Graduate with hands-on experience: Unique programs at KPU that go beyond the classroom
From brewing your own beer to helping patients with acupuncture, check out these seven special programs
Sustainable horticulture, ceramics, VFX, and farrier science are just some of the unique programs offered at KPU. (Submitted/James Timmins)
Kwantlen Polytechnic University is known for its hands-on programs, providing students with real-world working experience to take with them into their careers.
Students are drawn to tangible learning environments that go beyond sitting in a classroom along with unique program offerings to develop skills for careers in trades, arts, sciences, and more.
From arts to agriculture, here are some of the stand-out programs KPU has to offer.
Certificate in farrier science
The farrier science certificate is a 30-week program that gives students the tools and skills needed for an apprenticeship and to qualify to work as a farrier.
A professional farrier is hoof-care specialist, knowledgeable in making horse shoes, attaching them to a horse, as well as employing a deep understanding of horse anatomy.
It is a physically demanding outdoor job done by those with a love and passion for horses, along with an understanding of horse needs and behaviour, says Kaylin Ottens, program assistant and a 2023 farrier science graduate.
“In order to be a farrier, you have to understand horses,” Ottens says. “You don’t have to come from a horse background, but you will be the most successful if you take the time to understand horses and work with horses outside the program.”
The program runs from September to May each year at the KPU Tech campus. It has been offered at the university for more than 30 years and is one of two regularly running farrier programs in Canada, Ottens says.
Students start by getting comfortable with handling horses, learning how to trim hooves, as well as forging and shaping metal to make horseshoes and shoe horses. In the second part of the program, students complete a 240-hour practicum with a professional farrier in the field.
“The way that they’ve structured it where you have those days to go out in the field as well, that’s honestly crucial to the success of students after school,” Ottens says. “If you don’t understand the reality of working out in the field, it will be a very harsh reality check once you get out.”
She adds there are also regional, national, and international farrier competitions. Ottens competed in the North 49 national competition in Alberta while on a field trip with the KPU farrier program last year.
Bachelor of applied science in sustainable agriculture
The sustainable agriculture program at KPU focuses on the science and understanding of sustainable farming and food systems. Students study the science of agriculture ecosystem design, stewardship, and methods of farming and food production that take ecology health into account.
Students also learn about the business of sustainable farming, addressing problems, and exploring solutions to sustainable food systems, which gives graduates employment opportunities not only in agriculture but policy, government, resource management, and other related fields.
The program runs out of the KPU Farm, which encompasses 20 acres of a peat bog at Garden City Lands in the heart of Richmond, allowing students to explore “carbon-smart” farming techniques. It also features a solar-heated dome greenhouse where seeds are planted earlier in the year.
While the University of British Columbia has a degree in land and food systems, KPU’s program features a hands-on component through a one-year practicum that all sustainable agriculture students complete at the KPU Farm, says Alex Bisset, a 2022 sustainable agriculture graduate and outreach coordinator for the farm.
“You’re going to graduate with hands-on experience, whether you like it or not,” Bisset says.
She adds the program’s model is to graduate everyone from the program having experienced how difficult farming is, even for students who are more interested in policy or government so they have a unique perspective for those roles.
Most students will do their practicum from January through to December for a full farming season, Bisset says. The KPU Farm practicum has grown in popularity so much that its courses are now available to non-sustainable agriculture students, so long as they meet the prerequisites.
For Bisset, the combination of her interests in reducing climate change, the accessible nature of sustainable agriculture courses, connecting with people, and a healthy love for food made the sustainable agriculture program a natural fit.
“When I was 19, I was working this bookkeeping job that I absolutely hated, and I thought I wanted to become an [accountant],” Bisset says. “But I realized I wanted to work outside and work with like-minded people and do something positive for the environment. Once I took this agriculture class, I [thought] I can get all of these things.”
On Tuesdays from May to November, the KPU Farm sells its produce from noon to 4:00 pm at the Minoru Plaza in Richmond. Anything not sold or taken is donated to the Richmond Food Bank, where the program donates more than $50,000 in produce each year.
Diploma in brewing and brewery operations
The brewery program at KPU is the only one of its kind in B.C. as well as the only brewery program in Canada recognized by the Master Brewers Association.
