Kelvin's Page 1B

## **Exploring 5 Majors**

I am currently a Rotman Commerce student, but during the process of determining what field to enter, these fields below have definitely crossed my mind more than once. The following are 5 majors in which I have interest for:

**Criminology and Sociolegal Studies**

Criminology and Sociolegal Studies is an area that I personally find quite interesting. Aside from business and my current program Rotman Commerce, I always found studying the law to be interesting and being surrounded by many TV shows revolving around the law constantly sparked my interest. The Criminology and Sociolegal Studies major encompasses providing students with a broad foundation for the understanding of crime and criminal behaviour, the administration of justice in Canada, as well as the processes regarding social order and disorder. Economics is a discipline which must be completed for this major.  ECO101 and ECO102 are first year economics courses and have many professors, one of whom is Prof. Robert Gazzale. He wrote many publications, one of which is called “Learning to Play Nash from the Best” which was written in 2009. This publication revolved around him studying an economics game and the principles of the Nash equilibrium in economics. From analyzing this reading, it is evident that he is truly passionate about economics and the various principles around the study. In order to succeed in this discipline, students must have a passion for the study of economics, and an interest towards how the economy changes and how money flows around the economy. Students must have skills such as the skill of constantly learning new concepts (continuous learning), critical thinking, and effective decision making skills.

**Anthropology**

Aside from taking numerous business courses in high school, Anthropology had always been a course I debated taking. This is simply because I find studying human behaviour to be insightful and interesting. At the University of Toronto, Anthropology is a major that thoroughly examines human biological, social, and cultural development. It also uncovers the three areas of research: archaeology, evolutionary anthropology, and social and cultural anthropology. The first year Introduction to Anthropology Course ANT100Y1 studies society and culture from various anthropological points of view. It is taught by Prof. Max Friesen who is an arctic archaeologist whose research explores how the various linkages between social organization, worldview, economy, technology, environment and landscape have shaped the lives of northern people’s. His most recent publication “The Pembroke Site: Thule Migrants on Southern Victoria Island” which was published in 2016, provides thorough descriptions of the Pembroke Site as well as provides in depth history of the site. This publication greatly represents his interest towards various types of human lives. Success in this course is achieved if a student has a passion towards the study of human behaviour and is interested in the behaviour of humans from many years ago as well. Essential skills needed by students to achieve in Anthropology are critical thinking, continuous learning, and listening skills.

**Kinesiology**

Kinesiology is another major I have large interest for. In fact, it is a field that I had immense interest for and greatly considered to plan for in high school. However, I did not fulfill that interest and stayed with my goals for business, though the idea of Kinesiology is still very interesting. The Kinesiology major revolves predominantly with hands-on learning along with academic courses in human movement and its relationship to health. ANA126Y1 Elementary Human Anatomy is one first year course required for the program. It is an introductory course on the anatomy of the human body and it is taught by Prof. Judi Laprade. Prof. Laprade is also the course director for the Anatomy of Dentistry course. Her interests revolve strongly around functional anatomy and rehabilitation, especially for musculoskeletal conditions. Moreover, she is an educational consultant at Osteoporosis Canada. It is evident that she has a strong passion for aiding the human body, which is an essential quality for students as well to succeed in Kinesiology. Along with this, students must have strong problem solving skills and communication skills to succeed in Kinesiology.

**Linguistics**

Growing up I had always been surrounded by many languages. This is largely because of the fact that both of my parents are of different ethnicities and come from different countries. Although English has always been the main language spoken at home, I occasionally hear my mother speaking her dialect of Tagalog and my father speaking Hindi. These factors are huge contributions as to why I find the study of language very interesting. Linguistics is the study of language and being a Linguistics major will involve answering the many questions revolving languages. LIN101H1 Introduction to Linguistics: Sound Structure is one required course at the first year level. The course encompasses fundamental principles to linguistics with strong attention to sound structure, processing, and variation. It is taught by Prof. Peter Jurgec who is a linguist, but more specifically a phonologist. His research has focused on sound patterns in loanwords, sound patterns in Slovenian and Slavic languages, the interaction betweens sounds in various contexts (assimilation), and also stress. Student success is achieved in linguistics when the student occupies the skills of communication skills, people skills, teamwork skills, and critical thinking skills.

**Computer Science**

Although I am currently studying business, I do wish at the same time that I had strong coding skills and had the ability create many online platforms. The University of Toronto’s Department of Computer Science is one of the best in the world and is consistently ranked top in Canada. Their program focuses largely on topics such as artificial intelligence, computer systems, computer vision, game design, and many more topics. The CSC108H1 Introduction to Computer Programming course is one course required at the first year level. The course covers programming with Python, elementary data types with lists and maps, program structure, algorithms and problem solving, and unit testing. The course is taught by Prof. Jacqueline Smith who also teaches other computer oriented courses. For research, she is currently part of the Computer Science Education Research group and in the past had done work on algorithmic game theory. She has a primary interest in teaching introductory CS classes and occasionally volunteers with groups such as “Ladies Learning Code.” This clearly shows her strong desire for spreading her knowledge and passion for computer science. For students, the skills required for achieving success in Computer Science are problem solving skills, thinking critically, creative thinking, and strong analytical skills.

Works Cited

Anthropology. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/academics/progs/anthro

(n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://coursefinder.utoronto.ca/course-search/search/courseInquiry?methodToCall=start&viewId=CourseDetails-InquiryView&courseId=ANT100Y1Y20179#.WhO1WrYZPq0

Bachelor of Kinesiology (BKin). (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://kpe.utoronto.ca/academics-research/bachelor-kinesiology-bkin/first-year-information

Computer Science. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/academics/progs/compsci

Criminology and Sociolegal Studies. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/academics/progs/criminology

CSC108H1: Introduction to Computer Programming. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://fas.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/csc108h1

Design, M. 9. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.economics.utoronto.ca/gazzale/index.html

First Year Information. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://kpe.utoronto.ca/academics-research/bachelor-kinesiology-bkin/first-year-information

Friesen, M. (n.d.). The Pembroke Site: Thule Inuit Migrants on Southern Victoria Island. Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.academia.edu/25486424/The\_Pembroke\_Site\_Thule\_Inuit\_Migrants\_on\_Southern\_Victoria\_Island

Gazzale, R. S. (2009, June 30). Learning to Play Nash from the Best[PDF].

Jacqueline Smith. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.jesmith.ca/#research

Judi Laprade. (2015, December 08). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://www.edx.org/bio/judi-laprade

LIN101H1: Introduction to Linguistics: Sound Structure. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from https://fas.calendar.utoronto.ca/course/lin101h1

Linguistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/futurestudents/academics/progs/linguistics

Max Friesen. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://anthropology.utoronto.ca/people/faculty/max-friesen/

Peter Jurgec. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2017, from http://www.jurgec.net/#page3