Approved Programs
New undergraduate and graduate for-credit degree programs that have been approved by the Quality Council on or after September 1, 2011 are detailed in this database, which can be searched in multiple ways: by university, year, program level and/or keyword.
Program Approvals: University of Waterloo
Description to follow
The PhD program in Entrepreneurship and Organization will train students to conduct independent scientific research in the domains of Entrepreneurship and Organizations. This program builds on the fundamental theoretical foundations of the micro, macro and meso entrepreneurship, organizational behaviour, and strategy literature. It will enable students to develop deep expertise in these domains and apply that expertise in the rigorous study of
entrepreneurial behaviour and entrepreneurial contexts. The program will include coursework, a comprehensive examination, a thesis proposal, and a thesis.
Description to follow.
The PhD in Political Science is a new research program that will integrate rigorous requirements and training consistent with disciplinary norms while offering innovative features, flexibility, and professional development designed to prepare students for both traditional academic careers and non-academic career paths. The program features a set of distinctive elements, including a set of mandatory professional development seminars. On top of the regular academic program, students can take an experiential option (students can take a co-op or pursue internship opportunities through organizations like Mitacs or other placements, and will receive additional professional training in non-academic career development) and a teaching option (including in-department mentorship in teaching and additional professional development in teaching out of the Centre for Teaching Excellence). Course work will provide advanced training in the discipline with the ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired to myriad political and policy problems. The program culminates with a capstone project in the form of a traditional dissertation or tailored format beyond that of the traditional monograph.
The Graduate Diploma in Computational Data Analytics for the Social Sciences and Humanities (CDASH) is intended to provide Arts students advanced training in Big Data and Artificial Intelligence methods of analysis. Big Data refers to large volumes of data that can be measured in terabytes. The availability of such massive datasets has created a strong demand for students who can skillfully scrape, collect, aggregate and analyze large information sets through advanced statistical methods in a meaningful manner and deliver key insights. CDASH is intended to train students in these skills and use behavioral theories that are required to interpret and understand collective behavior and choices made by individuals. This training will produce students who are well versed on how to assess societal impacts of massive data collection, associated privacy issues, election manipulation, and appropriate government policy. This is critical given current public concerns on such issues.
The Master of Pharmacy in Advanced Pharmacy Practice (MPharm) will address a need for advanced pharmacist practitioners who have the expert knowledge to manage complex patients or complex drug therapy in specialized patient populations. The program consists of didactic coursework, experiential education and a required research paper. Required courses include advanced principles of medication management, critical appraisal, physical assessment, clinical research methods and statistics. Students must complete a clinical practicum consisting of 750 hours of experiential education in a health care setting with the clinical experiences tailored to the career goals of the student. In addition, students will conduct a non-thesis research project addressing an important issue related to medication use or clinical practice. This includes study design, data collection, data analysis and preparation of a research paper. Graduates of the program will be prepared to serve as medication experts in the provision of health care, educators in the classroom and clinical setting, and researchers contributing to generation and transfer of knowledge related to the optimal use of medications.
The Master of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (MDSAI) is a new coursework program in the Faculty of Mathematics that will address growing provincial, national, and global needs in the fields of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It is offered jointly by the Cheriton School of Computer Science, the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. The program is based on an interdisciplinary approach, recognizing the importance of computer science, statistics, and optimization in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. It is structured as a three-term academic coursework program with normally a one co-op option. The main objectives of this program are to provide strong core training so that graduates can adapt easily to changes and new demands from industry; enable students to understand not only how to apply certain methods, but when and why they are appropriate, and expose students to real-world problems in the classroom and through experiential learning.
The Master of Mathematics in Data Science (DS) is a new thesis-based Master’s program in the Faculty of Mathematics, in which students work on a Data Science-related topic with a research supervisor in the field of DS. This program is designed to strategically leverage the breadth and depth of research that currently exists in the Faculty of Mathematics in the field of DS. It does so by offering an integrated and interdisciplinary approach to Data Science that can be best achieved with the three supporting academic units, namely the Cheriton School of Computer Science, the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization, and the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science. Because of this unique and high-quality training, graduates of this program is anticipated to be in high demand, capable of conducting research in industry or academia within Canada and abroad upon graduation. This program aims to integrate knowledge from computer science, statistics, and optimization, develop expertise in the field of Data Science, and enable the development of original research. In addition, the research program strives to achieve a thorough understanding of the existing methods and techniques used in Data Science, and adapt them to create new and improved solutions.
The Graduate Diploma in Climate Risk Management is designed to meet the needs of early to mid-career professionals who have been tasked with climate change risk management and leadership as part of their professional duties. The Diploma provides graduates interdisciplinary skills to put the latest academic research and climate change strategies into practice for real-world impact in multiple professions. Graduates will achieve competence in the science of climate change, the risks and opportunities posed by a changing climate, and global and national policies and strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change.
In-depth applied knowledge and skills will also be developed in three of the following areas of climate risk management practice: accessing and interpreting climate data and scenarios (climate analytics); incorporating climate change into business decisions and reporting; managing climate risk as part of professional planning; and greenhouse gas accounting and management.
The Graduate Diploma in Climate Risk Management is a fully on-line program to facilitate upskilling of employed professionals who are not in a position to take a full year leave for a more comprehensive on campus degree program. It is offered on a part-time basis only. Four courses are required for completion. Students complete up to two courses per term of registration.
The PhD in Sustainability Management will be the flagship degree program of School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED) and it will contribute to advancing scholarly knowledge and training on sustainability management in an integrated manner. It will prepare PhD students for a host of career paths making them fully trained for careers within and outside the academia, including research, policy and practice oriented careers with government and non-government organizations. Given its interdisciplinary nature, the program will appeal to Canadian and international students from a broad range of master’s programs in management, the social sciences, applied sciences, engineering and others, which address the role of for-profit, government and third sector organizations in realizing and managing sustainability goals through innovative approaches in both developed and developing economies.
The program is oriented towards those students who want to pursue a PhD on a full time basis and who are interested in applied research based careers in academia, public policy, and business. This PhD degree will add to the existing graduate program offerings in SEED. In particular, it will complement the existing research based master’s program in Sustainability Management (MES). The proposed program will enhance research skills, and develop scholarly knowledge, methods and tools through course work and research in sustainability management.