In March 2026, York University jumped 20 spots globally in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. Several LA&PS subjects landed in the top 100 globally including history (ranked 4th in Canada), English, Language & Literature (ranked 5th in Canada), Social Policy & Administration (tied 2nd in Canada) and Sociology (ranked 4th in Canada).

LA&PS rolled out several new and revised undergraduate programs in Fall 2025 including Philosophy of Law, Gender, Sexuality & Women's Studies, Creative Writing and Indigenous Studies.

LA&PS Advancement team secured more than $1.7 million in new funding for teaching and programming initiatives, including the Writer in Residence program, language teaching, Israel Studies visitor, support for LA&PS Colleges and other programs.

This academic year, LA&PS hosted award-winning authors Carleigh Baker and Kate Cayley through the Department of English's Writer-in-Residence (WIR) Program. Baker, a Métis writer and educator, is the author of the award-winning short story collection Bad Endings and the recently released Last Woman. Cayley is an acclaimed fiction writer, poet and playwright whose work has received numerous literary awards and nominations, including for her most recent novel, Property (2025). The WIR program provides students with access to a working, professional writer for feedback and support.

LA&PS hosted a day-long workshop for Toronto District School Board (TDSB) high school teachers focused on the newly established Black History high school curriculum.

LA&PS CoLearn: Collaborative Learning Space, a new active learning hub located in 117 South Ross, completed its first academic year with more than 25 instructors and 1,300 students engaging in the space. CoLearn offers three active learning classrooms and a one button recording studio, with wrap-around pedagogical support from the LA&PS Teaching & Learning team and technical support from eServices. The hub prioritizes innovative, student-centred teaching and active learning across the Faculty.

LA&PS launched the Co-op Ready micro-credential in Fall 2025. More than 500 students completed the newly designed, student-centred modules, which provided opportunities to practice in-demand skills including networking, resume writing, interviewing and workplace readiness. Ninety-eight per cent of participating students reported that the content was helpful, showing an increase of more than 30 per cent from the previous year.

This year, LA&PS continued to broaden and diversify its Study Abroad programming, with a focus on opportunities in the Global South. Summer 2026 proposals include six courses: one in Mexico, four in Costa Rica and one in Madagascar. In addition, 13 Study Abroad proposals have been approved for Summer 2027 and will be available to LA&PS students.

AI for Course Design, a practical toolkit designed by the LA&PS Teaching & Learning team, was launched to explore how generative AI could be a used as a tool to support instructors. The toolkit includes a prompt library and resources to support inclusive course design.

Lisa Davidson, associate professor in the Department of Anthropology, was selected to participate in the Teaching Fellows Program, a new initiative launched by the Office of the Vice-Provost Teaching and Learning to empower faculty members across York to investigate pedagogical issues across various disciplines. Davidson’s fellowship will enhance AI literacy in the social sciences, focusing on first-year students and work-integrated learning. Davidson will develop experiential AI modules with cultural heritage partners, addressing ethical and cultural implications.

We completed our transition onto Kuali, our new efficient Curriculum Management System (CMS), which is an innovative digitalization of an older paper formatted process. Kuali will be used for all course and degree proposal submissions, repository system and academic calendar publications.