Bachelor of Design

at MacEwan University Canada

Success in today’s business world depends on sound decisions based on timely, accurate and well-directed financial information. Successful accounting students have good analytical skills, are able to work in a team environment and are self-motivated. In addition, they need effective oral and written communication skills for success.

The Accounting and Strategic Measurement diploma provides a comprehensive overview of accounting procedures and principles. Students in the program learn about management, cost and financial accounting, finance, taxation, computer applications and management skills, providing them with intermediate level accounting knowledge.

To respond to society’s increasing concern for security, the demand for educated personnel in both the public and private sectors of protective services continues to grow at a phenomenal rate. To meet the emerging challenges and responsibilities of this growing profession, the two-year diploma emphasizes the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct investigations and develop and implement comprehensive security programs.

Evidence of the growth in this profession is often visible. However, there also exists a less visible side of private investigations and security that includes a diverse group of specialists who engage in investigative work for banks, retail outlets, corporations and government. As the roles continue to expand and become increasingly complex, individuals must be well-grounded in the law and investigative techniques and develop a broad understanding of the field.

The diploma consists of 61 credits and can be completed through full-time day or part-time evening studies. The full-time day program is completed over a two-year period, with one intake in the Fall term. Part-time evening studies can be completed over a three-year period or longer, with one intake in the Fall term.

Admission to the program is competitive and is subject to a quota. The competitive admission average may be considerably higher than the posted minimum.

In the increasingly complex field of emergency telecommunications, there is a need for personnel who have the ability to assess situations quickly and respond in an appropriate manner. Emergency communicators are the critical link between the public and those who provide police, fire and emergency medical assistance. As the field evolves, the need for highly skilled and knowledgeable professionals is critical. The field demands professionals who are able to multi-task, use high-tech equipment, think critically and quickly in a stressful setting, and respond to the challenges of the field.

The Emergency Communications and Response program develops the broad knowledge and skills required of call evaluators or dispatchers and the unique knowledge and skills in police, fire and emergency medical environments. The program is a full-time, eight-month certificate. Full-time program entry occurs each fall. The full-time program may be offered as a combination of day and evening courses. The students participate in a short field placement with a communication centre in the final month of the program.

A Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) is an opportunity to explore and discover ideas. It provides you with the tools you need to discriminate between fact and fiction, to pose tough questions and provide full answers, to observe soundly, to articulate your arguments in a clear and concise fashion, and to be open to other ideas without surrendering your own.

Your degree provides you with a breadth, depth and diversity of study that will equip you with the skills of both an expert and a generalist. MacEwan’s B.Sc. is designed to offer flexibility and customization.

The Medical major provides you with a solid foundation in office and unit clerk procedures as well as in medical terminology, transcription, medical office procedures and patient chart management. In addition, students use current computer and software skills necessary for today’s health care fields.

One of the benefits of the Office Assistant program is its practicum component, which gives you hands-on experience in a real world setting. The practicum placement often helps you get your foot in the door and may even lead right to full-time work.

Students who have successfully completed their first and second terms and who are registered for Term III courses are eligible for a practicum placement.

To complete the Medical major you are required to take a practicum with a duration of four weeks. Due to hospital and collective agreement regulations, instructors must assist you with your placement in hospital sites. You need to have complete vaccinations and security checks before you begin your practicum.

The Bachelor of Music focuses on the study of jazz and contemporary popular music, responds to the current demands of the industry and combines a high degree of professionalism along with the academic rigour required for further education at the graduate level. The opportunity to study with internationally renowned professionals while following a challenging academic curriculum will give you the skills, insights, competency and credentials to pursue a career as a performer, creator and leader in the evolving music industry.

All Bachelor of Music students share a common curriculum in the first year that focuses on individual study (voice, piano, guitar, bass, drums, winds, brass or violin), performance ensemble, theory (jazz and traditional), aural skills, and musicology. After successful completion of the first year, students pursue a major route (specialized program of study).

The General major follows a prescribed program of study in addition to the common core courses students take in their first year. Students choose from music options and non-music electives to customize their program. 

