Priority 2: graduate students

Recruiting and supporting strong graduate students

Graduate students in Arts should be prepared for a range of career options, either inside or outside academe. Anticipating various career outcomes, our students need more opportunities for research practice and professional training, as well as other experience-based learning. Underpinning a strong graduate student experience is competitive, transparent, and fair financial support. To achieve our goals we will pursue the following objectives and associated action plans:

Objective 1: Recruit the right graduate students who will succeed in our distinctive programs

Actions:

  • Understand the expectations and motivations of current students
  • Document the career paths of graduates since 2009 and use this information in recruitment material
  • Work with Graduate Studies and the provost to identify opportunities to attract and fund more international research graduate students

  • Explore strategies to increase the recruitment and success of Indigenous graduate students. (Action added May 2017)

Objective 2: Prepare students for careers inside or outside post-secondary educational institutions

Actions:

  • Develop broadly conceived career and professional training opportunities, programs and resources, including more internships, co-op placements, and study abroad options such as co-tutelle programs
  • Research and develop new professional master’s programs, including online programs in areas where capacity exists, and where there is support from the unit(s)

Objective 3: Improve student satisfaction and retention

Actions:

  • Develop and implement Faculty-wide policies for funding levels and number of teaching assignments
  • Design and work toward centrally budgeted, planned, and sustainable five-year funding packages at the doctoral level
  • Develop better integration of external funding into student packages
  • Improve study, research and social space with dedicated graduate student space
  • Identify opportunities for enhancing research support for graduate students