Dual BA Seminars

ASTU 160 takes place in July and August before Year 3.

ASTU 160 is the grounding course in the first pair of summer seminars. The course prepares students to take an informed, responsible role in discussion of the internationalisation of research and of advanced education. Students will present preliminary research findings, and use genre-appropriate expressions in speech, writing, and other media to represent the gist of research publications in the social sciences. The course will prepare students to take an informed view on the making and dissemination of knowledge, taking into account political and cultural contingencies. Students will develop a research proposal, take a position on published research, and design a research question while responding to fellow scholars' projects and getting feedback on their own work.

ASTU 260 takes place in July and August before Year 3.

Building on ASTU 160, students in ASTU 260 will review research on knowledge production, translation, and mobilization, with a particular focus on the social sciences and the humanities. The course will also explore the important role media play in disseminating knowledge. Are traditional forms of media, such as scholarly journals, changing in response to the Open Access movement (as explored by Willinsky)? Do newer forms of media – such as academic blogs and Ted Talks (studied by Shea) – promise the democratization of knowledge? And if we have an increasing number of tools to access information, then does this mean that all knowledge should be public (a question posed by Christen)? The course applies theoretical understandings to real-world examples exploring how theory illuminates practice and how practice challenges current scholarly understandings.What are the obstacles to and opportunities for disseminating research knowledge effectively to non-specialist audiences? How can interactional spaces be fostered that motivate individuals and institutions to engage with research in meaningful ways?

ASTU 360 takes place during Year 3.

Designed to give Dual BA students practical and policy-focused fieldwork experience, ASTU 360 goes far beyond 'service,' with its components of helping, volunteering, and towards responsible partnership. Policies studied each year rotate between history, geography, sociology, political science, and economics.

There is a perceived disconnect between community level actors and those charged with making decisions at higher levels of government. This disconnect seems to grow as one moves further away from the community, with community organizations feeling burdened by the bureaucratic mandates passed down to them, that often constrain their ability to meet their goals. Policy makers, on the other hand, work to develop policies that satisfy a wide variety of stakeholders, while also balancing public expectations.  This course will introduce students to the practices researchers can employ to bridge this divide, explore the strengths and limitations of this approach, and develop student’s ability to conduct community based research. This course will allow students to focus their attention on a particular policy regime, explore its consequences, and work with community organizations to develop alternative policy recommendations. This course requires students to practice the skills they have developed over the course of their education to read and process information efficiently, and apply what they are learning in the classroom to their field site.

ASTU 460 takes place during Year 4.

More information to follow.

The first two courses in the seminar series - ASTU 160 and ASTU 260 - take place over the summer prior to third year, with asynchronous (self-directed) components in July and in-person arrival expected for August 1.

The Dual Degree program manager at UBC will help arrange on-campus housing prior to the start of ASTU 160 and 260 to help with your transition to Vancouver and the UBC campus.  You will also attend an orientation to help you get settled on the campus.

With the summer seminars, you will take an additional 12-credits of UBC coursework in addition to 60 credits required for your chosen major in Years 3 and 4. This means you complete a total of 72 credits during your time at UBC.

Yes. The seminars are a requirement of the program, and are designed specifically to help students accomplish their academic, personal, and professional goals as leaders in public fields. The seminars are a requirement for graduation and you cannot graduate from either Sciences Po or UBC without successful completion of the seminars.