Students can remain undeclared or declare a minor:

• Undeclared
• Music Career Management
• Music Education
• Music Technology and Production1

Project-based course work, creative research, visiting artists, off-campus activities and arts and culture venues—as a Studio Arts major at MacEwan University, you receive a truly hands-on education. Let your artistic expression soar, while learning to manage the many paths your career will take you.

Our dedicated faculty maintain a range of professional art and research practices, sharing their skills in performance and sound art, painting, drawing, video, sculpture, fibres and more. In this interdisciplinary environment, you are challenged to think critically and creatively about contemporary art.

What to expect
After building a rigorous and comprehensive foundation in the first two years of the program, you can choose from three pathways in the Studio Arts major:

• Two-dimensional art
• Three-dimensional art
• Intermedia/extended media art

The technical and theoretical foundations supporting each pathway prepare you for both traditional and emerging media and concepts.

Starting in the fourth term, you choose to focus in one area or to combine paths for greater breadth. As you progress academically and develop the flexibility and fluidity prevalent in contemporary art practice, you also take courses from the other arts and communications disciplines.

In your final term, you undertake a project that prepares you for a contemporary, multi-dimensional career or for future studies at the graduate level.

Since the Library and Information Technology program started more than 40 years ago, the proliferation of information has led to a dramatic increase in the use of technology to organize, control and provide access to information resources.

Information personnel require excellent interpersonal and communication skills coupled with the ability to deal accurately with detail. They are versatile and can quickly adapt to a rapidly changing work environment.

Students in the Library and Information Technology program develop the expertise needed to organize, retrieve and manage information. Graduates are equipped with the skills necessary to work in any setting that handles information management, not just traditional libraries.

This program exposes students to practical aspects of the profession, including cataloguing, reference, circulation, research techniques, information systems design, records management, and services to various types of library patrons. Using a wide array of electronic and print resources, students become familiar with the broad scope of information organization and retrieval. Students will also develop strong professional skills and competencies to work effectively within an organizational structure and in a customer service role. They will examine the central purpose of libraries in society, and consider ways that social responsibility, ethical behaviour, and social justice are important philosophical foundations for the library profession.

In combination with Arts & Science courses taken, students potentially may receive 60 credits towards a Bachelor of Arts degree.

The two-year Fine Art diploma program prepares students for degree completion (Bachelor of Fine Art or Bachelor of Arts) and for starting a professional art practice. Students study historical and contemporary art in studio and art history courses, along with English, FFAC options and university electives. Students work in studios in Allard Hall on MacEwan University’s downtown campus, walking distance to campus facilities and services, as well as to museums and galleries in Edmonton’s downtown arts district.

The Fine Art program exposes students to the diversity of contemporary art practice, and emphasizes the development of creative, research and professional skills. In the first year, students learn elements and principles used in visual composition, art themes and media, creative research and histories of art and visual culture. In the second year, they develop a personal direction as they study and explore contemporary art theories and practice, professional practice, and pursue idea and process within studio course objectives. Digital technologies along with traditional approaches are incorporated throughout the curricula in coursework in drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, performance art, digital art, video and emerging forms. Studio assignments are designed to foster creative problem-solving skills, fluency with creative language and a strong work ethic. Through critiques, lectures and seminars, and visiting artist lectures, students learn to discuss their own art as it relates to contemporary art and its influences and contexts.

The Bachelor of Social Work program provides 3rd and 4th year undergraduate degree studies and will be of interest to Alberta Social Work diploma graduates and other students who have completed 60 university level Arts and Science credits. The School of Social Work offers transformative, collaborative and supportive education to prepare students for leadership roles in meeting the social justice mandate of the profession of social work. As professionals in a country that upholds respect for diversity, and in keeping with democratic rights and freedoms, social workers respect the distinct systems of beliefs and lifestyles of individuals, families, groups, communities and nations without prejudice (United Nations Centre for Human Rights, 1992). Specifically, social workers do not tolerate discrimination based on age, abilities, ethnic background, gender, language, marital status, national ancestry, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation or socio-economic status (CASW Code of Ethics, 2005).

Unique to this degree is the focus on sustainability — how social, environmental and economic issues interrelate, and how we fit into the larger community. Students have the opportunity to focus their studies around a number of themes, including working with children and families, working with Indigenous people, health and mental health, and community social work practice. Students learn from faculty who are engaged in research, blended learning and all areas of social work practice.