Trent University Launches Canada's First One-Year Online Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring & Assessment
Unique online course content, internship and on-campus capstone course combine to create career ready grads
Trent University will offer Canada’s first online one-year Master of Bioenvironmental Monitoring & Assessment (M.BMA) program, preparing graduates for success in the environmental careers of the future.
Scheduled to start in fall 2018 and now open for applications, the new 12-month M.BMA consists of eight months of online courses, followed by a four-month, hands-on internship which will provide students with face-to-face training with a variety of government and industry partners including environmental NGOs, conservation authorities, and government agencies. The program culminates in a week-long on-campus capstone course where the full cohort of students come together to share placement experiences, network, and participate in professional skills workshops.
“The M.BMA program was designed to fill a gap in course-based graduate programs in the environmental sciences,” says Dr. Dennis Murray, Biology professor, and Canada research chair in integrative wildlife conservation. “This unique new program will prepare students for the environmental workforce, through targeted knowledge of wide ranging issues related to environmental monitoring and assessment.”
Students in the program can expect to take online courses on topics such as landscape ecology, science communication, and principals of environmental monitoring. The unique combination of online learning, internships, and the one-year intensive graduation timeline will comprehensively and efficiently equip students for employment success as environmental professionals.
“Today’s environmental workforce requires both broad and technical knowledge of the issues, as well as the ability to communicate the subject matter well with different audiences,” adds Prof. Murray. “Students in this program will graduate with the ability to contribute their knowledge, critical thinking, and communication skills to this emerging and complex field.”
The new M.BMA program was created with support from a recent $542,500 grant from eCampus Ontario.
Still pending final Ministry approval, the program is currently accepting applications. Prospective students are advised that offers of admission to a new program may be made only after the university’s own quality assurance processes have been completed and the Ontario Universities Council on Quality Assurance has approved the program.
About Trent University
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham Greater Toronto Area, delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
For more information, contact:
Kate Weersink, communications and media relations officer, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x6180 or kateweersink@trentu.ca