The Canadian and World Studies & Social Science program at Colonel By Secondary School encompasses a range of subjects: Geography, History, Law, Civics, Politics, World Religions, Philosophy, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and Environmental Leadership. In studying these subjects, students learn how people interact with and within present-day social, political, economic and environmental contexts, and how human patterns and interactions have both changed and remained constant across time and space.

Success in these courses is not measured simply in terms of how well students memorize a series of facts. Rather, these courses teach students to research, analyse, and extrapolate from data and evidence. Students learn how to develop, evaluate, challenge and defend well-informed arguments; the academic foundations of these disciplines make Canadian and World Studies one of the few places in which students are required to engage in divergent thinking. Courses within Canadian and World Studies and Social Sciences are particularly effective at developing advanced skills in formal essay writing, oral communication, the use of information technology, and project-based collaboration -- practical skills upon which success is dependent in all post-secondary and employment environments.