Journalism joins Faculty of Social Sciences

Kwantlen’s Journalism program is abuzz with news it will be moving to the Faculty of Social Sciences and possibly Kwantlen’s Surrey campus in the near future.
The move comes as Kwantlen attempts to bolster its Bachelor of Arts programs by streamlining access to third and fourth year classes for BA students.

The Journalism department will move to Surrey's G building
The Journalism department will move to Surrey’s G building

By Jeff Groat [Entertainment Bureau Chief]

Kwantlen’s Journalism program is abuzz with news it will be moving to the Faculty of Social Sciences and possibly Kwantlen’s Surrey campus in the near future.
The move comes as Kwantlen attempts to bolster its Bachelor of Arts programs by streamlining access to third and fourth year classes for BA students.

“This would be a four-year degree that would allow students a greater opportunity to benefit from courses in other Arts disciplines,” said Robert Adamoski, Dean of Social Sciences at Kwantlen. “Aspiring journalists would benefit from a broad, multidisciplinary exposure to the issues that confront our society.”

The possible move to Surrey campus would make it easier for BA Journalism students to find classes that fit with an existing timetable of core journalism classes, given the wide variety of third and fourth year classes available at Surrey campus, and its growing enrolment of BA students.

The move to Surrey is still very early in its development as various issues need to be addressed, especially given that with Kwantlen’s dramatically increased enrolment, space is hard to come by. There will not be any immediate, jarring changes within the program itself.Instead, the process is slowly evolving and will be under discussion between faculty members for some time.

Journalism students who choose to pursue the BA option must decide on five liberal education “breadth” classes in five different subjects and five additional “depth” classes in one of the breadth subjects, three of which must be third and fourth year subjects.For BA students in any program, any move to ease this process is a welcome one, since most (if not all) students prefer not to stick around and finish their degree after their core program has been completed. With faculty coordinated in this way, the needs of students may well be addressed easier, allowing students to finish their programs as planned and start working.

”The faculty continues to work on the structure of the new program, with reference to changes in other programs around the world, and to the thoughts of employers and practicing journalists,” said Adamoski. “The new program will also evolve as it moves through the approval process and ultimately comes before Senate.”