McMaster University’s Arts & Science Program has a long history of integrating Indigenous-informed theory into its curriculum. What started with courses exploring aboriginality and diversity within Canada almost 15 years ago has since evolved into a partnership with the university’s Indigenous Studies Program.

Part of the SUSTAIN 3S03 – Implementing Sustainable Change class, Shunmathi Shanmungam (Level III Artsci student), Mehran Janatyani, Claire Logeais, Clare Benson, Simran Saini and Abanoub Gaber had spent their fall semester working on a class project that gave a second life to at least 100 used computers — collecting, refurbishing and donating them to local kids in need.

Times Square, New York. Jurassic Park, Toronto. Fremont Street, Las Vegas. While many people are becoming increasingly accustomed to encountering massive media — giant screens or projections displaying information, art, entertainment, or advertisements — few are as fascinated by the growing phenomenon as Dave Colangelo.

The McMaster Discovery Program is many things — it’s a gateway to education, it’s a community engagement initiative, and for the 19 Hamilton residents who graduated from the Program this past weekend, it was the academic opportunity of a lifetime.

Level IV Arts & Science student Jessie Cartoon recently won a writing contest hosted by the Consulate General of the United Arab Emirates in Toronto in partnership with Canadian Days Magazine and the University of Waterloo’s Renison University College.

Level III Arts & Science student Anand Sergeant, winner of the Dr. Jack Kennedy Award, was honoured as McMaster University’s top male scholar-athlete. Upon receiving the award, Sergeant addressed a packed CIBC Hall, where he and his fellow student-athletes were gathered for the 2019 Marauder Scholar Breakfast.

In 1981, a teenaged Bruce Miyashita was visiting universities with his mother, trying to figure out what to study next — and where. “I wasn’t sure which faculty to look into — I liked both science and art,” Miyashita recalls. “I wanted a way to study a bit of everything.”

In The Terror of the Unforeseen by Dr. Henry Giroux, Julian Casablancas pens a powerful foreword that rallies for the separation of wealth and state. In it, The Strokes frontman calls for confining capitalism to the private sector, minimizing the power of the corporate world, and stopping neoliberalism in its tracks. To defend those opinions, Casablancas visited with students in the Arts & Science Program’s Education Inquiry course, taught by Giroux, earlier this fall.

Every summer, students from the Arts & Science Program go their separate ways, but six especially lucky ones spend their summers doing something entirely unique — they take on a fully funded research project through the McMaster University Undergraduate Student Research Awards (USRA).

In early October, hundreds of forward-thinking community members descended on the McMaster Innovation Park to participate in the Gandhi 150 Conference, “Waging Action on Hate and Racism.”

About 3,000 kilometres away from McMaster University, nestled in the easternmost corner of Canada, lies a small outport island called Fogo. And, this time last year, three Artsci students visited Fogo for the experiential learning opportunity of a lifetime.

Coming into the Arts & Science Program was a seamless transition for Prav Pillay. Sliding into a community of likeminded people allowed him to flourish as a student, grow as an individual, and make lifelong connections.

Megan Watson and Avery McNair are 2019 graduates from the Faculty of Health Sciences and Arts & Science respectively. Together they spent their summer travelling across Canada learning first-hand about small-scale regenerative farming, all thanks to the McMaster Renaissance Award.

Designed to immerse students in a culture new to them for an entire year, the McCall MacBain International Fellowships aim to nudge their recipients outside of their comfort zones, deepen their cultural understandings, and help them build lasting ties to faraway places.

Whether you’re in Gilmour Hall, the hospital, or across Cootes in the Campus Services Building, a quick peek out of the nearest window will no doubt showcase a handful of the many different tree species that call McMaster University home.

He was in his second year of McMaster’s Arts & Science Program, majoring in biology and unsure of his career direction. “I was an intellectually curious guy but couldn’t really focus,” says Alexander Cann a 1996 Artsci grad. “Then, music came along.”

At the beginning of May, Arts & Science instructor Dr. John Maclachlan visited Huaraz, Peru to lead a five-day course that trained Peruvian scientists in glacial sedimentology and geomorphology.

