In the fall of 2010, Trent will begin its brand new Master's Program in Sustainability Studies. According to Trent, the program will "carry out interdisciplinary graduate education and research that will improve our understanding of environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, and social responsibility. Program faculty are united by a common vision that environmental protection, resource conservation, positive social change, and sustainable economies are complementary rather than antagonistic processes. By integrating the efforts of business, government and civil society, we seek to promote an understanding of social, environmental and economic sustainability."
This interdisciplinary approach to the world's increasingly important social, economic and environmental issues is something that Trent University has emphasized for several years in many of its programs. Indeed, Dr. Don Markwell, Warden of Rhodes House at Oxford University and visiting Ashley Fellow to Trent, recently spoke to interdisciplinarity being the keystone to a liberal arts education, something Trent is renowned for.
There are very few other programs like this throughout North America and only a handful in Canada. With a relatively high acceptance standard -- the minimum GPA is set at 80% -- and a unique, yet highly applicable curriculum, this program is likely to attract top students throughout Canada and the rest of the world.
What is particularly advantageous about such a program is its applicability to the real world. Firms and organizations in the private, non-profit and government sectors are increasingly looking for people to deal with environmental issues, but who also have a working knowledge of the economic and social issues associated with it. For example, if I am the CEO of Exxon-Mobil and I am looking to fill some kind of environmental policy-related position, it is difficult for me to know whether someone with a degree in simply Environmental Science, which is relatively specialized, will have the skills necessary to deal with the business realities of an oil company. A degree in Sustainability Studies would indicate to me that such a person has a well-rounded, yet educated skill set to meet my needs.
Quite simply, this program will be filling a job market that is in high demand, growing very quickly and increasingly important.
But I see one other area where such a program will bring huge benefits to Trent, and that is within its undergraduate programs. Trent is currently known for its spectacular graduate program known as the Environmental and Life Sciences (ELS) program. It houses some of the most dynamic and accomplished academics in the field. Students in the program are given teaching assistance positions for courses at the undergraduate level and those students in the undergraduate environmental science courses and provided with highly knowledgeable TAs.
But this setup is far from advantageous for the "studies" half of the ERS undergraduate program at Trent. That is, the people studying the policy, law, philosophy, economics and social issues related to the environment (of which both Tim and I are included). Because there are so many students in the ELS program, many of them are given TA positions in classes from the "studies" section, of which many of them have very little knowledge. Over my four years at Trent, I have taken several classes that were TA'd by students that were very bright, but knew next to nothing about what we were discussing in class. As you can imagine, this was not particularly helpful.
The other major graduate program related to the ERS program at Trent is the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies, which does not offer an environmental specialization. From time to time, a student studying at the Frost Centre will get a TA position in a "studies" class, but since there are so few of these students, such events are rare. However, I have had the luxury of taking classes with such students as TAs and they have been among the most effective and helpful TAs I've ever had.
With the new Arts-based students coming to study in the Sustainability program, I expect that the undergraduate program at Trent will improve enormously as a result of the introduction of this program, especially if the calibre of incoming students is as high as I predict. And while I will be graduating from Trent this spring and missing the chance to reap the rewards of this program, I look forward to seeing the Environmental Studies program at Trent, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, grow immensely successful.
Information about the program can be found at: http://www.trentu.ca/sustainabilityma/
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