Its alumni and students have won multiple awards for their creations at provincial and national competitions in Canada, as well as internationally in the U.S.
“It’s validation that our students are learning the right things,” says Dominic Bernard, KPU brewing and brewery operations program chair and instructor.
The diploma has historically been completed full-time over two years, however, three and four-year part-time options for the first time were added to the program this fall.
Brewing courses for students not enrolled in the program were also opened to give them a taste of what they would be learning before committing to it.
Bernard says the program focuses on the science and business of brewing. There’s also hands-on experience throughout the program, which sets KPU graduates apart in the brewing industry.
“There’s a lot more involved in the brewing process and the industry in general than I think the average person just walking on the street would realize,” Bernard says. “That’s where our diploma program really helps as students learn a little bit about everything.”
He adds the program has a 90 per cent or higher employment rate for graduates working in the brewery industry, according to collected anecdotal evidence.
Students sell their beer every Friday from 1:00 to 6:00 pm in the KPU Brew Lab at the Langley campus.
KPU International’s field school programs are an opportunity for students to travel with instructors and peers to explore a topic in depth in another part of the world.
Students begin the field school by taking preparation courses at KPU with their cohort before flying. The field school creates an itinerary, education plan, and arranges compulsory accommodation for the students.
Hayley Adams, Caitlyn Defalco, and Paulina Jaszczewska all completed the 14-day Barcelona Design Field School this past summer, along with 15 other students. For Jaszczewska, this was her second time, having done the Amazon Interdisciplinary Field School last year.
“Take advantage of these kinds of programs the school has,” Jaszczewska says.
“It covered my upper-level elective, which is great. To be able to go places with a group where an itinerary is prepared for you, and you can really look at another way of life in another city through a lens that’s going to help you with your own work in the future, is very special.”
Adams, Defalco, and Jaszczewska are all completing their bachelor of interior design with honours. They spent their time in Barcelona examining the design and architecture of the city to translate to their honours projects.
Each day, the students would venture out of their hostel and visit different places on the itinerary — course notebook in tow — averaging 25,000 steps a day, Defalco says.
Students were expected to do research on sites before visiting as well as draw and keep notes in their sketchbook. They also presented to their fellow students at each site, discussing and analyzing the space through a lens unique to each student.
Aside from education, students also developed a deep sense of comradery for the duration of the field school. There was a unique mix of more experienced travellers, including Jaszczewska and Defalco, and people who had limited-to-no traveling experience, such as Adams.
“Communication was really important,” Adams says. “Being able to know your boundaries, set boundaries, and listen to other people’s boundaries were also really important because when you are together for such a long time in such close quarters, it’s easy to be in each other’s way.”
Jaszczewska adds it is important to understand a field school is not a vacation, but an opportunity to learn and represent KPU.
“It’s definitely a test of resilience and respect for each other,” she says.
Adams, Defalco, and Jaszczewska all took the opportunity to do their own traveling in Europe before and after the field school. All three are now considering a move to Europe after graduation.
For information about KPU’s upcoming field schools, visit www.kpu.ca/exchange/field-schools.
Traditional Chinese medicine – acupuncture diploma or degree
The acupuncture diploma program at KPU has been educating students to become qualified acupuncturists since 2016. Program Chair John Yang has a doctorate in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has been practicing as a specialist in the field for more than 40 years.
He was recruited to develop the program when it was first initialized and recently expanded the diploma credential with an option to pursue a bachelor’s degree in TCM, the first of its kind in Canada.
For the first three years, students complete their diploma in acupuncture, making them eligible to write the Canadian Acupuncture Licensing Exam and work as an acupuncturist. However, they are not able to prescribe TCM herbs to patients and would need to go to another school to gain this education. Next year, this can all be completed at KPU.
“Some people have a medical condition, they are looking for treatment without medication, healing without side effects,” Yang says. “The Canadian public more and more accepts acupuncture and [it’s] getting more and more popular, so the demand for the acupuncture service has increased.”
In acupuncture, hair-thin needles are strategically placed to stimulate energy balance and help with a variety of issues, including pain management, irregular and painful menstruation, and even emotional imbalances like anxiety and depression, Yang says.
