1. What is Labour Studies?

Labour Studies examines the workplace, employment, labour relations, and the economy from a critical social justice perspective, and empowers students to ask how it can become more equal and meaningful for all.

2. What are the program options for Labour Studies? What GPA/courses do I need?

Program options are:

• Work and Labour Studies (B.A.)
• Honours Work and Labour Studies (B.A.)
• Honours Work and Labour Studies Co-op Option (B.A.)
• Combined Honours in Work and Labour Studies and Another Subject (B.A.)
• Minor in Work and Labour Studies

3. What can I do with this degree (career pathways)?

Labour Studies has always been a flexible degree which can launch many careers. Labour Studies combines academic and practical approaches to understanding workplaces, labour markets and other aspects of the field.

A significant proportion of students find careers in Human Resources or Labour Relations. Many pursue a second degree in law — as one of Canada’s leading experts in Labour Law is in the faculty. Health and Safety is a growing field within Labour Studies, and some students become Health and Safety Inspectors. An increasing number of our students also find careers in government, as Policy Analysts or Advisors.

4. What are some experiential opportunities in the program?

Labour Studies offers an experiential education course in every year of your major.

In the second-year, there is a Unions in Action course which allows students to form groups, choose a union to represent, craft a policy resolution to deal with a pressing issue facing that union, and then bring forward that resolution to a mock convention.

In the third-year, there is a Community Engaged Research course, which equips students to do not only academic research but also work in the field and the community.

In the fourth-year practicum, the program places students in the field, with unions, community groups, or progressive HR firms to do directed research and gain experience outside the classroom.

5. What is unique about Labour Studies?

Labour Studies is a small program, which means most classes are also small, and students form a significant and strong community in Labour Studies. The cooperative work in some of our classes such as Unions in Action help students to get to know each other and learn to work together.

We are also an interdisciplinary program. Our faculty includes Political Scientists, Legal Scholars, Sociologists, Historians, Geographers, and specialists in Health and Aging. Students in our program learn about work using different approaches and analytical tools. This also makes it very easy for students to pursue double majors, combining Labour Studies with any of the programs in Social Science, and some in Humanities, for example Communications.