Politics and Governance

O.S.S.D. with six Grade 12 U/M courses, including Grade 12 U English.

Notes: 

1. ENG4U/EAE4U is the preferred English.
2. A grade of 70 percent or higher will be required in Grade 12 U English.
3. Subject to competition, candidates may be required to present averages/grades above the minimum.

Students will learn to evaluate and analyze political decisions, administrative practice, and policies that emerge from a variety of sources, and to evaluate them on a range of criteria, including empirical, theoretical and ethical bases. The program offers a number of professional electives drawn from six traditional sub fields of Political Science: Canadian, Comparative, Global, Policy, Theory and Methods. Students may choose depth in a small number of thematic categories, or choose breadth by sampling in several such categories.

Graduates of the Politics and Governance program will be able to pursue careers in a variety of capacities in any of the public, private, or third (voluntary and nonprofit) sectors. These may include becoming a policy analyst for the federal, provincial, or municipal government, a decision-maker in an NGO or a position in the private-sector, with a company that has extensive interactions with government, or that conducts public research. It might also include positions in international governmental organizations (such as the UN and World Bank), or non-governmental organizations [such as UNICEF or Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders)]. Graduates may also pursue further education through law school or graduate studies in disciplines such as Government, Political Science, Public Administration, or Public Policy.

Politics and Governance draws on the theories, methods and practices of a broad range of Social Sciences and Humanities disciplines. The Politics and Governance program thus builds on a first year that is common to nine other programs in the Faculty of Arts (i.e., Criminology, English, Environment and Urban Sustainability, Geographic Analysis, History, Language and Intercultural Relations, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology), with specialized study in Politics and Governance in the following years.

Semesters One and Two: Students are introduced to Politics and Governance through a 'survey course' which provides a broad overview of what might be expected in the subject area. Students also take one additional core course that explores Canada's political landscape through the lens of political culture and citizen participation. In addition to these two Politics and Governance courses, students must complete two courses teaching key skills in Critical Thinking and Academic Writing and Research. Students select from Table I a minimum of two (2)  courses from other social science disciplines (course prefixes CRM, ECN, EUS, GEO, PSY, SOC, SSH) and a minimum of two (2) courses from humanities disciplines (course prefixes ACS, ENG, FRE, PHL, SPN).  Finally students select an Open Elective.

Semesters Three and Four: In second year, students are required to complete the introductory course in political theory (POG235: Western Political Thought) and the introductory course in at least two of the other four sub-fields, exploring the actors and institutions of Canadian government (Canadian: POG210), the emerging institutions and practices of global governance (global: POG225), controversial policy topics (policy: POG214), and comparative politics (comparative: POG240). Students will also complete two core electives, which may be the introductory courses in the remaining two subfields, or may be more advanced courses in the three subfields already introduced.  In addition, students will build on what they learned in SSH205 by delving into the qualitative (SSH301) and quantitative (POG230) research methods necessary to study politics and governance effectively.  Finally students will complete one Open Elective, and two lower level liberal studies electives (Table A).

Semesters Five through Eight: In the upper years, students pursue the study of political and governance issues in greater depth. Students may choose to focus upon courses within one or two of the thematic categories or subfields or to sample broadly. Either way, it will be possible to explore such topics as provincial politics; race and ethnicity; human rights (both within Canada and in a Global context); economic, education, environmental, foreign, and social policy; the governance of urban areas (both in Canada and elsewhere); political thought; voters, elections, and parties; and Indigenous Governance and Justice. In addition to program courses, students choose courses from a broad range of disciplines that complement their core studies and broaden their career preparation. These Open Electives include courses in Accounting, Child and Youth Care, Communication, Criminology, Disability Studies, Economics, English, Entrepreneurship and Strategy, Finance, Food Security, French, Geography, Human Resource Management, Business Technology Management, Law, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Management, Organizational Leadership, Sociology, Spanish, Psychology, Urban Planning, and sciences such as Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. Finally, students must complete four upper level liberal studies electives (Table B).

A Concentration is a structured plan of study within a program (6 to 12 core electives) that provides an opportunity for advanced or in-depth study in a particular area of interest. Students must declare their concentration prior to applying to graduate. Students will have to declare their intention to pursue the Concentration at the end of the Winter semester in Year 2.

Courses used to fulfil the requirements of a concentration cannot also be used to fulfil the requirement of minor.

The following four (4) course concentrations are available to Politics and Governance students admitted in Fall 2021 or later:

• Concentration in World Politics
• Concentration in Politics of Identity
• Concentration in Canadian Democracy
• Concentration in Public Policy

An optional co-operative education program is available which provides students with 12 months of work experience which will complement their classroom studies and support the development of essential employability skills required for the workforce, including communication, collaboration and problem-solving.

Although the Career & Co-op Centre cannot guarantee placements, it provides assistance in locating suitable positions and counselling students in their search for suitable jobs. This co-op program enables students to earn competitive wages to offset the costs of a university education.

Students who have completed the first semester of the regular program must apply through the department for admission to the co-operative program before the end of the first year. Enrolment in the co-op program is limited. Admission will be based on a portfolio which includes the student's grade point average, a resume and a statement of intent.  Students must complete SSH104 prior to their first placement.

Students must successfully complete a minimum of three work terms in order to graduate from the co-op program.

In most cases the co-op program requires five years to complete the degree in Politics and Governance. Students will have the option to fast track if they choose to take electives during the Spring/Summer. The regular program can be completed in four years.

All co-op placements must be approved by the Career & Co-op Centre (opens in new window)  and the Faculty Advisor for the Politics and Governance co-op program.

