FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WINNIPEG, MARCH 4, 2021
Booth University College is excited to announce the launch of a new 4-year interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts Degree in Community and Urban Transformation (CUT). The CUT program covers a range of topics and issues informed by and geared towards transformation in the urban context.
Being the only Canadian Christian post-secondary institution located in the downtown core of a major city, Booth UC is ideally situated for a program such as CUT. “Our location gives Booth UC a particular advantage for an Urban Studies program,” explains Dr. Michael Boyce, VP Academic and Dean. “If your starting point is a complex inner-city neighbourhood as diverse as ours, you can’t help but learn from such a dynamic environment.”
The CUT program provides students the opportunity to analyze the city, urbanization, and the transformational experiences of urban life through a variety of disciplinary lenses. Its scope spans both traditional issues of urban studies, such as planning and development, and the contemporary concerns of community development that focus on understanding and transforming the urban experiences of the disadvantaged.
Through the CUT program students will grow to appreciate the complexities of urban communities, their composition, challenges and opportunities; and develop the knowledge and skills needed to understand how communities function, the resources that are available within communities, and how to advocate for change.
“What makes our program different is we are emphasizing a transformational approach,” explains Dr. Aaron Klassen, Assistant Professor of Sociology and the CUT program’s designer. “Not only will we be encouraging students to study and experience cities, to understand issues like poverty and health, we want them to be able to contribute some kind of positive change.”
Urban Studies is a vibrant and growing area of study in many universities across the country. Booth UC is proud to be able to offer students our new CUT program, while preparing them for important work in their own cities and communities.
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For more information please contact:
Kimberly Kakegamic, Communications Specialist
204-918-8530
kimberly.kakegamic@boothuc.ca
