Master of Arts in Island Studies - Sustainable Island Communities (Course-Based)

at University of Prince Edward Island Canada

Roughly 2.5 million people in Canada have a common ethnic German heritage and language background. After English and French, the German ethnic group is the third largest and the third oldest European ethnic group in Canada. About 120 million people are native speakers of German.

Germany itself with its 81,000,000 inhabitants has the largest number of people of any country in the European community; and is economically the strongest nation in Europe. With the opening of Eastern Europe, the German language has gained prominence as a lingua franca in this region.

In 1997, in cooperation with the Prince Edward Island School of Radiography, the University of Prince Edward Island and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in Charlottetown entered an articulation agreement to enable the offering by the University of a Bachelor of Applied Science in Radiography.

The Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) at the University of Prince Edward Island is a unique, interdisciplinary, and policy-driven graduate program that critiques islands on their own terms. We welcome students from around the world with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors.

Our program offers a challenging opportunity for students with:

• A special interest in researching islands: their societies, economies, histories, cultures, governments, geographies, and environments
• An interest in public policy and administration
• Career aspirations within local, regional, national, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations
• Career aspirations in the private and resource sectors
• A desire for the challenge of graduate education

Island Tourism
Tourism on many islands is one of the largest employers and fastest-growing sectors. This focus area is designed to meet the needs of current and future island-based tourism industry managers, executives, and other professional and public sector researchers. Graduates will develop their analytical, research and management skills to a standard that will allow them to excel in this growing sector. Graduates will develop a firm understanding of the specific challenges and opportunities associated with tourism in both warm and cold-weather island tourist destinations. The practical experiences associated with this program will allow students to work with professionals in the tourism sector to gain knowledge in the industry that complements the knowledge gained in the classroom. Employment opportunities for graduates include positions in travel agency and tour operating companies, the heritage sector, official tourist organizations, branding and marketing companies, and local or national government and other (including regional and international) organizations where knowledge of the tourism sector is important.

Our graduates have also successfully entered a variety of post-graduate programs, including Masters study in sociology and anthropology, social work, education, law, international development, criminology, and law enforcement, to mention only a few.

Because of Sociology's broad areas of interest, a degree in sociology is an excellent preparation for a variety of careers, including further postgraduate studies in the social sciences (sociology, social work, education, law, criminology and law enforcement, international development). Sociology graduates have always been valuable players in both public and private sectors; their rich and multifaceted understanding of society, together with their skills in social analysis, communications and problem solving, make them in-demand in this constantly shifting social and economic world.

The MSc degree of the University of Prince Edward Island requires the demonstration of a reasonable mastery of a concentrated field of study. The latter is attested by the achieving of satisfactory standings in the minimum number of graduate courses required by the respective Faculty, the completion of a research project, and the writing of a thesis based upon the research. There will be considerable interaction and co-operation among the departments/faculties to provide courses and research facilities to meet the needs of individual students and their research projects.

The Faculty of Business is committed to providing students with a high quality, integrated business education in a personalized learning environment. It is structured to provide the broad-based, cross-functional business education required for leaders of business, government, and not-for-profit organizations. The Faculty's personalized learning environment provides opportunities for extensive interaction between students, faculty and practitioners.

The Faculty of Business holds a unique position within the province’s education system. As the only university school of business, it is committed to intellectual leadership, and to excellence in developing new knowledge and conveying that knowledge to its students and to the public. In order to attract, develop and retain students, faculty and staff, the Faculty recognizes that it must sustain an intellectually stimulating environment.

The Faculty views its students not as customers, but rather as partners in the development of a high quality business education. Graduates are expected to have developed competency in integrating the core functional business disciplines; ethical, social, historical and global awareness; critical thinking and problem solving; quantitative analysis; communication skills and leadership; team work as well as personal initiative; technological application in business; and using business research to support evidence-informed practice.

The degree program in the Faculty of Business is designed to fulfill this mission and to provide the educational breadth and depth needed by business leaders.

International Business (specialization):
The international opportunities in today’s world are vast. Doing business internationally is also challenging.

The specialization in international business includes four business courses that provide an overview of those opportunities and challenges, as well as five electives to be chosen from a large multi-disciplinary set of courses that can enrich a student’s understanding of the world beyond our borders. The specialization also includes an international exchange term or an international work term.  

The Co-op option is available to full-time students in any specialization within the Faculty of Business. Applications to the Co-op Education Program are normally made after completion of the first year of study. Students who successfully complete all the requirements of the program will have the notation entered on their transcripts and on the graduation parchment.

