2001-2002 Undergraduate Calendar | 2001-2002 Undergraduate Calendar |
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| 2001-2002 UNDERGRADUATE CALENDAR | ||
| Carleton University |
If you or a member of your family are thinking about joining the more than 17,000 students who'll be making their way to Carleton University next year, you're probably interested in learning more about our programs and services, about our accomplishments and reputation, about the people who study and work here.
This calendar contains vital information about the University's academic programs, regulations and procedures. It is information that is not only important to prospective students, but to returning students, visiting scholars, researchers and others who are keen on getting a reading of Carleton's academic strengths and overall direction.
If you're already a member of the Carleton community, much of the information contained in this introduction will already be familiar to you. If you're still getting to know us, this section is intended to provide you with a sense of what we have to offer and what it's like to be a Carleton student. We hope that what you find here will pique your interest, and that you'll want to get to know us better. A list of additional sources of information that you'll find at the end of this piece can help.
A reputation for excellence
Our students come from every province and territory in Canada and from over 100 countries from around the world. Why do they choose Carleton? For most, it's a combination of things. Our worldwide reputation for quality programs—in the fields of public affairs, management, science and high technology, and in the liberal arts disciplines, including those offered by our highly acclaimed College of the Humanities—is usually an important factor.
How did we earn this reputation for excellence? Here are just a few examples.
Carleton students get jobs. Results from the Ontario Graduate Placement Survey continue to show that Carleton graduates find employment quickly and obtain good jobs. Two years into the labour force, our graduates have an employment rate of 94 percent.
Carleton University was ranked seventh out of 60 Canadian universities by the Gourman Report, a top North American guide to education.
Carleton undergraduate students express high levels of satisfaction with their programs, with a full 90 percent indicating that they would recommend Carleton University to others. Carleton students are also more satisfied with their professors than students at other comprehensive universities.
Carleton Co-op programs continue to grow rapidly. Twenty-three programs now offer co-operative education opportunities, while the number of students involved in co-op has increased dramatically--up from 102 students in 1996 to over a thousand in 2000.
Carleton is attracting a larger number of top students. This year, for the first time in the University's history, the average first-year high school entrance grade is more than 80 percent. And the numbers of students receiving entrance scholarships, based on grades, has also risen sharply. Each year, Carleton awards more than $6 million in scholarships and bursaries to over 4,000 new and returning students.
Carleton is ranked first in Canada in international research collaboration and third in quality of scientific research output, according to a new study released by Montreal's Observatoire des Sciences et des Technologies (OST). Carleton also has impressive results in specific fields of study, placing first in Chemistry, second in Physics, and fourth in Biology and Engineering/Technology.
Carleton is one of a few Canadian universities offering unique first-year seminar courses to first year arts and science students. In a small group setting, with guidance from experienced professors, students develop the communication, study, and analytical skills needed for success in university-level studies.
1999 figures show that a full 96.2 percent of Carleton graduates are employed two years after they graduate. Five of our programs (architecture, industrial design, journalism, biological sciences, and mathematics) have a 100 percent employment rate after two years).
In 1999, Carleton engineering student Jennifer Young won the 1999 C.D. Howe Memorial Award as the top aerospace student in the country
Over one third of Carleton's 1999 entering class received academic awards.
Our reputation for excellence is built, in part, on the success of our students. We're determined to attract a larger proportion of Canada's very best, and thanks to our alumni—who are among the most generous in the country for a university our size—we're able to offer a generous scholarship program to reward students who have excelled at the secondary school level. Our top undergraduate award is valued at $20,000 over four years.
A pioneering spirit
The dynamic, pioneering spirit that gave birth to Carleton nearly 60 years ago is still very much alive at the University today. In the early 1940s, our founding president, Henry Marshall Tory, dreamed about creating a non-sectarian university in the nation's capital to provide learning opportunities for the thousands of men and women who had interrupted their studies to come to Ottawa in support of the war effort.
Tory was a seasoned veteran of the Canadian and international university communities. He had already served as founding president of two universities in Canada—the University of Victoria in British Columbia and the University of Alberta—and had helped to create a university in Great Britain. Long after his retirement, he and a group of like-minded citizens in Ottawa, founded Carleton College in 1942.
For years, the college operated from church basements and rented facilities, without the benefit of a university charter or government grants. Full-time programs in journalism and public administration—the first to be offered in Canada—were introduced in 1946. In 1957, an act of the Ontario legislature bestowed degree-granting status on the institution, and Carleton College became Carleton University.
While we've grown to serve an increasingly diverse national and international clientele—providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs in more than 50 areas of study and supporting more than 90 research centres across campus—we've never lost sight of our roots in the Ottawa community. Today, our School of Continuing Education serves part-time and full-time learners throughout Eastern Ontario and West Quebec via Carleton's instructional television (itv) programs offered through local cable television and a variety of other delivery systems.
An education for life
Our programs, especially those at the undergraduate level, are designed to provide you with an education for life. Regardless of your choice of faculties, we'll help you to develop critical, analytical and communications skills that you'll be able to use throughout your lifetime, both at work and at home.
We know that, for many students, a university education is an important first step in preparing for the job market. In addition to a sound academic background, having hands-on experience can be a deciding factor in your employability. We offer a wide array of co-op programs, internships, practicums, apprenticeships and voluntary work placements to students who want to complement their academic studies with on-the-job experience. In addition, we provide on-campus jobs to more than 1,000 undergraduate students through our work-study program.