When Keerthi Manimaran walks across the stage today to receive her Arts & Science degree, she’ll be doing a lot more than graduating from university. She’ll have overcome the impossible — because, three years ago, she was in an intense fight for her life.

Two Arts & Science graduates were recognized at the Spring 2019 Alumni Awards Ceremony, held recently in the L.R. Wilson Concert Hall at McMaster University.

Did you know that up to 25% of Arts & Science students spend all or part of their third year studying abroad? In any given semester, you’ll find Artscis far afield — Japan, Singapore, Australia, or New Zealand; Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, or the Netherlands; Israel, Lebanon, Colombia, or Uruguay.

From poplar and tamarack to white birch and cedar, a handful of tree species that grow in Ontario produce wood types that have an underdeveloped commercial market — but Artsci students are working to fix that.

Performed earlier this spring at Hamilton Theatre Inc., Feel the Fusion is a story of conflict in knowledge and the importance of cooperation.

In the three months since being named president-elect, Marando has immersed himself in politics so he can hit the ground running when he takes office this morning.

These three Arts & Science graduates have been part of consequential environmental changes and have made major impacts as environmental lawyers and policymakers.

Dr. Samantha Nutt, a physician and founder of War Child Canada and War Child USA, spoke to the audience about her work with children and their families at the frontlines of many of the world’s major conflict zones.

Earlier this month, 338 young women from across Canada descended on Parliament Hill to take part in “Daughters of the Vote.” Among them was second-year Arts & Science student Tory Dockree.

Second-year Arts & Science student Zachary Levine runs a choir for people with Parkinson’s disease, helping them experience the therapeutic power of singing.

In the past few months, Artsci students have embarked on two marquee experiential learning modules — “A Celebration of Winter as Place” and “Kentucky Caving.” Both trips were rewarding, educational getaways that connected students with the natural environment.

Held on Saturday 2 March 2019 at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre in downtown Hamilton, this exciting forum is designed to help Artsci students gain exposure to the dynamic world of work through the perspective of Program grads.

Adrienne Blattel, a 1998 graduate of McMaster’s Arts & Science Program, has taken it upon herself to ease the transition for newcomers to Canada by founding the Intercultural Outdoor Program.

It doesn’t get much more “Artsci” than working on a Master’s in accounting while also writing a novel, so it’s no surprise that that’s exactly how Sunanna Bhasin has spent the past year of her life.

On the surface, creative fiction and research might seem like polarizing concepts, but ask Anton Piatigorsky, a professor in the Arts & Science Program, and he’ll tell you that the two concepts are not only connected, but actually dependent on one another.

Through its Interdisciplinary Minor in Sustainability, McMaster University has spent the past five years preparing the next generation to think more holistically and systematically about social and environmental issues.

Last week, Arts & Science faculty, staff, alumni, friends, and students of all levels gathered together for the Program’s 2019 Winter Lecture.

Last night, the YWCA Hamilton unveiled its nominees for the 2019 Women of Distinction Awards, and among the candidates were two members of the Arts & Science community.

This fall, a group of Arts & Science, Integrated Science (iSci), and Life Sciences students set out to gather data and learn first-hand just how the addition of riprap is impacting round goby success and the success of other fish species in Hamilton Harbour.

If you ever stumble upon a group of 40-something students staring intently at University Hall, don’t be alarmed. What you’re seeing is likely just one of the many field tours offered in one of the Arts & Science Program’s most unique courses.

Dr. Henry Giroux, who teaches Education Inquiry in the Arts & Science Program, has won the 2019 Professional Freedom and Responsibility Award.

Dr. Lynda Lukasik, who teaches Environmental Policy Inquiry in the Arts & Science Program, was recently featured in a front-page Hamilton Spectator story.

With the New Year on the horizon, we reflect on 2018 and recall some Arts & Science highlights from the action-packed year that was.

This past weekend, perseverance was on full display at the Council Chambers in Gilmour Hall, as graduates of the McMaster University Discovery Program walked across the stage to receive their hard-earned certificates.

Eighteen years ago, Dr. Lynda Lukasik and a group of active community members rallied together to protect Hamilton’s Red Hill Valley. Today, she teaches Environmental Inquiry to McMaster’s Arts & Science students.

