Canadian studies is aninterdisciplinary field of undergraduate- and postgraduate-level study ofCanadian culture and society, thelanguages of Canada,Canadian literature,media andcommunications,Quebec,Acadians,agriculture in Canada,natural resources and geography of Canada, thehistory of Canada andhistoriography of Canada,Canadian government andpolitics, and legal traditions. Similar ranges of subjects centred onindigenous peoples in Canada (First Nations,Inuit,Métis) may be part ofIndigenous (Native) studies, Canadian studies or both.
Several universities that offer Canadian studies undergraduate degrees recommend that students take a double major (e.g.political science,international relations orFrench), if not included in the course. Some careers for students who take Canadian studies include the foreign service and working at Canadian embassies or the foreign embassies in Canada.
Scholars known for their work in Canadian studies includeFernand Ouellet,Linda Hutcheon,George Ramsay Cook,William T. R. Fox,Annette Baker Fox,Susan Swan,Christl Verduyn,Sergey Rogov, andGeorge Melnyk. TheGovernor General's International Award for Canadian Studies is an award for excellence in the field and was established in 1995 by theInternational Council for Canadian Studies. The International Council for Canadian Studies is a confederal academic society including the Canadian Studies Network which is based in Canada, and Canadian studies associations in numerous other countries. TheAssociation for Canadian Studies aims to connect Canadian studies scholarship with the Canadian public.
A number of universities have specialized programmes and centres of Canadian studies. These include:
First Nations and Indigenous studies is the interdisciplinary study of indigenous people in Canada. There are several opportunities to specialise in Indigenous studies.