Prospective Students

Small classes, big questions

Step outside the typical university department and into Global Humanities. We are Simon Fraser University's home for art history, Classics, Hellenic (Greek) studies and religious studies. And our faculty includes experts in a range of other fields, too: Asian studies, history, medieval and Renaissance studies, modern literature, philosophy and political science. Why? Because the study of the human condition—the core of what we do—knows no boundaries. For the same reason, our reach is global and our chronological coverage wide, stretching from antiquity to today.

Is Global Humanities for you?

Sample Global Humanities in one of our introductory courses. Take an upper-level seminar to dig more deeply into the topic, period or place that interests you most. Chart your course through one of our four concentrations. Study on-site in one of our field schools. However you experience Global Humanities, you will:

  • Encounter big questions that shape you and your world: what can we know? How rational are we? What makes us fear difference? How do we become better people, and what does “better” even mean? 
  • Immerse yourself in the cultures, texts and ideas of peoples both foreign and familiar.
  • Discover why it matters to think deeply, creatively, critically and empathetically about the world.

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accelerated master's

SFU students currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program may be eligible to take graduate courses and count them towards their bachelor's and an SFU master's. This typically allows students to complete their credentials 4 to 12 months faster.

Learn more about this option

What do we have to offer?

Program Overview

The department offers academic programs leading to a Bachelor of Arts degree, or to be combined with other programs in a Bachelor of General Studies or other degrees at SFU.

Major, joint major, minor, and extended minor programs can now be completed with or without one or more of our new concentrations!

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Academic Programs

Major

Joint Majors:

  • English
  • French
  • History
  • Philosophy
  • Gender, Sexuality & Women’s Studies

Minor

Extended Minor

Post Baccalaureate Diploma

Certificates:

  • Hellenic Studies
  • Medieval & Renaissance Studies
  • Religious Studies

Opportunities

New Concentrations:

  • Art and Material Culture
  • Hellenic Studies
  • Mythologies
  • Intellectual Culture & Public Engagement

Summer field schools:

  • Prague (Czech Republic)
  • Greece

Community Engagement:

  • SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies
  • Institute for the Humanities

Explore our new concentrations

Adding an optional concentration enhances your Global Humanities degree by showing prospective employers or graduate or professional school application committees that you are both well-rounded in the Humanities and specialized in a particular field within the Humanities. During your studies at SFU, pursuing a concentration can allow you to discover deeper connections between courses.

Concentration in Art & Material Culture

From paintings to film, from clothing to household objects, the Concentration in Art and Material Culture offers a global reach. Students are welcome to focus on a particular geographical region, culture or time period covered by our faculty; or they may take a broader, cross-cultural approach. All courses in this concentration either focus on the study of art and material culture or devote a substantial component of their coursework to these themes. Some connect students to their field of study through experiential learning, including community service/work, field trips, and creative projects.

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Concentration in Hellenic Studies

The Hellenic Studies concentration is ideally suited to the Humanities department’s global reach. Hellenism, as the sum total of ideals, thoughts, and modes of being developed by the Greeks in antiquity and selectively adopted, at different times, by cultures and people the world over, has influenced us in both direct and indirect ways. By taking this concentration, students will gain a greater appreciation for how Hellenism became a global cultural force, while also learning about Greece and its people, where it continues to thrive and constantly evolve.

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Concentration in Mythologies

We most easily think of the gods, heroes, and animal fables of Greece and Rome, but we also recognize that parallel traditions animate all world cultures through core sets of myths, fables, legends, stories, and their legacies. This concentration starts with the Greeks but goes beyond, to the tales of China, India, the Celts, the Norse, and more. What roles do such stories play in their cultures? How can they inform our understandings of humanity and its place in the world?

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Concentration in Public Engagement & Intellectual Culture

The Concentration in Public Engagement and Intellectual Culture traces how concepts found in canonical texts have been applied not just in the private but also in the public sphere from the past to the present. Courses in this concentration introduce students to how theory can be applied when reflecting upon dis/continuities of different constellations of ideas, their impact, and complex legacies; and they explore the relevance of various texts, concepts, and theories to current debates, public actions, and modern life and across different communities. Students in this concentration enjoy a wide range of opportunities to explore these issues beyond the traditional academic context: through lectures, seminars, and events offered by both the Institute for the Humanities and the SNF Centre for Hellenic Studies; through opportunities to produce different kinds of writing (ranging from social media content to letters to editors and op-ed pieces); and through various options for public engagement.

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Go beyond the classroom

Immerse yourself in other cultures with our summer field schools in Prague (Czech Republic) and Greece. Or enrich your education by engaging with critical dialogues at one of the many public events hosted by the Stavros Niarchos (SNF) Centre for Hellenic Studies and the Institute for the Humanities.

Explore the possibilities

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community engagement

Where to go from here?

Career Prospects

The world is changing rapidly and so is the full range of career opportunities that await. Armed with the necessary knowledge and skills, Global Humanities graduates pursue careers in jobs such as analyst, editor, researcher, political campaign worker, public relations consultant, social worker, lawyer, and travel writer.

Global Humanities will prepare you to join a global community as both a thoughtful, engaged citizen and as a successful professional. We teach you to read critically, think creatively, write convincingly, work collaboratively, and speak confidently.

A degree in Global Humanities opens doors to careers across the spectrum:

  • education, the arts, and publishing
  • law and government
  • public policy and social justice
  • business and consulting
  • communication

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Still have questions?

Students wishing to join the Department of Global Humanities or seeking help with any other undergraduate student matters should contact our Undergraduate Student Advisor.