Life Sciences Program

Mission Statement
The Life Sciences program is committed to providing an outstanding undergraduate education in the scientific disciplines that are fundamental to the maintenance of health and the treatment of disease. It exploits the synergy of a highly integrated curriculum based on contemporary biomedical sciences and it is designed to promote the acquisition of critical thinking, independent learning, problem solving, and sophisticated communication skills. Our graduates assume positions of leadership in biomedical discovery and all aspects of its translation to healthcare.

Description
The Life Sciences program is a unique collaboration between seven departments devoted to basic and applied biomedical sciences; i.e., Anatomy and Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Community Health and Epidemiology, Microbiology and Immunology, Pathology, Pharmacology and Toxicology and Physiology. Interdisciplinary courses are offered in the third and fourth year following fundamental courses in biology, mathematics, physics and chemistry in the first year and discipline-based biomedical science courses in the second and third year. During the final years of an honours degree, students may specialize in an interdisciplinary theme such as neuroscience, cardiovascular-respiratory science, reproductive biology, the biological basis of disease, etc., or concentrate their studies in one of the biomedical sciences. Complementary courses may be taken in the Departments of Biology and Psychology. In addition, opportunities exist for a variety of elective courses freely chosen from any discipline including humanities and social sciences.
The program offers a three-year general degree and several types of four-year honours degrees. The BSc.H. Major in Life Sciences allows students to combine courses in the Life Sciences with studies in a wide range of other subjects in the sciences or arts or humanities. This degree may be combined with a declared Minor. The BSc.H. SSP Life Sciences honours degree is designed for students who wish to explore basic and applied biomedical sciences in more depth. This degree includes an option to gain hands-on research experience in a research laboratory in the fourth year. New streams devoted to neuroscience or cardiorespiratory science offer a unique opportunity to engage in advanced studies that combine multiple biomedical sciences. A collaborative Environmental Science/Life Sciences honours program is also available.

The Queen's Life Sciences program is unmatched in preparation for graduate studies in biomedical sciences as well as for opportunities in the marketplace that are founded on the biomedical sciences, e.g. the pharmaceutical industry. It is particularly important for the students to appreciate that a Life Sciences degree enables students to pursue a wide variety of careers that include, but are not limited to, professional careers in healthcare such as, Medicine, Dentistry, Optometry, Rehabilitation Therapy, and Public Health. A large proportion of the graduates of this program take advantage of career opportunities in academia, research institutions, and industry.