The Arts & Science Program is proud to congratulate its 10 Marauder Scholars for the most recent academic year, including Anand Sergeant, who represented the Program at this morning’s celebratory banquet.

Taught by Jackie Brown and Rosalind Pfaff, two Arts & Science graduates, the Urban Placemaking module explores the collaborative process of animating public and private spaces to strengthen the social and cultural fabric of cities.

Every Wednesday afternoon, Zachary Levine spends a couple hours singing familiar songs. But for Levine, a second-year student at McMaster’s prestigious Arts & Science Program, this weekly singalong isn’t just a social endeavour.

It was announced today that Sarah Henstra, a 1996 graduate of McMaster University’s Arts & Science Program, has won a Governor General’s Literary Award.

Arun Lakra leads two lives. By day, he’s an eye surgeon who practices out of the Calgary Ophthalmology Centre. By night, he’s a professional artist who dabbles in just about every form of writing.

Dr. Matthew Noble Wohlgemut, a 1998 Arts & Science graduate, is pleading with Hamilton Health Sciences to reconsider a decision that could effectively close a local hospital.

Identifying the void in cannabis education, a 2014 McMaster University Arts & Science graduate has taken it upon himself to help Canadians make informed decisions about cannabis use.

Level IV Artsci student Martha Killian was mentioned in The Hamilton Spectator for her important work, which demonstrates how goats can replace weed killers to control invasive species that push out beneficial plants.

This past summer, 2016 Arts & Science graduate Saad Syed made headlines for being one of 11 McMaster University researchers to receive a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship.

Come visit Anna and Gillian in the L.R. Wilson Hall lobby for the Artsci Musical Bake Sale!

Arts & Science faculty, staff, and students put their strength together to support the local community.

The first-ever Artsci Art Show is set to take place this fall, and we’re seeking exhibitors and featured artists.

The Artsci Musical is seeking involvement from a wide range of talents, including a stage manager, a technical director, and members for its cast, band, and stage crew.

Ben Feldman, a fourth-year Arts & Science student at McMaster University, was recently published in Geoforum, an international, interdisciplinary journal.

On 13 & 14 September, we’ll be hosting our annual book sale in L.R. Wilson Hall 3038. All are welcome!

On 29 & 30 September, join fellow Arts & Science students on a two-day canoe, camp, and portage excursion through the heart of beautiful Algonquin Park.

As co-founder of the Disability Justice Network of Ontario, Artsci student Shanthiya Baheerathan is “creating a world where people with disabilities are free to be.”

Third year Arts & Science student, Sarah Brooks, is one of three students selected to represent the third cohort of Leaders for the Wilson Leadership Scholar Award, which launched in 2016.

For the sixth consecutive year, Arts & Science students have received the honour of the Drs. Jolie Ringash and Glen Bandiera Renaissance Award.

This month, students enrolled in ARTSSCI 4A06/4C06 will be presenting their thesis projects to the Artsci community.

L.R. Wilson Hall 3038, where the Arts & Science Program has since July 2017 made its home, was filled to capacity on a recent Monday afternoon.

From 26-28 January 2018, a group of sixteen enthusiastic Arts & Science students spent the weekend at a conference hosted by the University of Waterloo’s Knowledge Integration Program.

Level IV Artsci student Jasmine Wright recently received an award of merit for her contributions to the University of Guelph’s annual Undergraduate European Studies Conference.

The McMaster Discovery Program, run by the Arts and Science program and supported through the Office of the President, offers adults in the community who face barriers to education the chance to take a university-level course at no cost.

In May 2017, The City of Hamilton announced that it was partnering with McMaster University, Mohawk College, and Redeemer University College to launch CityLAB, which creates opportunities for students, city staff, and community stakeholders to make Hamilton more livable and sustainable.

While it was another close race for our fourth time participating, with our team finishing in a close third place, our cheer team was named the best in its category!

An account of the Student Project Management Team’s First Meeting with the Forum Mentors.

Check out the latest news about the McMaster Discovery Program!

This week’s Fall Reading Break is the perfect time to take a moment to enjoy the work of some fine writers in the Arts & Science community.

