Bachelor of Arts and Science - English & Chemistry (Optional Co-op)

English is not just about the rhetorical and creative aspects of literature. It’s about examining history, culture, psychology, sociology, philosophy, and the human condition to determine what a text means in the context of when and where it was written, and how it relates to people today.

Language is the primary means of communicating values, ideals and vision. The study of English asks fundamental questions about literature and how humans express themselves and interact with others. It is the science of communication and critical inquiry.

Students will learn how people use language in the world at large, and consider the functions, structures and significance of literature over time. Students will develop an excellent foundation for a career in virtually any professional capacity due to the cross-disciplinary nature of this program.

Chemistry studies the elements that comprise all matter. Everything in the world — the air we breathe, water we drink, food we eat, cars we drive, even our bodies — are made from these elements.

There are five main branches of chemistry:

• analytical focuses on the detection and measurement of chemical species used in fields like forensics.
• organic deals with carbon compounds, which are the main components of living matter.
• inorganic delves into all the remaining elements, most of which are found in the mineral world.
• physical looks at the study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter.
• theoretical starts by exploring basic physical theories like quantum mechanics in order to provide frameworks within which all chemical phenomena can be understood.

The primary focus of the program is to provide students with extensive theoretical knowledge in all five branches, in addition to enhancing their technical and practical skills with hands-on experience. Throughout the program, students will receive intensive laboratory instruction on the transformation and safe handling of chemical compounds, as well as hands-on training in advanced instrumental techniques such as elemental analysis, optical spectroscopy, magnetic resonance, X-ray diffraction and mass spectrometry.

Chemistry students will have access to state-of-the-art research facilities that provide the infrastructure to support the research interests of University of Lethbridge’s award-winning faculty, the instructors, as they investigate diverse areas of the chemical sciences including catalysis, nanomaterials and food chemistry.