Beginning in Spring 2006, UTM will be offering students a minor in Canadian Studies.

The minor will give interested students a foundation in the geography, history and politics of the United States’ neighbor to the north by combining coursework at UTM with study-abroad opportunities at an approved Canadian institution.

Dr. Paul Crapo, UTM’s Director for Global Studies, has been instrumental in charge of getting this minor in place.

“We started working on this three years ago,” says Crapo. “It takes quite a long time to get a program like this approved and ready for students.”

Crapo says that the idea came after years of sending students who were studying French to the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi to participate in a French immersion program. According to Crapo, the experiences the students had were always very positive. He felt that UTM had a great connection to Canada.

Three years ago, Crapo talked to the ad hoc committee that discussed ways to bring more opportunities to UTM, about adding a Canadian Studies minor to UTM’s curriculum program. Members on the committee included Dr. David Coffey, Dr. Lynn Alexander, Professor Angie MacKewn and others. The committee felt that the idea of a Canadian Studies minor would be a great addition to UTM.

They then began to discuss and plan on how to get the program together and what courses it would consist of.

The next step was to have the Department of Modern and Foreign Languages to propose the program to the College of Humanities and Fine Arts in Fall 2004. The proposal passed and had to go before the Undergraduate Council, then to the Senate to be approved. The Senate approved the proposal in late April of this year.

Crapo wrote a grant proposal to the Canadian government requesting grant money to fund the program. The grant consisted of a list of courses to be taught and goals that UTM felt that the minor would achieve. Canada approved Crapo’s request.

Though there are no target students for new Canadian Studies minor, Crapo says those pursuing degrees in French, Business, Agriculture, Communications and any of the liberal arts, such as English and history would benefit greatly.

“This minor will add a new dimension to any major. Being knowledgeable about Canada will make a person pursuing a job after graduation stand out among the other applicants,” says Crapo.

Crapo says that he believes that this minor is important because it will give students an opportunity to have an international experience. The second reason is that, according to Crapo, Canada is the United States largest trading partner and greatest ally.

“People don’t realize how many ties America has with Canada,” says Crapo. “In West Tennesee alone, there are 16 Canadian companies. Included in those are Norandal in Huntingdon and Quebecor. Even MTD here in Martin has a very large plant in Ontario, Canada."

“We are expecting about 10 or 15 students who will go ahead and start the program. These students may participate in the travel-study this coming summer, and they will come back and give reports to their peers. That is the main way to get the word out,” says Crapo. “Students are our best ambassadors.”

Nathan Bonar, 19, a sophomore French major from Clarksville is planning on being one the first students to participate in the new program.

“I feel that it is going to be a great program and a lot of people will benefit from it,” he says. “I am really looking forward to the opportunity this program will provide for me to broaden my horizons.”

The second phase of publicizing the program will take place next spring. The grant money that the Canadian government awarded to UTM for the Canadian Studies program will go towards a Featured Countries of Canada Series and a Feature Films of Canada Series. These events will make students aware that the opportunity exists to study more in-depth about Canada.

In addition to the Canadian Studies minor, Crapo is also excited to announce that plans are in order to introduce a minor is Latin-American Studies next fall.

“The bottom line is that we believe that it is crucial for students to get out and to study abroad. This program takes place in a risk-free environment and is not very costly because of its proximity to the U.S.,” says Crapo.

The curriculum for the minor includes 18 credits which include a Canadian foundation course and nine hours of coursework which must be completed abroad at a Canadian institution such as Chicoutimi.

The first course in Canadian Studies, IDST 250, will be offered next spring. A prerequisite for the minor is the successful completion of three semesters of French or equivalent placement.