The MA/MSc in Northern Studies is a 5-credit course-based program, whose main goal is to provide an interdisciplinary education to individuals who wish to become suitably qualified to support public- and private-sector decision making in the provincial and territorial north of Canada. In drawing upon knowledge from the natural and social sciences, the program will prepare these individuals to address the complexity of the challenges facing Canadians, particularly northern Canadians, following the resurgence of national and international interest in the Arctic: the impact of climate change on northern ecosystems and on the indigenous and non-indigenous communities that depend on ecosystem resources; changes to the Arctic Ocean that will facilitate shipping; changes to permafrost that will affect infrastructure; the stresses of cultural transition and evolving governance as land claims and self-government agreements are completed and implemented; and the need to develop functional bureaucracies and practices that reflect the aspirations of northerners. The scope of the program will not, however, be restricted to the Arctic. It will encompass also the boreal regions of the territories and provinces of Canada.

Within this context, the more specific objectives of the master’s program are: 1) to provide advanced academic training for federal and northern public servants, for northerners, and for students seeking to develop a career in the North; 2) to provide skills enabling students to access and interpret information from a variety of disciplines, to apply it in a context relevant to their profession, and to develop recommendations for their agencies and institutions based on available research; 3) to foster the development of writing and presentation skills to support enhanced and informed decision making in the North; 4) to provide foundational knowledge of biophysical and social contexts and processes in northern Canada, and of northern policy making. The program includes a substantial experiential learning component in the form of a Field Course in Canada’s North and a Practicum placement in Northern Studies.