Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies

Bachelor of Multidisciplinary Studies
NEW!
Credential
Degree
Duration

4 years

The Program

A four-year Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies prepares students for life in an ever-changing world. As creative and global thinkers with advanced analytical and problem-solving skills tied to application in the real world, graduates of the Red Deer Polytechnic BA Multidisciplinary Studies will be prepared to enter a world in which they shape their own path and the world around them.

The Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies provides students with the opportunity to create a program pathway that suits their unique career and learning goals by combining courses across a range of disciplines. Students have the flexibility to intentionally create a broad multidisciplinary arts education to support their personal academic and career objectives in ways that go beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. In a world with decreasing boundaries, a multidisciplinary degree sets students on a pathway for lifelong success.

Culminating in a full year creative problem solving Capstone project, this program builds on the disciplinary knowledge and essential human characteristics and competencies foundational to arts education and results in graduates who can apply that learning to emerging trends in society. Students who graduate from this program will have the skills and abilities to make a difference in their community and the wider-world.

Graduates of the Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies will be:

  • Critical thinkers who analyze and integrate multiple perspectives from within and across disciplines.
  • Researchers who synthesize and evaluate ideas, engaging in problem solving and evidence-based decision making.
  • Communicators who can articulate ideas in oral and written form and can express and defend positions.
  • Creative and curious, self-reflective and aware of their place in the world.
  • Civically engaged and ethically minded, with an understanding of the diverse forces that shape the world and our experience in it.
  • Adaptable and competent to work both collaboratively and independently in a variety of workplace settings, graduate and professional schools.
  • Able to analyze and interpret historical and contemporary texts and data within and across disciplines.
  • Aware of the historical and contemporary events that shape the world, locally and globally.

Skills and Abilities of Graduates:

  • Advanced Analytical Thinking Skills
  • Research Skills
  • Ethical Reasoning Skills
  • Numeracy
  • Critical Creativity, Innovative Thinking, and Complex Problem Solving
  • Adaptability
  • Communication (verbal, written, non-verbal)
  • Evidence-based decision making
  • Employability skills (technical expertise, interpersonal relation skills, compassion)

Students will have flexible pathways to degree completion. Students can complete the full degree in four-years of study or, if entering with a diploma, will be able to enter into Year 3, depending on their credential. Students from the Red Deer Polytechnic University Arts Diploma, Social Work Diploma, and Justice Studies Diploma will be recognized for 60 credits of study and enter directly into Year 3 of study (with specific course requirements to fulfil degree completion criteria). Students with completed degrees may be eligible to complete this B.A. with one additional year of study. Students may be able to declare a Minor in the near future. 

A hallmark of this program will be hands-on, experiential, and work-integrated learning. Experiential and work integrated learning opportunities such as capstone projects, and applied research, along with a consistent threading of wellness, indigenization, professional communication, work integration and community service learning, social entrepreneurship, and critical thinking, will provide students with valuable hands-on experience. Students graduating from this program will be adept in applying their training in innovative ways to become productive members of society. The program allows students to tailor their educational pathway to their goals and aspirations within a coherent structure.

A Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies helps prepare students for a wide range of careers in areas such as social services, civil service, community advocacy, local government, criminal justice, and research consultancy. Training in BA Multidisciplinary Studies offers a strong foundation for several graduate school programs such as a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies, law, medicine, journalism, communications, education, social work, sociology, and justice studies.

  • MDST 3001: Topics in Globalization
  • MDST 3002: Topics in Justice, Power, Policy
  • MDST 3003: Topics in Mind, Self, Identity
  • MDST 3004: Topics in Science and Technology
  • MDST 3005: Topics in Cultural Studies
  • MDST 3006: Topics in Population, Health, Wellness
  • MDST 4001: Multidisciplinary Capstone I
  • MDST 4002: Multidisciplinary Capstone II
Transfer Features

Red Deer Polytechnic Diplomas in Kinesiology, Justice Studies, Social Work, Visual Arts, and University Arts will provide credit towards the Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies.

Students presenting Diplomas from other recognized post-secondary institutions may be granted transfer credit towards the Bachelor of Arts, Multidisciplinary Studies (see RPL here).