The acupuncture diploma requires students to work in KPU’s supervised Student Acupuncture Clinic at the Richmond campus, where they get hands-on experience practicing with real patients.
“We’re needling. We’re coming up with treatment strategies for these patients,” says Caldwell Lever, an acupuncture student in his fourth semester. “We’re consulting with our supervisor in the clinic. It’s very hands-on.”
Lever, who intends to move forward with the bachelor program after completing his diploma, says he is learning that TCM is more logical than people realize, with its own systems that share points of intersection with western medicine.
He adds those interested in pursuing acupuncture and TCM should be prepared for hard work and to enter the program with an innate sense of curiosity.
“I feel my biggest takeaway from TCM is that it teaches you how to [be] human,” Lever says. “It teaches you how to be your best self, how to live as an organism on this planet in relation to a bigger system and that relation to other people. Sometimes you’re the healer, sometimes you’re the patient, there’s this give and take.”
To book an appointment in the student acupuncture clinic, visit www.kpu.ca/health/acupuncture/clinic.
Ceramics courses in fine arts programs
Fine arts students at KPU are exposed to multiple disciplines including drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, photography, performance art, and more.
In the first year of studies, they are exposed to a broad range of disciplines, while in the final year, they can narrow in on the skills that interest them most.
Duncan Ryans and Eva Ediger are both in the third of four ceramics course levels. They both also intend to work in ceramics after graduation.
Ceramics courses require dedication and have a heavy course load, which usually results in students spending 12 or more hours in the KPU ceramics studio at the Surrey campus every week, in addition to the three-hour weekly classes.
“When you’re not exposed to the process behind these materials and you’re just used to going to Ikea and getting a mug or a plate, you don’t really realize it’s such a lengthy thing,” Ryans says.
The courses are not only about the art of ceramics, but the science of it, too, they say.
“It could take three weeks to just make one piece in full shape, and you need to know all the technical stuff,” Ediger says. “There’s a lot more science involved in it than you really think, like water absorption and kiln temperatures, … but I really enjoy it. It’s my calling.”
In first level ceramics, students work with clays, making pinch pots and tiles, but are not yet using the wheel, which starts at the second level. At the third level, students begin work with plaster and make moulds for their creations. Fourth-year students work on themed projects where they are encouraged to use the ceramics methods they’ve learned for their final assignment.
KPU ceramics instructor Ying-Yueh Chuang says there is a misconception that the arts are easy. She says ceramics is no different than any other skill — a certain amount of natural talent will help, but you have to put in the work to be great both in and out of the classroom.
“I’m sometimes surprised that many people don’t even know we have a fine arts program or ceramics program in the school,” Chuang says. “I would love people checking it out, but be prepared that they do have to work.”
KPU ceramics students will be selling their work in the Arbutus atrium at the Surrey campus on Nov. 20 and 21.
The entertainment arts department has three diploma options and one certificate, setting students up for a career in film, television, and the video game industry.
The certificate is a one-year sampler of each of the three disciplines offered in the diploma programs — 3D animation and modelling, visual effects, and video game development. It not only helps students decide which of the three diplomas they want to go into, but also allows them to build a foundation of skills ahead of going into their next program, says Diego De la Rocha, one of the three program coordinators in the department and a visual effects instructor.
“I like to think of it as a buffet,” De la Rocha says. “They get to just try things before they really commit and get to explore, experiment, and see what they might be into.”
Advanced 3D animation and modelling focuses on animated productions, while advanced VFX programs are primarily focused on effects for live-action films. At the end of the animation and VFX programs, students have a demo reel of their work which can be used to apply for jobs in the field. Advanced game development students make a completed video game for their portfolio.
De la Rocha says job opportunities in the field are plentiful as Vancouver is often considered to be the “Hollywood of the North” in the industry.
Erika Golfetto, a program coordinator and 3D modeling and animation instructor, adds that the vibrant entertainment arts industry is not just in movies but in games, too, lending demand to all three of the offered diplomas in the program.
What she is most proud of, however, is how the program has been able to keep up with industry standards in technology and the needs of their students.
“I’m really proud of all the people that work, from the instructor to the lab instructors, everybody is contributing to create a wonderful program,” she says.
To learn more about entertainment arts, visit www.kpu.ca/arts/entertainment-arts.
