Small class sizes at the undergraduate and graduate levels have allowed students to work closely with professors, a quality not found in many universities across Canada. Graduate studies and research has developed rapidly at the University in the last decade of the twentieth century. The strong growth of unique and diverse programs has therefore prompted the University to form a new Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, replacing the current Office of Graduate Studies which was first introduced in the Fall of 1999. The new faculty will provide a focus for the University to maintain and improve its service to graduate students, whose needs are rather different from those of undergraduates, says Dr. Georgia Pe-Piper, Director of the Office of Graduate Studies. The 1996 Report of the Arts Faculty Development Committee envisages more graduate degrees in Arts.
Commerce envisages more Ph.D. programs in the future.
Activity in several of these programs will be greatly enhanced by the acquisition of Millennium Chairs. Scholarly research is an important part of the mission of the University and is essential if our undergraduate and graduate students are to be exposed to new ideas and the skills that they will need in today's workplace, she says. The new faculty will therefore also serve the University research community by strengthening links with the private sector and government agencies. Saint Mary s is home to one of Canada s leading business schools, has the largest Arts Faculty in Nova Scotia and a Science Faculty widely known for its cutting-edge research.