Four years ago, the Arts & Science Program collaborated with McMaster’s MacPherson Institute (then known as MIIETL) to create an innovative “Student Partners Program” (SPP).

In her address to the joint Arts & Science Program and Faculty of Humanities Convocation on 13 June 2017, actor, director, writer, producer, and social activist Sarah Polley spoke movingly about her own experience of confronting fear.

Check out this video of Level IV Arts & Science students speaking about what the program means to them!

For the fifth consecutive year, an Arts & Science student has received the honour of the Drs. Jolie Ringash and Glen Bandiera Renaissance Award.

On Friday 10 March 2017, the Arts & Science Program held a lively “Milk & Cookies” Social in the Great Hall, University Club.

Students will be presenting their ARTSSCI 4A06/4C06 thesis projects in back-to-back half hour sessions beginning Monday 20 March 9:00am.

11 March 2017 marked the second annual McMaster Global Justice Collaboratory Workshop hosted by the Arts & Science Program and the McMaster Global Justice Hub.

A current Artsci student and an Artsci alum were recently honoured at the YWCA Hamilton Women of Distinction Awards gala.

A new Arts & Science upper-level inquiry course this year takes students off campus and into the city.

Students of the McMaster University Arts & Science Program hosted the 8th annual Combining Two Cultures conference on 21-22 January 2017.

Matthew Jordan is one of 11 Canadian students to be named a Rhodes Scholar this year. Congratulations, Matthew!

On 14-15 October 2016, Artsci faculty and students from the first year of the Program (1981) to the present gathered to celebrate the Arts & Science 35th anniversary.

On Wed. 28 Sept., for the third year in a row, the Arts & Science Program participated in Pull4Mac, a fundraising event for the United Way.

Artsci alum Donna Vakalis (’03), currently a PhD candidate in environmental engineering, was one of only two athletes nominated to represent Team Canada in modern pentathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

On Thursday 8 September, Level I Artsci students participated in a special Common Reading Program Q&A with author Lawrence Hill.

For the fourth consecutive year, Arts & Science students have received the honour of the Drs. Jolie Ringash and Glen Bandiera Renaissance Award.

Arts & Science students were given the opportunity to examine rare maps as part of an experiential learning project in ARTSSCI 3BB3 / Technology and Society II.

On Tuesday 14 June, the Class of 2016 graduated from the Arts & Science Program at the McMaster Spring Convocation.

Arts & Science instructor Dr. Beth Marquis has recently been elected Co-President of the International Society for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (ISSOTL).

Dr. Alenia Kysela was one of eight alumni who were inducted into the Alumni Gallery, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in professional and volunteer life, at the University’s annual Alumni Awards ceremony on 1 June.

A group of Arts & Science students recently returned from another great trip to Iceland as part of the interdisciplinary field work course, SCIENCE 3IS3.

Artsci alum Farzana Doctor has recently been featured by the McMaster Alumni Association in a profile that highlights her literary achievements.

Six Artsci students were recently recognized for their outstanding contributions to the Westdale community.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced Dylan Jones as the new Deputy Minister of Western Economic Diversification.

Please join us for the upcoming Level IV thesis presentations! Students from ARTSSCI 4A06/4C06 will present on a variety of topics on 21, 22, 24, 29 March in the Artsci Library (C-105).

Level IV Artsci student Suzy Flader, who is researching the relationship between women and power in the modern world, has been featured in a Hamilton Spectator article that focuses on barriers currently facing Hamilton women.

On 30 January 2016, the Arts & Science Program and the McMaster Global Justice Hub hosted the inaugural McMaster Global Justice Collaboratory Workshop.

An energetic group of ten Arts & Science students travelled to the University of Waterloo 29-31 Jan. 2016 to take part in the annual “Combining Two Cultures” (C2C) conference on interdisciplinary education.

Inspired by Sut Jhally’s documentary Codes of Gender, Arts & Science students Miranda Carlson-Strain and Ryan Stevenson have created an exhibit with the goal of making viewers uncomfortable.

Arts & Science prof, Dr. Christine Wilson, presents a public lecture today as part of the Research in the City lecture series.

