Graduate Programmes

"The purpose of the Northern Studies programs is to provide opportunities for students to learn how to recognize and support wise public and private-sector decision making in the dynamic North. The program is interdisciplinary and rooted in analysis of real-world problems. It presents research at the cutting edge from across the North.The program emphasizes the biophysical, social, and policy environments of northern Canada. It recognizes the impacts of climate change on northern ecosystems and on the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities that depend on renewable resources. It acknowledges the stresses of cultural transition and evolving governance as land claims and self-government agreements are completed and implemented. It appreciates the importance of functional bureaucracies and practices that reflect the aspirations of northerners. It apprehends the changes to the Arctic Ocean that will facilitate shipping and bring many visitors to the North.

The Northern Studies program is:
The first interdisciplinary program at the Master level to present a combined focus on the social, political, and physical environments of northern Canada;
It offers short, intensive access to a Master degree and Graduate Diploma in the National Capital Region;
The core seminars for the program are multi and interdisciplinary;
The program recognizes the importance of understanding the nature and capacity of research in order to support decision-making in the North;
The program aims to assist northern professionals, who need further academic experience to advance their career ambitions, through both intensive Master degrees and the Graduate Diplomas;
The degree program presents a full credit of experiential learning during a field course in the North and a work placement."