Briercrest College now offering university-level psychology degrees
After a five-year wait, Briercrest College has received official authorization to offer its Bachelor of Arts in psychology degree as an official university-level program. Briercrest applied for recognition from the Saskatchewan Higher Education Quality Assurance Board in 2014 and received approval this month after a thorough review process. With this authorization, the college now offers four university-level programs: psychology, history, humanities and English.
The psychology program launched in 2012 and has grown to become one of Briercrest’s largest.
“The process of authorization is a lengthy one,” chuckled Dr. Don Taylor, dean of the college.
He explained that Briercrest had to conduct a one-year self-study of the program, followed by a public consultation, a program review, an external review and responses to the external review. This makes for an extensive process that can’t be done in two to three years.
The Saskatchewan Higher Education Quality Assurance Board gave Briercrest initial authorization in 2018 but with conditions. The college had to hire more professors and make changes to the program itself, Taylor continued. These conditions are common when working in — and dealing with — government.
“It’s not a rubber-stamping of something. It’s a thorough going-over,” he added. Taylor is thrilled that the college received this recognition. He explained it will set up students for further study and provide them with a quality education. Alumni of the program will benefit as well, since they can now upgrade their degree to a university-level one with as little as one extra course.
“This is the seal of approval that allows (students) to go forward and go to graduate studies,” he said, “and further professional qualifications that demonstrates the degree is at that university-quality level.” Getting into graduate studies programs can be competitive, so students need credentials that are recognized, Taylor continued. Having a university-level undergraduate degree would help with that quest.
This authorization means students can make their faith a priority without compromising on academics — a balance that Briercrest is committed to providing. Taylor noted that the college believes the Christian faith “is an intellectual adventure” stretching back millennia.
“We recognize that since the roots of Church history, that education and faith have gone together, and God has made a world that we can study and learn from,” he said. “And we need to demonstrate the quality of work we do as well.” Taylor added that it’s important for students to foster their faith and relationship with God as they work in the world and in various disciplines. Briercrest hopes to offer more university-level degrees in the future.
“As Christians, there are things we believe about the human condition that sometimes line up perfectly with what we see in mainstream psychology. In others, there can be more areas of controversy,” Dr. Charles Hackney, chair of the psychology department, said in a news release. “At Briercrest, we’re able to explore these issues and try to develop an understanding of what it means to be human that is both to Scripture and also to the current state of the field.”
Briercrest alumni with bachelor degrees in psychology have gone on to graduate studies at Briercrest Seminary, Trinity Western University and the University of Vermont.
Online applications are open at briercrestcollege.ca.