What exactly is Philosophy?

I was reading an online research profile yesterday, of Dale Dorsey from the Department of Philosophy. This reminded me of what I thought of philosophy before I took my first class in it. All that really came to mind was the "Thinker" statue.

In my second semester of freshman year I needed to take a Humanities credit, and heard that Philosophy could be interesting, and that's when I realized that there was a lot more to philosophy than I had thought. But to explain it to you, I decided to go straight to a Philosophy major to find out how she would sum it up. Sarah Colpitts, who now works in the Registrar's Office, graduated last year with a degree in Philosophy.

"I took a Philosophy course as an elective in my second year and fell in love with it, so I decided to major in it! The fascinating thing about Philosophy is that it spans across so many disciplines - from Science, to Ethics, to Game Theory. Some of my favorite classes were ones that looked at contemporary issues such as the global poor, environmental ethics, civic education, and how and why humans make the choices and decisions we do.

An Arts degree is all about the skills you take away and bring into every day life. Philosophy teaches you how to take apart ideas and analyze how they work; you learn how to think, how to critically engage with the world. I was taught how to develop and analyze my own arguments and express my own ideas, and because of that I am a better writer, reader, and learner - all skills that employers
value and desire."

And there you have it! For more information on Philosophy, check out the Philosophy major page, or the department website!

"What can I do with an Arts degree?"

This is the single most highly-asked question I get. Or, "what can my kid do with an Arts degree?"

To help you (and your parents!) explore this question, our new Career Development Officer, Amber, put together a comprehensive career site geared towards future and current arts students. On it, you'll find alumni career profiles, the "Arts Career Network E-Newsletter" , events and services that are happening on campus, and of course a forum to explore different majors and minors, and what kind of career prospects they offer!

So if you're still deciding on a major, or just want to check out your career options, make sure to drop by the Arts Careers website to explore your options and even be inspired!

Registration help

I know that the registration process can be confusing, and even daunting at times, so I'm going to be answering your questions on this blog. If you have a question, just post a comment, and I'll blog the answer, because many others are often asking the same thing! Today's question is:

I have my classes picked out, but there are so many different sections of each, I don't know where to start. How am I supposed to construct a schedule?!

The Students' Union offers a handy tool to help you envision and choose your schedule. It's called Bear Scat (not to be confused with Bear Tracks). On Bear Scat, you can pick out all of your courses with a colour-coated scheduler tool, and then you can play around with where your courses sit.

Don't forget to think about lifestyle. Are you a morning person? A night person? Do you want to consider doing a night course to free up some of your weekdays? When I was a student, I lucked out most semesters, not starting any of my courses until after 11 am. It worked for me. Figure out what works for you, and then design your schedule are that!

One thing to remember about Bear Scat - it doesn't actually register you in the courses you pick out, so when you're done with it, head over to Bear Tracks to make everything official!

HUB Mall

Mall Walk, originally uploaded by Ingeneering.

You'll probably spend a lot of time here, you might even live here at some point! HUB mall holds 50 shops and services, various student lounges, and almost 1000 students in residence! HUB residences are apartment-style, so you can make your own food (or of course, buy it on the first floor!) It's usually an option students choose after their first year, as dorm-style residences, like Lister Residence, are a lot of fun, not to mention convenient! Click here to learn more about our many student housing options!

Student funding update from the Students' Union

Students Commend Measures Taken by Provincial Government

The Government of Alberta announced changes to the Alberta Student Financial Aid system for the upcoming academic year that will make it easier for many students to attend university and college in September.

"These are some fantastic changes that we've been looking for the government to implement for some time," said Steven Dollansky, University of Alberta Students' Union Vice President (External). "This is a significant step and we are looking forward to continuing our work with the government to improve the accessibility and affordability of higher education."

Among the changes are:

• A 2.5% cut in interest rates on student loans;
• Increasing the part time earning exemptions to $800;
• Eliminating scholarship restrictions on loan calculations; and
• Increasing living allowances by 5%.

"Despite these changes, we still need to do more to ensure students are not unnecessarily burdened by debt upon graduation. We hope to continue with progress on making our post secondary system more affordable and improving the quality of the education in Alberta in the coming year," concluded Dollansky.