BA joint major in Geocomputing, new minors, certificates to be offered beginning this Fall

SACKVILLE, NB — Mount Allison University has expanded its academic programming for 2020. More than a dozen new or revamped opportunities for students have been introduced to the University’s academic calendar.

“The newly expanded programming is interdisciplinary education at its best," says University President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Jean-Paul Boudreau. “Mount Allison has a long-standing tradition of excellence in undergraduate education, spanning more than 180 years. We are working to build on this and continue to help our students prepare for and succeed in their learning and careers. Many of today’s students will be working in jobs not yet even known. We are excited to expand our academic programming in several new areas to help better prepare them.”

New academic opportunities include:

• Bachelor of Arts with joint Major in Geocomputing
• Bachelor of Arts with major/honours options in Women’s and Gender Studies
• Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science

In November, 2019, Mount Allison introduced a Bachelor of Commerce, Aviation, bringing business studies and aviation training together in conjunction with the Moncton Flight College. The partnership builds on the success of the Bachelor of Science in Aviation, which has been offered by both institutions since 2008.

The new joint major program in Geocomputing gives students the expertise to study and understand spatial dimensions of social and environmental problems. Combining resources from Mount Allison’s department of Geography and Environment and Computer Science, it is an applied program that combines theory and practice of computing and geography, and offers students a new way to look at the world.

Answering to student needs and interests, Women’s and Gender Studies will be available at a degree major or honours option beginning in Fall 2020. Led by a team of interdisciplinary faculty members, students will focus on issues of gender, identity, and culture; theories of gender and power in society; gender, science, and research; and contemporary issues in feminism and gender studies throughout their degree.

Students in both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science programs will also be able to major in Cognitive Science within Mount Allison’s department of psychology. The program is one-of-a-kind in Atlantic Canada — incorporating perspectives from a variety of fields.

Mount Allison’s Canadian Public Policy (CPP) interdisciplinary program has also been revamped, enabling students take a core set of political science and economics courses from the foundation of the CPP program, then select areas of specialization to complete their degree. Arts students can major in CPP, while the minor option is open to all degrees.

Several new options for degree minors, a secondary discipline(s) or area of specialization selected to fulfill part of the requirements for most degrees have also been introduced. New options for degree minors at Mount Allison include:

• Data Science
• Visual Communication and Culture
• Community Engaged Learning

The University has also introduced several new embedded certificate programs. Undergraduate certificates are taken concurrently with a student’s degree program - students use their elective courses to focus on a specialized area of interest and/or to complement their chosen degree program. Embedded certificate programs, which are unique to Mount Allison, are designed to enhance the academic experience and help students prepare for a variety of career paths or professional programs.

Current certificate options introduced in 2018-19, include: Certificate in Biopsychology; Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Social Research Methodologies; and Visual Literacy and Culture.

New certificate programs include:

• Certificate in Data Management
• Certificate in Data Analytics
• Certificate in Foundations of Health
• Certificate in Theatre Arts
• Certificate in Canadian Arts and Culture
• Certificate in Community Engaged Learning

“These kinds of developments are a direct result of faculty and staff members listening to students and answering their calls for academic innovation,” says Boudreau. “We are pleased to announce these new areas of study and look forward to announcing more additions in the future.”

Mount Allison offers more than 45 academic programs with a primarily undergraduate focus. Information on all Mount Allison University’s academic programs can be found at mta.ca/programs and in the University’s Academic Calendar.