Wilfrid Laurier University is officially offering their students new programs in public safety, including a master’s degree program and five graduate diploma programs.
The programs are offered at Laurier’s Brantford campus by the faculty of human and social sciences. The programs aim to provide working professionals with the skills and education they need to further continue their progress in their desired careers, whether that be in EMS, boarder security, criminal justice or in any areas of public safety.
“It’s really an opportunity for people in those spheres to get an advanced credential that will give them some of the skills that they might need to progress within their organization,” Bruce Arai, dean of the faculty of human and social sciences, explained.
This program is also considered to be Ontario’s only fully online Master of Public Safety (MPS) program. Throughout the program, students have the opportunity to choose one of the four concentrations that matches Public Safety Canada’s pillars: border strategies, countering crime, emergency management and national security.
The program is also intended to be part-time, and students are required to complete eight courses to earn their master’s degree in public safety.
The public safety programs will also specialize in public safety management and leadership, and will give students the opportunity to gain critical thinking skills to analyze public safety questions in the workplace.
The masters program aims to educate students on how to make ethical decisions in their careers, as well as how to be conscious of mental health issues and become strong leaders.
“[Other programs are] a little more specific – they’re not quite as broadly based as this one, which covers all the areas of public safety, they tend to be a bit more focused on emergencies and disasters,” Arai said.
The university also received a grant of $800,000 from the Ontario Council on Articulation and Transfer, which Arai explained had made a difference in the quality of the courses offered in the program.
“[The grant] really made a huge difference in the speed at which we can get the program ready and certainly the quality of the course is enhanced because we’re able to add more bells and whistles to the courses to make them more appealing,” Arai said.
Applications for admission are now open for students for both the master’s and graduate diploma programs in public safety.
“It’s kind of a new direction for Laurier to […] try and serve students who are not just traditional students coming straight from high school.”
