Carleton University’s Bachelor of Media Production and Design (BMPD) responds to the opportunities for new forms of storytelling flowing from the convergence of media, information, public engagement and design. This convergence has resulted in a growing demand for individuals who can combine the non-fiction storytelling and explanatory skills of journalists with design and online production capabilities, turning ideas into informative and engaging online content.

The BMPD, which is the first of its kind in Canada, is housed in Carleton’s School of Journalism and Communication (SJC). It draws on three sources: new courses created for the BMPD program; some existing courses offered by the SJC; and some existing courses tailored for the needs of BMPD students that are taught in Carleton’s School of Information Technology (SIT). A combination of intensive hands-on workshops and lecture courses will give students a strong foundation in data, research, writing, and narrative abilities across media formats (text, photography, audio, video and graphics) as well as design and production skills.

The 20-credit degree includes 12.0 prescribed core credits, with an optional one-year co-op placement commencing in the January after the fall term of the program’s third year. The emphasis throughout the program is on experiential learning in workshops that creatively combine narrative, public engagement and design into distinctive online storytelling. The classroom experience will foster fundamental production and design skills and thinking in the development and application of narratives, with the understanding that design influences information pathways, making “story” and “design” inseparable. The BMPD will thus prepare students to innovate and operate across all facets of narrative that engage, inform, entertain and ultimately contribute to a broader and deeper understanding of how we connect with each other in the 21st century to build stronger societies.

The Combined B.A. Honour’s in Indigenous Studies, which builds on Carleton’s existing strengths in this area, will engage students with aspects of Indigenous peoples’ ways of knowing and living in the world that include, among other things, ecological epistemologies, histories, cultural practices and traditions, languages, diplomacies, politics, and community dynamics. It will expose both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to the historical and contemporary experience of Indigenous peoples in North America and globally. It will also train students in cross-cultural communication with an aim towards building bridges between communities and will embody principles of Indigenous pedagogy. The program will be innovative in that it will include a practicum and community-engagement capstone course animated by the Mamiwininmowin (Algonquin language) concept of aditawazi nisoditadiwin, or walking in two worlds. It will also set itself apart from Indigenous Studies programs in other Ontario universities insofar as it will be thoroughly interdisciplinary, encompassing a wide range of courses designed specifically for Indigenous Studies. The program will also have the distinctive advantage of being located in the nation’s capital.

The program will be structured around four main thematic areas or suites of courses centered on: 1) Indigenous Peoplehood Studies; 2) Indigenous ways of knowing and epistemologies; 3) The history of Indigenous-Settler relations and colonization; and 4) Indigenous recovery, vitalization, and reclamation and decolonization. It will be comprised of a total of 20.0 credits, 7.0 of which will be in Indigenous Studies, including 4.5 core credits distributed over the four years of the program and 2.5 credits of elective courses. It will culminate in a fourth-year capstone course entitled “Indigeneity and the City.” The program will be housed in the School of Canadian Studies. It will have a Program Coordinator and a Committee of Management that will include Elders, faculty members, community members, administrative professionals and students from across the university. Day-to-day administration will be conducted by the School’s regular staff. It is important for staff members to be versed in the specific needs of Indigenous students. Therefore, the School will develop a specialized training program to ensure staff can assist Indigenous students in ways that are culturally appropriate.

The Bachelor of Information Technology – Information Resource Management (BIT-IRM) is a fully integrated joint program offered collaboratively by Carleton University and Algonquin College. Students attend both Carleton and Algonquin on a weekly basis in each of the program’s four years, experiencing theory at Carleton and reinforcing the theory with practical skills provided at Algonquin.  At Carleton, students benefit from the expertise of highly trained faculty engaged in advanced research projects, and modern facilities including a dedicated computer lab for IRM students in a new building and dedicated group study rooms in MacOdrum Library’s new Discovery Centre. Students also have the opportunity to work on practicums and senior research projects with professional librarians and paraprofessional staff at the Library.

The IRM program provides a carefully designed multidisciplinary curriculum which covers both mainstream library science/information management and information technology in order to develop a skillset in demand by employers. Library science and information management are covered by courses in cataloguing and metadata, collections management, subject analysis and indexing, and reference services.  The program also offers substantial coverage of information technology to reflect the requirements of the modern information economy, including courses in web interface development, programming, database theory and development and network technology. In addition, students take courses delivered by Carleton departments outside the School of Information Technology, including courses in statistics taught by faculty from the School of Mathematics and Statistics, communication skills taught by faculty from the School of Linguistics and Language Studies and business courses taught by faculty in the Sprott School of Business.  Finally, the program includes a four-credit Minor requirement intended to provide a subject-area specialty for graduates of the BIT-IRM program.

The BIT-IRM is a unique program in Canada that fills a need in the education and labour markets. There are four library technician programs in Ontario and 17 across Canada. None offers the opportunity for a combined degree and diploma in four years; none emphasizes the management of digital information resources including research data; and none offers the extensive practicum and experiential learning opportunities that are a feature of this program. University programs in the related fields of librarianship and information management occur only at the graduate level. Consultations with major government and other employers in the National Capital Region indicate strong support for this program as well as the potential for co-op and practicum placements.

The BIT-IRM program builds on the success of three other joint BIT programs currently offered collaboratively by Carleton and Algonquin: Interactive Multimedia and Design; Network Technology; and Photonics and Laser Technology. Graduates from the program will be awarded a Bachelor of Information Technology degree from Carleton and the Library and Information Technician (LIT) diploma from Algonquin. Graduates will thus obtain in four years two credentials that would otherwise take six years. In the four years that students engage in the program, they are considered students of both institutions and enjoy full rights on both campuses.

The Bachelor of Global and International Studies is jointly offered by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and the Faculty of Public Affairs.  It is intended for students who want to learn more about, and engage constructively with, the world in which we live.  It is expected that it will allow students to pursue a wide range of career options related to global and international studies, including graduate school in a number of different disciplinary areas.  It is both multidisciplinary, in that it introduces students to the many different disciplinary perspectives on global and international studies, and interdisciplinary, in that it places these disciplinary perspectives in critical dialogue with each other.

There are four components to the degree: 1) a multidisciplinary core course sequence which provides all students with a common foundation in global and international studies; 2) 12 specializations, some defined thematically and some defined in terms of geographic regions of the world, which allow students to acquire a more in-depth knowledge of a subject of particular interest to them; 3) a language requirement intended to make students capable of engaging with another culture in a second language and 4) an overseas experience requirement to ensure that all students have practical experience of living and studying abroad.   External admission is only to the 4 year (20 credit) Honours degree, though students in program may transfer to the 3 year (15 credit) General degree.

The Bachelor of Health Sciences program is designed to prepare students for employment as well as for the advanced graduate or professional training required for a diverse array of health careers. This BHSc program features several novel attributes. Through these attributes it develops a distinctive range of expertise and skills in students to equip them to adapt effectively to the rapidly changing and increasingly multi-disciplinary and collaborative nature of health delivery and research. The program offers an interdisciplinary look at health that draws on social, geographical, economic, psychological, technological and other factors.