I have a friend who wants to apply to make and she doesn't know the differences between those two programs....neither do I. So for you out there in either of these programs, can you tell me how it is like in first year and what the exact differences are?

http://www.humanities.mcmast er.ca/...one/index.html
http://www.socialsciences.mc master...s-and-programs


refer to these websites, it might probably help you.

It doesn't matter as much in first year because I know a lot of people who have switched from humanities to socsci and vise versa. You're able to take all the courses offered for each program and there isn't much of a difference in the program itself. The only thing I can think of is that humanities relies heavily on understanding the material and being able to produce it whilst socsci is about having actual proof and data to explain things.

Hope that helps =/

I think the main difference is that the Humanities is more of the theory behind things whereas Social Science tends to be application and proof. From what I've seen at least, there's a substantial amount of reading and writing (whether essays or field assignments) in both. But, like another person said, I know people that have gone from Soc Sci to Humanities and vice versa after first year.

Humanities is languages + communication (including writing & critical thinking), and pretty much "the arts" - writing, reading, drawing, painting, music.
- languages (English, French, etc.) - linguistics - History - Philosophy- Communications Studies
- Studio Art - Music - Multimedia (design) .... etc.
Programs that might confuse you listed under humanities: women's studies


Social science is the study of people & society
- psychology - sociology - anthropology - social work
- labour studies (people in the labour force) - health ageing and society (elderly people)
- political sciences (politics) - economics
Programs that might confuse you listed under social science: religious studies, geography

Really, your friend should look at the programs offered by each faculty and determine what faculty offers the most classes that interest him/her

Also, as said above, you can take classes from both as long as you have the requirements!

Kschwab pretty much hit the nail on the head

I would like to add that social sciences may give you a little more mobility in terms of switching into other programs. If you take economics (a social science) you can transfer into commerce in upper years by taking calculus and having completed grade 12 stats (data management). If you are interested in psychology (soc sci) you can take calculus and have completed grade 12 biology I believe to transfer into the B.Sc psychology/psychology, neuroscience and behavior programs.

If you are unsure what path you want to pursue I recommend the 'doubling-up' method as my academic adviser called it.. by this I mean take both econs, psych, anthro, labour studies, sociol or whatever YOU enjoy, do well, and that will open a lot of doors when you are deciding to choose your level II program. You can also do combined majors with most programs. Hope any of this helps.

Originally Posted by Marooner

If you are unsure what path you want to pursue I recommend the 'doubling-up' method as my academic adviser called it.. by this I mean take both econs, psych, anthro, labour studies, sociol or whatever YOU enjoy, do well, and that will open a lot of doors when you are deciding to choose your level II program. You can also do combined majors with most programs. Hope any of this helps.

^ this.
You can essentially take 10 courses in first year, so if you plan your courses wisely you can have a broad range of classes while still having a bunch of program choices when second year comes. by the end of first year i was pretty much eligible to get into sociology, social work, geography, health aging and society, and theatre and film.
and as everyone else has said, its not hard to switch from humanities to social sciences and vice versa. just consult the undergrad calendar and take courses thatll interest you, it wont be too hard to switch between the two faculties if you want to