By Jonathan Laderoute
Ryerson students soon won’t have to decide their specialty until after their first two years of study.
Next fall, the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science will offer degree programs for students entering university. The new degree programs should help younger students who may be unsure as to what they want to study.
“We’re getting younger students now and we have to provide them with the opportunity to come in the first year and look a little bit at what they want to do and be able to adapt in the second year without losing any credits for what they’ve done in the first year,” said Ryerson President Claude Lajeunesse.
“So it provides more flexibility to our students and that’s certainly something we absolutely want to do.”
The Faculty of Arts will offer degrees in criminal justice, politics and governance and sociology. The courses will have the same setup as other degree programs, but students will have more options when setting their timetables.
Marcia Mosh, coordinator for the criminal justice program, hopes that other departments will take advantage of the courses. “With the introduction of this degree program, there is the possibility to help students in other disciplines diversify their academic background,” she said.
The Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science will offer programs in chemistry, biology and contemporary science. Provincial funding for the programs is based on enrolment figures.
With 210 students expected to enrol for criminal justice and sociology, politics and governance, Lajeunesse said concerns about funding won’t be an issue.
“Will we be able to support these programs without cannibalizing the other programs…the answer is yes because government promised that every new student will receive full funding.”
The new programs will be a central feature at Ryerson’s booth for this weekend’s University Fair.
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