Queen’s to offer BA in Indigenous Studies

Beginning in the fall of 2014, students at Queen’s University will have the opportunity to pursue a Bachelor of Arts general degree plan in Indigenous Studies through the Faculty of Arts and Science. The plan in Indigenous Studies will be interdisciplinary, and can be completed either as a minor in combination with any major offered in the Faculty of Arts and Science or as a stand-alone general area of study in a three-year degree. “The Faculty of Arts and Science is strongly committed to building Indigenous Studies as a flagship interdisciplinary field of study, and this degree plan, along with the current search for a Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Studies, are exciting strategic initiatives,” said Gordon Smith, associate dean, Faculty of Arts and Science. The approval of the Indigenous Studies degree plan follows news of increased Aboriginal enrolment at Queen’s. For the 2013-14 academic year, the university saw a six per cent increase in applications from self-identified Aboriginal students over the previous year, along with a 28 per cent increase in offers and a 48 per cent increase in acceptances. Queen’s sits on the traditional lands of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples.