New Faculty of Environment
John Pierce, dean pro tem, Faculty of Environment, o: 778.782.8759, c: 604.551.3433, jpierce@sfu.ca
Fiona Burrows, PAMR, 778.782.3928, fiona@sfu.ca
Spring has arrived and so has SFU’s newest faculty, the Faculty of Environment, which officially launches April 1.
The university’s green faculty encompasses the School of Resource and Environmental Management, the department of geography, the Environmental Science program, the Centre for Sustainable Community Development and the Graduate Certificate in Development Studies.
John Pierce, dean pro tem, says the new faculty will build on the environmental expertise of its founding units and add to that expertise from other areas of the university to enrich programming and research opportunities.
“The university has a tremendous pool of talented people who deal with environmental issues, who have traditionally been scattered across diverse faculties, but now campus members will be collaborating under the umbrella of this new faculty."
Pierce says university enrolment figures have increased, compared to this time last year, due in part to the anticipated faculty launch. The faculty has 552 undergraduate students, 123 graduate students and 39 faculty members.
“The faculty will encompass concepts of what our relationship to the environment is and what our relationship should be,” says Pierce.
Students in the new faculty will acquire competencies in core areas of environmental study, and foundational skills in communications, critical thinking and analysis. They will study the environment as it relates to natural science, social science, and policy science frameworks and can participate in fieldwork, international studies, student internships and the co-op program.
SFU has a long history of engaging with the local community to conduct research on environmental issues, resulting in a wealth of interdisciplinary expertise in areas such as managing natural resources, understanding human settlements or investigating the history and impact of climate change.
The faculty offers undergraduate programs leading to BA and B.Sc. degrees. At the graduate level, students may complete MA, MSc, or MRM degrees and doctorates (PhDs). It also offers certificates and diploma programs and is considering other degree options.
“SFU has an opportunity to show real leadership in terms of developing new technologies, research modes, practices, and engagement with the community and creating solutions to real world problems,” adds Pierce.
-30-
Backgrounder
The Faculty of Environment* includes:
Centre for Sustainable Community Development (CSCD)
The CSCD is a teaching and research centre established to teach and encourage sustainable community development. The centre supports the sustainable development of communities through research, education, and community mobilization. The CSCD offers an undergraduate certificate, post baccalaureate diploma, graduate support, and a non-credit professional program.
Graduate Certificate in Development Studies
The graduate certificate links courses across nine academic units and three faculties to coordinate studies in the areas of development and social transformation. It enables students to coordinate their graduate studies to consider these issues through a multidisciplinary lens. The certificate is a component of a graduate degree and is offered as part of any regular graduate degree program at SFU.
Environmental Science Program
Environmental Science is a field of study that draws on a wide range of science-based disciplines committed to considering and solving environmental issues. The magnitude and complexity of environmental problems has created a growing need for scientists with rigorous, interdisciplinary training in environmental science. An undergraduate bachelor or honors degree is offered at SFU.
Geography
Geography combines social and natural science knowledge and methods to help better understand the changing relationships between humans and their environment from the local to the national and international levels. With a full line up of undergraduate and graduate offerings at SFU, students will be prepared for careers such as urban and regional planning, public administration, social service delivery, consulting, teaching, terrain analysis and stabilization, environmental impact assessment, wildlife habitat protection, forest hydrology, and atmospheric and soil sciences.
Resource and Environmental Management (REM)
REM offers an opportunity for interdisciplinary research and education on natural resource and environmental issues of local, national and international interest. As a graduate school, REM offers students multidisciplinary graduate coursework in the social and natural sciences, as well as the expectation of a major research project and journal publications.
* A number of planning exercises are either underway or will soon commence relating to degree options, program streams, the redesign of the environmental science program and new models to promote collaborative and interdisciplinary teaching and research.
Comments
Comment Guidelineswill the new faculty include subjects concerning procreation and immigration?
I am very grateful that SFU is really expanding. WE need disciplines that directly address the fundamental problems that affect living creatures, such as environmental studies.
Adam Fitch
will the new faculty of environment include the City Program?