Students who are applying to the Arts & Science Program for September 2016 must submit their OUAC application as well as the mandatory Supplementary Application by 1 February 2016.

Dr. Sarah Garside, an Arts & Science Program graduate (1987) who went on to medical school at McMaster and is now Associate Professor in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, was one of ten Canadian artists chosen to participate in a prestigious art show at the Louvre in Paris.

On 12 December 2015, the McMaster Discovery Program community celebrated students’ successful completion of the course with a graduation ceremony in McMaster’s Council Chambers on campus.

Level IV Arts & Science student Kira Feldman is the 2015 recipient of the Chancellor’s Gold Medal.

Dr. Samantha Nutt will be speaking to the McMaster community on Wed. 25 Nov. 2015 as part of the yearlong Perspectives on Peace campaign.

Dr. John Maclachlan and a group of Artsci and iSci students just returned from Kentucky after participating in ARTSSCI 3IE1 / Kentucky Caving Fieldtrip.

Artsci alum Will Amos has been elected as a new Member of Parliament after the 19 October 2015 federal election.

Arts & Science professor Joseph LaRose travelled to Nepal this past summer to help rebuild the country after a deadly earthquake and aftershock devastated the area.

On Thurs. 8 Oct., more than 100 international students spending the holiday away from home were treated to a traditional Thanksgiving dinner.

On Thurs. 1 Oct., the Arts & Science Program participated in the Pull4Mac Bus Pull, a fundraising event that challenges teams of 12 to pull a McMaster shuttle bus for 100 feet through the heart of McMaster’s campus.

The Arts & Science Program invites you to our Global Justice Public Lecture, Mon. 21 Sept., 4:30pm, MDCL-1105, with Dr. Richard Heinzl, founder of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (Canada).

In July 2015, recent Arts & Science graduates Rachel Brain, Erik Brown, Leila Gaind, Kaila Radan, and Julia Redmond, along with Dr. Jean Wilson, presented groundbreaking work at a conference in Halifax, NS.

In May 2015, 25 students, including six from Arts & Science, along with four faculty members travelled to Iceland to participate in SCIENCE 3IS3: Interdisciplinary Sciences Field Camp.

In June, Arts & Science students Rachel Brain and Kaila Radan, along with Dr. Beth Marquis and five other colleagues, presented at the Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education Conference in Vancouver, BC.

Arts & Science students Abraham Redda and Louise Twells recently presented two papers, co-authored with Dr. Beth Marquis, at the European Conference on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

Amanda Bell, an Artsci alum, is the 2015 recipient of the John C. Sibley Award. The award honours a part-time faculty member for demonstrating excellence in education.

Anton Piatigorsky’s new play The Dybbuk, Or Between Two Worlds has opened at Soulpepper Theatre to fantastic reviews.

Congratulations to Arts & Science alum Stephanie McLarty. She’s been chosen to receive an Award of Merit at the 2015 Hamilton Environmentalists of the Year Awards on 10 June.

In April, Dr. Beth Marquis and Arts & Science students presented their research at a conference on “Opportunities and New Directions” at the University of Waterloo.

Offers of Admission were sent on 4 May 2015.  You are welcome to visit us on Saturday 9 May at May@Mac!  Please contact Shelley Anderson if you have any questions.

Simranpal Dhanju, Level IV Artsci, has been featured in a Daily News article and video focusing on his volunteer work cooking at the Mark Preece Family House.

Level IV Artsci student Naomi Pullen was honoured with the Honour M Award at this year’s Student Recognition Night.

Please join us for the upcoming Thesis Presentations. Students from ARTSSCI 4A06/4C06 will present on a variety of topics in the library in C-105 over the next two weeks starting on Tuesday 17 March.

Rachel Brain and Maia Stevenson are two of the new recipients of the Drs. Jolie Ringash and Glen Bandiera Renaissance Award.

Henry Giroux has been named this year’s recipient of three major awards by the College of Educational Studies at Chapman University.

A large and inquisitive group of first-year students gathered for pizza and a lively exchange with a panel of upper-level Arts & Science students and professors in the Arts & Science Program library on Wed. 22 Oct. 2014. The upper year students had their turn at our second Fishbowl Night of the year on Tues. 20 Jan. 2015.