With the end of Winter Term in sight, Brock students have a number of strategic course options to help them make the most of the Spring and Summer Terms.<\/p>\n
Many departments offer key courses to allow students to work ahead, catch up on program requirements, explore interesting electives or strengthen their qualifications for future careers.<\/p>\n
In the Department of Economics, spring course offerings<\/a> are intended to support current students as well as those who wish to change majors \u2014 a trend Chair Lester Kwong says often happens after students start to understand what the field of Economics is all about.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you say economics, most people think about the interest rate, which stock to buy or how we can make money, whereas economists look at it as the allocation of scarce resources,\u201d says Kwong. \u201cWe are hoping that having these classes open to students in their first and second year with no prerequisites will expose them to how we use economics as a way of thinking and then perhaps interest them in further exploration.\u201d<\/p>\n The offerings are designed specifically to enable students to complete a full semester of required courses and electives while tailoring their degree to their interests. There are multiple study options<\/a> in Economics, including a minor, co-op, a Business Economics stream and pathways for combining majors with Business, Computer Science, Geography, Labour Studies or Mathematics.<\/p>\n But Kwong says the spring semester also offers students a chance to think about how an economics lens might support their learning interests and goals.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really want students to think about whether or not economics interests them,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of students who have taken courses in the first year may need only a few more classes to acquire a minor. We also offer courses with no prerequisites, such as ECON 2P34: Economics of Illicit Drugs<\/a>, which exposes students to perspectives on economics and how it is used that are not commonly understood.\u201d<\/p>\n Students can enhance their degrees and make meaningful moves toward their goals by considering skills and market demands as they review the courses on offer across the University.<\/p>\n In the Environmental Sustainability Research Centre (ESRC), for example, a two-course package of ENSU 2P01: Introduction to Environmental Sustainability<\/a> and ENSU 2P02: Environmental Sustainability in Practice<\/a> enables students to earn a Micro-certificate in Environmental Sustainability<\/a> as they prepare to enter the workforce, or start working toward a Minor in Sustainability<\/a> if they are near the beginning of their Brock journey,<\/p>\n The two foundational courses, offered in the Spring and Summer Terms, respectively, are delivered online and asynchronously to allow maximum flexibility to students interested in incorporating sustainability into their degrees.<\/p>\n \u201cSustainability touches almost every career, so having a strong grounding in what it is and how it is practiced sets students up for success in making a positive impact in their work beyond Brock,\u201d says ESRC Director Julia Baird. \u201cBoth the micro-certificate and minor in Environmental Sustainability can be incorporated into nearly any degree to complement the knowledge and skills students are learning.\u201d<\/p>\n