Are you interested in sport, physical activity, and wellness? Would you like to work with children, adults and seniors and help them become and remain physically active? If so, a degree in kinesiology may be an appropriate undertaking for you. Kinesiology explores human development and movement from a number of lenses. For example, the physical, psychological, and social experiences of sport and physical activity are investigated to provide students with a holistic view of how they affect human development.

Within the kinesiology degree, students take courses in areas including (but not limited to) sport psychology, exercise physiology, biomechanics of sport and physical activity, motor learning and control, human development, and research methods. Students interested in international study opportunities should contact their faculty advisor and check potential exchange opportunities well ahead of time.

Upon degree completion, students will have the ability to apply their knowledge to a number of fields or have can continue their studies in fields such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and education. In addition, graduate studies in any of the sub-disciplines of kinesiology are possible for interested students.

Students interested in the program directly out of high school are required to register in the Faculty of Science and complete a list of pre-kinesiology courses. Students having completed the qualifying courses need to apply to the Kinesiology program by March 31 of the current year. 

"My experience in the Kinesiology program here at UPEI has been amazing up to this point. Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of meeting a number of wonderful people and learning from some of the most knowledgeable professors I have ever met. I find that they do a fantastic job of connecting with us students and being on our level, which leads to strong student-teacher relationships.

The field in which we study is one with many applications. I love that what I learn in the classroom does not simply just stay in the classroom, but can be applied to situations that I encounter in everyday life. I find this really opens students eyes to the number of opportunities we have upon graduating from the program, whether it be in health, sport, management, research, the list goes on.

The Faculty of Business is committed to providing students with a high quality, integrated business education in a personalized learning environment. It is structured to provide the broad-based, cross-functional business education required for leaders of business, government, and not-for-profit organizations. The Faculty's personalized learning environment provides opportunities for extensive interaction between students, faculty and practitioners.

The Faculty of Business holds a unique position within the province’s education system. As the only university school of business, it is committed to intellectual leadership, and to excellence in developing new knowledge and conveying that knowledge to its students and to the public. In order to attract, develop and retain students, faculty and staff, the Faculty recognizes that it must sustain an intellectually stimulating environment.

The Faculty views its students not as customers, but rather as partners in the development of a high quality business education. Graduates are expected to have developed competency in integrating the core functional business disciplines; ethical, social, historical and global awareness; critical thinking and problem solving; quantitative analysis; communication skills and leadership; team work as well as personal initiative; technological application in business; and using business research to support evidence-informed practice.

The degree program in the Faculty of Business is designed to fulfill this mission and to provide the educational breadth and depth needed by business leaders.

Tourism and Hospitality (specialization):
The Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a specialization in tourism and hospitality is designed for students who plan to work in the tourism and hospitality industry in a management capacity or as an entrepreneur. 

The specialization in tourism and hospitality includes four required courses that focus specifically on the tourism and hospitality industry, as well as five electives to be chosen from a large multi-disciplinary set of courses that can enrich a students’ understanding of international business and international peoples.

The Co-op option is available to full-time students in any specialization within the Faculty of Business. Applications to the Co-op Education Program are normally made after completion of the first year of study. Students who successfully complete all the requirements of the program will have the notation entered on their transcripts and on the graduation parchment.

The Biology Department at UPEI has a strong tradition of helping people realize their potential through deep consideration of the biological world. A scientific understanding of the plants and animals is, in many ways, its own reward. But it is also a pathway to a large number of exciting and fulfilling career opportunities. A biology program is a common route toward the health professions (human and veterinary medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, etc.), for which we offer strong pre-professional programs. It can also lead to careers in environmental analysis, biotechnology, laboratory diagnostics, and many other things. Biology graduates also often establish other sorts of careers (lawyer, business professional) for which the knowledge of biology can be a strong personal and professional asset.

The strength of our educational programs derive from the strength of our scholarly activity and research. Our faculty hold grants from the Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Atlantic Innovation Foundation, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Prince Edward Island Health Research Institute, among others. Our faculty have research programs in neurobiology, arctic insect ecology, cancer cell biology, watershed ecology, pollination biology, coastal habitat ecology, animal habitat fragmentation, heart and stroke physiology, aquatic toxicology, plant ecological genetics, among others.

Financial Mathematics is the application of mathematical models to finance, usually to analyze markets and pricing. Financial Mathematics uses techniques from mathematics, statistics, business, finance, and economics.

The Bachelor of Science in Financial Mathematics provides a solid foundation in Financial Mathematics, leading either to a career in the financial sector or to further training in advanced Financial Mathematics. Financial Mathematicians are in demand as professionals who develop solutions for complex financial issues and they have excellent career opportunities following graduation as well as excellent co-op work opportunities during their studies.