The University of Toronto will be offering two new masters programs this September. The Master of Global Affairs at the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Master of Science in Applied Computing at the Department of Computer Science come in response to a growing demand for professional and applied postgraduate studies.
The MGA degree at the Munk School seeks to bridge the sectors of government, business and NGO work while addressing the changing landscape of global affairs. The program is directed of Steven Bernstein, previously director of the Master of Arts in International Relations program.
“We purposely called it a Master in Global Affairs instead of International Relations not because states are irrelevant, but because we want people to recognize that this old model is just one way the world is interacting,” says Bernstein. “It grew out of student demand for a degree where they could develop applied skills in addition to knowledge which would launch their careers.”
The program seeks to bridge the sectors of government, business and NGO work and features a mandatory internship component, where overseas placement is stressed.
“James Orbinski is one of the stories of this degree,” says Bernstein, referencing former president of Médicins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) and current cross-appointed faculty at the Munk School. “He told us that when he was in Rwanda as a medical professional, he didn’t understand the political forces leading to the problems.”
In only two months after the program’s inception, applicants have already expressed a high interest. The selective program admits 40 students from among a large pool of applicants. According to Bernstein, most applicants are undergraduates from a social sciences background, but around 10 per cent have been already working overseas, in government or are law, business, and engineering postgraduates.
“We were […] happy to get MBA grads who had terrific skills in management but not necessarily the cultural and political knowledge to act globally,” says Bernstein. “Our vision is that our graduates would be innovators who will take leadership positions in any of the three sectors.”
Across campus the Department of Computer Science has established the Master of Science in Applied Computing, another new professional degree. Known for being highly research-intensive at the postgraduate level, the department also saw a strong student demand for professional experience as opposed to purely research-based projects.
“After doing extensive outreach, we came to a programme that plays to our particular strengths: research in aid of technology transfer to industry,” states M.Sc. of Applied Computing program director Eugene Fiume.
Along with taking the program specific graduate level courses students in the program also take courses in communications and business. The professional M.Sc. of Applied Computing also requires internships specifically in transferring technology to industry and the private sector.
“Students will also do internships in industry on well-defined projects that require the deployment of new research results into industry,” notes Dr. Fiume. “To my knowledge, there is no programme like this anywhere.”
The program proved to be highly selective. Only six students were chosen from one hundred and twenty applicants in the inaugural year. Fiume suggests that expanded enrollment may be a possibility in the future.
