OVER THE EDGE January 26, 2007 UNBC’s New Economics MA: Vanguard of International Development? Kurt NICHOLSON P STAEF WRITER With the explosive growth of UNBC over the past few years, it only seems fitting that the Economics department is now offering a unique master’s degree in the coming academ- ic year. UNBC’s Economics MA will be in international development, and it will be the the second of it’s kind in Canada and the only one in Western Canada, as Dalhousie is the other Canadian univer- sity offering an international development MA. UNBC’s is structurally different than the one offered at Dalhousie and is based on a structure employed at the University of Manches- ‘ter in the U.K.. Since our own program was just recently ap- proved, the normal application deadlines have been extended to March 30th to allow Canad- ian and International students to find out about, review the program, and get their applica- tions together. In an interview, the head of UNBC’s Economics Paul Bowles department showed great excitement at what this program will do for the univer- sity and its students. With the staggering growth of Asia, par- ticularly China and India, the economic world ‘order is in a state of flux and it’s future state is being chiseled out daily by how developed and develop- ing countries are reacting to such change. Prof. Bowles and I discussed how International development is increasingly becoming a leading area of economic study. So now seems the right time for UNBC to offer an Economics MA in International § development. For example, the 2006 Nobel Peace prize in economics was recently awarded to Muham- mad Yunus for his work on ‘Micro Credit’ and it’s impact on economic development in developing countries. UNBC’s economics department seems dedicated to playing a leading part in this increased import- ance of international develop- ment both in Canada and in the world of academia by offer- ing the only MA of it’s kind, structurally, in Canada. This program is seeking to take on a truly international classroom component as faculty are act- ively spreading the word to prospective international stu- dents by giving talks this month in both India and China. Structurally, the new Eco- nomics MA consists of two parts. and can be completed by industrious students within twelve months or more if ne- cessary. The first part consists of coursework and ‘is intend- ed for students with a strong analytical background in eco- nomics and mathematics. The required course titles are: The Global Economy, Poverty In- equality and Development, Macroeconomic Policy for Development, and Applied Econometrics. Aside from the required courses, students can choose elective courses from the graduate calendar. The sec- ond part of the program is a project chosen by the student do be done as an applied paper analyzing ‘an issue relevant to one or more developing coun- tries. This two part structure is designed to give students a unique and comprehensive understanding of theory, pol- icy, and application of inter- national development. UNBC students should be excited about it’s new Eco- nomics graduate degree and it’s dedication to taking on a leading role in international development. For further in- formation about the program or the economics department in general, contact Gwen Lew ° the administrative assistant of the Economics department in her office on the third floor of the administration building or by e-mail at gwen@unbc.ca WS 7 New Terrace Campus Opens “With the campus addition in Terrace the town will stand out as more a place to grow.” AMBER L. RICHARDS STAFF WRITER Starting January 3, the new and improved UNBC Terrace campus opened. The new UNBC campus is triple the size of the original space. With 7 classrooms and seminar rooms, flexibility to create a large public/lecture meeting room, 9 administra- tive and faculty offices, office space for graduate students, a student lounge and study area, and research space, there is plenty of room to learn. | Starting this fall, the newly opened Terrace campus will also offers a Bachelor of Edu- cation program and a Nursing program for students to finish with two years at the college. With the campus being bigger in size, it gives more of an op- portunity for the north-western regions of BC to expand their learning opportunity as well it give the chance for students that go to the other UNBC campuses to explore other UNBC campuses and how dif- ferent they are. Caring for your Library Books! With the campus still being in renovation mode, the class- es are still tiny but loud with the sound of construction. T here are some classes that have Terrace within an audio con- ference calling and you can hear the construction still be- ing done in the background. Once the campus is done, the classes will be bigger and there won’t be the odd crash in the background. With the campus addition in Terrace the town will stand out as more a place to grow. Did you know that a typical academic library book costs between $75.00 and $150.00? It costs an additional $30.00 to catalogue and pro- cess the book: and put it on the shelf. Every year the library loses thou- sands of dollars in missing, lost, or damaged books. The most significant damage comes from dogs chewing them; highlighter or pen markings; or books with liquids spilled on them which often results in mould that can be transferred to other books in the collection. Please helps us preserve your library collection by using post-it-notes in the books rather than highlighting; by not putting your library books in your backpack with drinks; and please don’t leave your books on the floor with your brand new puppy! If you are curious what this damage looks like drop by the display cabinet on the 1st floor of the library across from the circulation desk.