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Business and Society specialization

Business and Society is an enhanced degree that stands out for its critical interdisciplinary focus on complex societal challenges and their relation to business. The program aims to train the next generation of responsible business leaders and public policy professionals by drawing on a range of unique course offerings examining the intersection between business, the economy, and society.

What is the Specialized Business and Society Program?

The Business and Society program draws on social scientific theories, methodologies, and research to critically examine the impact of business on society and the environment. It covers the essential foundations of micro and macroeconomics and combines the sub-disciples of political economy, economic history, and economic sociology to provide students with in-depth knowledge of the contemporary economy plus skills in entrepreneurship, finance, sustainable business practice, and more. Business and Society courses consider a range of important questions and issues, including those relating to the legal and political foundation of the economy, the evolution of corporate capitalism, the role of government in managing economic activity, and the relationship between globalization, colonization, and inequality. Particular focus will be given to how corporations relate to their workers, the opportunities and limits posed by technological innovation, and the role of private enterprise in sustainable and equitable development.

Business and Society courses also examine:

  • The root causes of social inequality and the housing crisis
  • The evolving ‘e’conomy and the role of technology in economic development
  • The structure of the modern corporation and the societal impact of different business practices
  • The different economic policies countries use to plan production and shape economic performance
  • The financialization of the economy and operation of the modern banking system

The Business and Society Program is offered as a specialization of the Political Science program. While interdisciplinary in nature, it draws considerably on the political economy content covered in the Political Science program.

How is the Business and Soceity Program unique?

The Business and Society program rests on an analytical and scholarly framework which differs from that of traditional business schools. It appeals to students interested in studying the economy from a non-traditional perspective and takes up issues that typically fall outside of the scope of economics and business programs. Moreover, while students will have the option of taking elective courses in calculus, linear algebra, and probability theory, the program stresses an approach to studying the economy that is grounded in social scientific theory and data, rather than mathematics. As a result, Business and Society courses do not incorporate mathematical principles or methods and proficiency in math and statistics is not required for students entering the program.

Students in the Business and Society program will:

  • Develop skills to evaluate important economic processes and power relations.
  • Consider the extent to which private enterprise serves society and can address today’s most urgent societal and environmental challenges.
  • Develop practical skills to access, build, and promote responsible business practices.
  • Study economy theory and data and learn how to analyze business practices and complex economic problems.
  • Examine the operation of the national and global economy.
  • Wrestle with pressing economic and societal challenges.

The specialization in Business & Society consists of 5 interdisciplinary courses (15 credit hours), divided into four groups. In addition, students must take all the necessary Political Science major core courses and complete the Political Science major course map as outlined in the Academic Calendar.

Courses required for the specialization can be used to satisfy first year Political Science breadth requirements as well as the second year Political Science research methods requirement. In addition, third and fourth year courses taken to meet the requirements of the specialization (as selected from groups three and four below) may be applied as ‘POSC approved electives’ to satisfy Political Science degree requirements.

  1. Required interdisciplinary foundation courses:
    LGLS 1000, Introduction to Legal Studies
    COMM 1100, Introduction to Communication Studies

  2. Select at least one of the following courses: 
    SSCI 2101, Making a Difference: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship (PRE: SOCI 1000)
    COMM 2200, The Media in Canada (PRE: COMM 1100)
    LGLS 2200, Legal Theory (PRE: LGLS 1000)
    COMM 2503, Advertising and Society (PRE: NONE)
    LGLS 2940, Legal Research Methods (LGLS 1000)

    Note: LGLS 2200 is required for CRMN 4020 and CRMN 4021, and LGLS 2200 is a required course for most upper-year Legal Studies courses

  3. Select one of the following courses:
    CRMN 3301, Green Criminology and Eco-Justice (LGLS 2940, POSC 2200)
    LGLS 3410, Labour and Employment Law (PRE: LGLS 2940)
    COMM 3510, Work in the Digital Age (PRE: NONE)
    LGLS 3530, Intellectual Property (PRE: LGLS 2940)
    LGLS 3700, Law and Power (PRE: LGLS 2940)

  4. Select one of the following courses:
    CRMN 4020, Corporate Crime (LGLS 2940, LGLS 2200)
    CRMN 4021, Cybercrime (LGLS 2940, LGLS 2200)
    COMM 4261, Tweet, Friend and Follow Me (Note: This course requires third year standing in CDMS and will thus require students to receive special permission from the course instructor)
    COMM 4420, Digital Media, Political and Democracy (PRE: Third year standing LGLS, POSC)

The below is one combination of courses students may take to satisfy the requirements of the specialized Business and Society program. Students will find that there is considerable flexibility to select a range of elective courses outside the program.

POSC 1000U Introduction to Political Science
SOCI 1000U Introductory Sociology
LGLS 1000U Foundations of Legal Studies
COMM 1100U Introduction to Communication Studies
POSC 1200U Introduction to Democracy in Theory & Practice
SSCI 1910U Writing for the Social Sciences

POSC 2000U Canadian Politics
POSC 2100U Global Politics
SSCI 2101, Making a Difference: An Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship
POSC 2200U Fundamentals of Policy Theory
POSC 2300U Mobilizing for Change
POSC 2502U Community Development and Social Change
POSC 2800U - Introduction to Business, Society and the Economy
LGLS 2940, Legal Research Methods

POSC 3000U Policy, Democracy and Governance
POSC 3100U Political Economy of Global Development
POSC 3101U Inequality, Environment and Development
POSC 3302U Environment and Globalization
POSC 3304U Planetary Health and Global Environmental Justice
LGLS 3530U Intellectual Property
COMM 3510U Work in the Digital Age
POSC 3602U Labour in the Global Economy
POSC 3603U The Politics of Housing
POSC 3800U Business, Politics, and the Macroeconomy

POSC 4000U International Politics and Policy
POSC 4010U Policy Development
CRMN 4020U Corporate Crime
SSCI 4020U Leadership and Administration
POSC 4300U Special Topics in Political Science

11 General Electives