Being familiar with a foreign culture has always been an asset, but in today's global economy, having that kind of experience can also give you an added advantage in the workplace. Carleton has exchange agreements with some 50 universities in more than 30 countries, providing you with an opportunity to learn about another culture first-hand.
Friendly, caring staff; quality programs; quality services
Our students tell us that one of the things they like most about Carleton is the University's friendly, informal and caring atmosphere. You'll find that our teaching and support staff are accessible and genuinely interested in helping you to succeed. Our commitment to equity has led us to establish offices and centres to address the special concerns of aboriginal peoples, women, race equity, people with disabilities, international students, and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, and to help make every member of the University community feel welcome and at home.
At Carleton, we take a keen interest in the success of all our students and are constantly developing new services to support you during your time with us. For example, Carleton was one of the first universities in Canada to offer Internet access to all students. Today, our award-winning CHAT program provides students and faculty with news groups, discussion groups, email and Internet services that allow them to explore learning opportunities far beyond the classroom, 24-hours-a-day.
The MacOdrum Library is another key service, housing more than one million volumes and an extensive collection of microfilms, archival material, maps and documents that are accessible through an on-line catalogue system.
Throughout the year, we offer workshops and seminars that can help you make a successful transition to university studies and provide you with life skills that you can use throughout your university career and beyond. In the first year of the B.A. program, small group seminars are led by a faculty member who acts as a teacher and mentor, helping students find their place in the intellectual life of the University. Similarly, all first year Science students take our new Seminar in Science, a course that introduces issues of contemporary science through lectures by prominent Canadian researchers and small group seminars led by a committed Carleton professor. Our study workshops deal with issues such as time management, campus resources, financial planning, essay-writing, note-taking, speed-reading and learning how to use various word-processing software. In addition, the University's Writing Tutorial Service offers one-to-one tutoring—free-of-charge to students in all faculties—including help with your class assignments, from first draft to final revisions.
The advantage of studying in Canada's capital
Our location in Canada's capital is another reason why many students choose to study at Carleton. We've used our location in Ottawa to good advantage by forming close ties to federal government departments and research laboratories and to the dozens of high tech companies throughout the region that, together, make up one of the largest concentration of high tech firms in the country.
We've also formed ties to the University of Ottawa, combining our academic strengths, expertise and research resources to offer joint graduate programs in science and engineering.
Being in the nation's capital has helped to shape the overall direction of many of our academic programs. Historically, we've tended to approach the study of a variety of disciplines—journalism, public administration, social work and international affairs are some examples—from a distinctly Canadian perspective. This, as well as our pioneering work in the area of interdisciplinary studies, is another reason why Carleton is the first choice of so many students from across the country.
You'll find Ottawa is a lively blend of culturally diverse communities—of English, French and new Canadians—of historic landmarks and vibrant high-tech companies, of quite residential neighborhoods and bustling outdoor markets. Just minutes away from campus are a host of research and study resources you simply won't find elsewhere—the National Archives, the National Research Council, the National Arts Centre, the National Gallery, the Museum of Civilization and the Museum of Science and Technology are but a few examples.
A vibrant campus
Like Ottawa, Carleton is clean and safe and built to a human scale. Our beautiful 62-hectare campus, bordered by the Rideau River and the historic Rideau Canal, is just 10 minutes from downtown.
The campus is home to some 1,700 residence students. Construction of a new residence building, due to open in September 2001, will house an additional 400 students. An extensive tunnel system that links the campus's 29 buildings makes Carleton one of the most accessible universities in the country.
Campus life is enriched by more than 100 clubs and student organizations including an FM radio station, a student-run weekly newspaper and theatre troupe. In addition, we offer a wide range of men's, women's and co-ed intramural sports, plus eight varsity teams for women and nine for men.
Our recreational facilities include a 50-metre indoor pool, saunas and whirlpools, a newly expanded fitness centre, a heavy weight room, nine air-conditioned international squash courts, five outdoor tennis courts, a double gymnasium and a soccer stadium. And to top it off, there are fitness classes to satisfy just about every interest, from ballet and karate, to scuba-diving, canoeing, tennis and rock-climbing.
A network of recreational pathways right next door to the campus connects to hundreds of kilometres of jogging and cycling pathways that crisscross the national capital region. The Rideau Canal and Dow's Lake are also adjacent to the campus, offering skating in the winter and boating and canoeing in the spring, summer and fall.
Learning more about Carleton
We hope this brief overview of Carleton will make you want to learn more about us. The program descriptions contained elsewhere in this calendar are a good place to start. If you have any questions after reviewing this material, here are some sources for additional information.
General information on undergraduate academic programs and admissions
Undergraduate Recruitment Office
315 Robertson Hall
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
Toll-free (in Canada): 1-888-354-4414
Tel: (613) 520-3663
Fax: (613) 520-3847Admissions for graduate programs
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research
1516 Dunton Tower
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
Tel: (613) 520-2525
Fax: (613) 520-4049Special and non-degree programs
School of Continuing Education
302 Robertson Hall
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
Tel: (613) 520-3500
Fax: (613) 520-3502Scholarships, bursaries and awards
Awards Office
202 Robertson Hall
Carleton University
1125 Colonel By Drive
Ottawa, Ontario
K1S 5B6
Tel: (613) 520-3600
Fax: (613) 520-3560
Carleton
University
2001-2002 Undergraduate Calendar
1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1S 5B6
General enquiries: (613) 520-7400
Comments about Calendar to: CalendarEditor@carleton.ca