Students must take two lower level liberal studies courses and four upper level liberal studies courses to graduate. Students must not choose courses that are restricted for their program or major.

Please refer to the liberal studies chapter of this calendar for more information on the Liberal Studies Policy. Further information on liberal studies can also be found at the Faculty of Arts' Liberal Studies website (opens in new window) .

Table A - Lower Level Restrictions

Table B - Upper Level Restrictions

Students may pursue any Minor offered by Toronto Met (with some exceptions). Please refer to the Minors chapter of this calendar for further information on individual Minor requirements and exclusions.

Undergraduate students wishing to pursue a continuing education certificate program should be aware of possible program exclusions. Please refer to the Certificate Registration section of the Curriculum Advising website (opens in new window)  for complete details.

Revised curriculum begins 2024-2025 for students admitted Fall 2021 and after.

The Concentration in World Politics is focused on aspects of international or transnational relations, actors, processes and institutions and how these connect to various regions across the globe. The Concentration also explores various critiques, theoretical perspectives, and ethical evaluations of world politics. Expertise through completion of the Concentration in World Politics means students will gain knowledge in at least two of the sub-fields of World Politics—first, Global Economy and Development and second, Diplomacy, Conflict, and Peace. As such, the Concentration requires that students take at least one course from a list of courses for each of the two sub-fields. Students will have the option of deepening their expertise in either or both of these sub-fields or by adding additional expertise through taking courses focused on theory and global politics as well as on regional politics/area studies with the remaining four courses. Successful completion will mean that the ‘Concentration in World Politics’ will appear on your transcript.

This concentration will provide proficiency across several major contemporary and critical topics that underpin the discipline of Political Science, including a deepened theoretical understanding of Class Analysis; Critical Race Theory; Critical Sexuality and Queer studies; Critical Disability Studies; Critical Gender and Women’s Studies; Post-colonial Theory; Social Identity Theory; and Critical Indigenous Studies.

It will equip students with a deep knowledge of the process of identity formation, salience, and impact on attitudes and behaviours. It will prepare them with a better understanding and appreciation of the complex histories, memories and formation of the diversities of identity that constitute Canada and the world. Students will develop a better understanding of the categories of class, indigeneity, ethnicity, race, gender, ability/disability, sexual difference, colonialism, and post-colonial identities, which constitute many foundational aspects of modern political institutions, processes and outcomes.

These are animated by among others, engaging politics of recognition, resistance and making claims to state power and self-determination at all levels of governance. Students will be introduced to the major events and social movements that have shaped and defined the modern era; from transatlantic slave trade to colonization, anti-colonial struggles/movements, Indigenous struggles, class struggles, anticapitalist movements, women’s movements, civil rights and anti-racism movements, LGBTQ movements, Dalit movements, movements against Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, and antiglobalization movements.

Students will gain an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the histories and struggles of the various peoples they will serve and advocate for. They will also explore national and international political, institutional and policy responses to these contestations of structural power and its unequal outcomes.

Successful completion will mean that the ‘Concentration in Politics of Identity’ will appear on your transcript.

The Concentration in Canadian Democracy offers students in the Politics and Governance Program the opportunity to select core program electives that will enhance and develop their expertise in democratic processes and institutions in the Canadian context.

The Department of Politics and Public Administration offers students an array of courses that relate to Canadian politics. Completion of a concentration in Canadian Democracy will allow students to focus on questions of how and whether political institutions and processes in Canada fulfill their democratic promise and potential and of the ways in which they need to be improved and built upon in order to enhance citizens’ participation, representation, inclusion, equity, and equality in decision-making spaces across a variety of Canadian contexts.

The concentration focuses on the role of citizens and the importance of active citizenship, and the ways in which an enhanced understanding of Canada’s democratic processes, their strengths and limitations,
can be enhanced with a more informed and engaged public.

Successful completion will mean that the ‘Concentration in Canadian Democracy’ will appear on your transcript. This concentration includes the following courses:

The goal of the Public Policy concentration is to provide students with the choice that will facilitate the study of public policy in a more coherent and in-depth manner. The concentration creates a unique set of offerings that enables students to organize a plan of study that will help them learn a greater range of approaches to public policy, from both theoretical and applied perspectives. For students pursuing graduate or professional studies in Public policy or related fields, the concentration will add value to their applications to graduate school because it signals that the applicant has a strong body of knowledge in public policy.

Successful completion of the concentration will also strengthen the application of students seeking employment in a sector that engages in public policy work.

Successful completion will mean that the ‘Concentration in Public Policy’ will appear on your transcript.

A Program Advisory Council (PAC) is a group of volunteers that provides expert advice to a school or department on program related matters such as curriculum, program review, technology and trends in the industry, discipline or profession. For more information, see Senate Policy #158 (Program Advisory Councils).

Doug Allen
Health Care Researcher
Canadian Union of Public Employees
(CUPE)

Dr. Isabella Bakker
Professor; York Research Chair; Trudeau Fellow
Department of Politics, York University

John Campey
Executive Director
Ralph Thornton Centre

Mary Crescenzi
Senior Executive Director
Employment and Social Development Canada
Government of Canada

Jennifer French
Lead, Indigenous Place-Making
Indigenous Affairs Office
City of Toronto

Martha Greenberg
Deputy Minister, Policy and Delivery (Cabinet Office)
Deputy Minister Champion  - Toronto Metropolitan University
Government of Ontario

Jenny A. Gumbs
Government Relations Specialist
Chair, Sickle Cell Disease Association of Canada
Director, Tropicana Community Services
Member, Administrative Penalty Tribunal (Toronto)

Adam Hopkins
Vice President Academic
First Nations Technical Institute

Tana Turner
Principal,
Turner Consulting Group