The Visual Arts Studio and Art History courses explore practical aspects of art-making within the context of history of art and contemporary ideas about art and its role in society. Painting, sculpture, photography, ceramics, printmaking and other studio areas will allow you to become involved with art making and exhibition practices in our Visual Arts programs.

The Theatre Arts program at the Thompson Rivers University provides students with a variety of courses designed for both the theatre specialist and the generalist. Acting, from first to fourth year levels, directing, theatre history and theory, and technical courses offer students a full range of theatre options linked to both the Bachelor of Arts degree, and the Bachelor of Education degree.

The Bachelor of Business Administration degree is a 4-year program. TRU is a member of AACSB International the premier accreditation body for business degrees in North America and adheres closely to their academic standards.

Upon meeting the Admission Requirements, students receive a general education in the humanities, social sciences, and sciences in Years 1 & 2 as well as a strong grounding in accounting, economics, computing, statistics, and organization behaviour. This serves as the foundation for advanced study in business in Years 3 & 4.

A Master of Business Administration degree (MBA) is widely known and highly respected around the world as a measure of excellence in applied management education. Job market surveys indicate continued strong demand for MBA graduates in both the developed and newly developing economies of the world.

The Bachelor of Education (Elementary) degree program prepares students to teach in elementary schools. Graduates obtain their professional teaching certificate from the BC College of Teachers, which qualifies them to teach in any school setting; public schools, independent schools, First Nations schools, and in some cases, secondary schools. Graduates can also teach in any province or territory in Canada, and in many other countries. Our graduates often teach English in other countries.

The TRU Master of Education degree program offers you a research or project-based degree that delivers part-time study to those professionals who are involved with education, training, or employee development in their work settings. Designed for teachers and educators in health, business, industry, and government who wish to become educational leaders, the TRU M.Ed. delivers a learner-centred graduate credential: through formulating your research question, designing and completing a graduate research project, writing and presenting the results of your professional inquiry, you will be able to focus your studies at TRU to an area of professional interest, while you develop research skills that will last a lifetime.

Master of Science in Environmental Science The TRU MSc in Environmental Science is an interdisciplinary research program designed to produce graduates who have a broad range of skills and knowledge they can apply in an integrative and innovative approach within the field of environmental science. This MSc is a research degree culminating in a MSc thesis. Graduate courses are taught with a strong interdisciplinary focus, and emphasis is placed on applying knowledge across traditional academic boundaries. This program will also make considerable use of the case approach along with debate-style discussion and guest speakers to further develop student critical thinking and presentation aptitude. TRU graduates will leave the program with a high degree of understanding of current environmental issues, the research skills to address those issues, and the communication skills to present their findings within the field of environmental science and to the general public. TRU MSc begins in the Fall (but see website for other options) and is designed as a 2-year degree. It consists of 28 credits; including two core courses, three electives, and a research thesis.

The Canadian Studies Program was developed over the course of several years by Arts faculty from a variety of disciplines. The faculty members saw the creation of this thematic option as a logical outgrowth of keen student interest in existing Canadian content courses and strong faculty teaching and publishing in Canadian areas across the Arts spectrum.

The program was initiated in January of 1997 under the direction of geographer Robert Mackinnon, who also taught Canadian Studies 200, the program's core course. The course proved very popular, and Ginny Ratsoy (English), Anne Gagnon (History), and Martin Whittles (Anthropology) have subsequently taught the course, which has consistently been offered in both fall and winter semesters since 1998. Canadian Studies 200 has also been taught in summer sessions by visiting Canadian Studies professors.

Psychology is the scientific study of thought, feeling and behaviour. As both a scientific discipline and a profession, psychology relates to virtually every aspect of people's lives. Through research, Psychology plays an important role in understanding human behaviour and applying this knowledge.

Welcome to the Department of English and Modern Languages Web pages. We offer courses in English language and literature, Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish. Our aim is to prepare students to communicate and create new knowledge in the many different communities – academic and business, personal and international - in which they will live and work.  We are committed to providing our students with opportunities for frequent writing and detailed instructor feedback in a discussion-centred classroom environment. Many of our students have gone on to achieve distinction in the creative arts, teaching, journalism, business, and graduate study.

Each discipline in this department has its own methodology, research techniques and specific interests, but they are at the same   time closely interrelated. Philosophy, History and Politics have as   their foundation the exploration and understanding of human behaviour and society in the past and present. You will find, for example, that courses in Canadian or American politics will parallel and develop themes within Canadian or American history surveys. Philosophy, on the other hand, has close relations with comparative politics and European history. Keep these and the many other interconnections in mind when working out your course of studies.

Our collective goal is to encourage students to develop their capacity for critical thinking. Students will be taught how to define problems, explore solutions through research and to analyze issues. In most courses your contributions and knowledge will be evaluated through classroom and seminar participation, written assignments and examinations.

Anthropology at TRU addresses the human condition in all its past and present manifestations. Within the sub-fields of archaeology and physical anthropology, we examine the biological and cultural evolution of our species and try to reconstruct prehistoric societies with the help of artifacts and other manifestations of human activity. Within the sub-fields of cultural and social anthropology, we are interested in the diversity of contemporary societies and cultures around the world.

The mission of TRU’s Department of Geography is to provide a rewarding education through nationally recognized teaching, research, and service. We offer a flexible, student-centred learning environment that builds on TRU’s innovative delivery models, small classes, community linkages, and research opportunities for undergraduates. We also participate in distance education, student exchange opportunities and offer a co-op option. Our graduates are competent in several fields and skill sets, and well prepared for active careers within local and extended communities.

The Geography Major Program at TRU emphasizes work in human geography and specifically in areas of cultural/historical, environmental and urban geography. Course work in these areas will appeal to students interested in graduate work in human geography or careers in urban and rural planning, law, resource development and regulation, archives and musems, education, parks and government.

Each discipline in this department has its own methodology, research techniques and specific interests, but they are at the same   time closely interrelated. Philosophy, History and Politics have as   their foundation the exploration and understanding of human behaviour and society in the past and present. You will find, for example, that courses in Canadian or American politics will parallel and develop themes within Canadian or American history surveys. Philosophy, on the other hand, has close relations with comparative politics and European history. Keep these and the many other interconnections in mind when working out your course of studies.

Our collective goal is to encourage students to develop their capacity for critical thinking. Students will be taught how to define problems, explore solutions through research and to analyze issues. In most courses your contributions and knowledge will be evaluated through classroom and seminar participation, written assignments and examinations.

Each discipline in this department has its own methodology, research techniques and specific interests, but they are at the same   time closely interrelated. Philosophy, History and Politics have as   their foundation the exploration and understanding of human behaviour and society in the past and present. You will find, for example, that courses in Canadian or American politics will parallel and develop themes within Canadian or American history surveys. Philosophy, on the other hand, has close relations with comparative politics and European history. Keep these and the many other interconnections in mind when working out your course of studies.

Our collective goal is to encourage students to develop their capacity for critical thinking. Students will be taught how to define problems, explore solutions through research and to analyze issues. In most courses your contributions and knowledge will be evaluated through classroom and seminar participation, written assignments and examinations.

The Sociology faculty seek to foster, through teaching and research, what the American Sociologist, C. Wright Mills called "The Sociological Imagination": a unique and significant way of understanding society. Specifically, it is a perspective in which we understand ourselves, and the groups we are members of, by studying their social context in a particular historical period. In our own multi-cultural society, this means that the sociological imagination connects with the social contexts of other societies. Family, crime, gender, health, racism, and work for example, can all be studied sociologically in this way.