' languages). Students will complete field experience (a practicum, field placement or co-operative education program in the fourth year) as well as a capstone project that will tie academic studies to relevant local and regional issues. The degree program develops and maintains scholastic strengths in students, requiring a minimum of 55% in each course counting toward the degree and a minimum cumulative grade average of 60% for all courses taken while in the program. For students seeking direct entry into the Master of Social Work Foundational Two-Year Track graduate studies program at UBC Okanagan, in addition to these degree requirements a minimum grade average of 76% in the upper level courses counting toward the degree is required.
Career Opportunities:
Students will develop employable skills in applied research and competencies in academic and professional writing, qualitative and quantitative analysis, critical thinking skills, program evaluation and multi-disciplinary world views.
Students will be introduced to languages other than English, particularly Indigenous language spoken within the region.
Graduates can use their course and field experience to seek occupations such as program administrators, managers and analysts in social service agencies, non-profit organizations, community groups and various levels of government.
Graduates will be prepared to work as consultants, social policy researchers and advocates for youth, women, families, minorities and cultural diversity.
Please note, the first and second years of the program are offered fully at all campuses as are requirements for the completion of the fourth year field placement and capstone project. However, the program can only be completed in full in Kelowna.