Fostering Ingenuity & Success

Fostering ingenuity and success means blending the best of traditional and contemporary learning. Our goal is to set the stage for our students by giving them tools for today's learning. We're able to accomplish this in several ways:

 

Scholarships, Academic Grants and Bursaries

Student support is a key campaign priority and vital to achieving McMaster's goal of consistently placing among the top three Ontario universities in terms of the quality of students we attract and graduate. Financial assistance to students in the form of scholarships (which reward academic achievement), bursaries (issued to students demonstrating financial need) and academic grants (based on a combination of academic merit and financial need) will ensure McMaster continues to recruit, reward and retain the best and brightest students who will further the University's reputation for academic and research excellence.

Studies show that tuition fees for undergraduate arts and sciences programs have doubled in the last decade and that the rising cost of attending university (a four-year program costs an average of $60,000 including tuition, books, accommodations and living expenses) is moving beyond the financial reach of many in the province. Increasing student support and investing in education is imperative in order to ensure the calibre of our future leaders.

With respect to graduate students, McMaster University has set two targets: to be consistently among the top three Canadian universities for research excellence; and to increase the graduate population to 20 per cent of the University's full-time enrolment. These goals are in keeping with the Ontario government's commitment to expand graduate education; the Ontario Government Scholarships (OGS) Program provides matching funds for new gifts used to establish graduate scholarships. By investing in graduate studies, we ensure McMaster's standing as a top research-intensive university.

This campaign priority offers a great deal of flexibility to potential donors:

  • Gifts may be endowed or expendable
  • May be eligible for matching programs - thereby leveraging the impact of the gift
  • Range of options at various giving levels
  • Can be directed to a specific program/faculty or designated University wide
  • Various recognition/naming options, including opportunities to honour individuals, anniversaries, milestones, etc.

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Learning Commons @ Thode

Based on the success of the student-centred Mills Learning Commons, the new Learning Commons that will occupy the first and second floors of the H.G. Thode Library will enhance student learning and promote innovative teaching in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Features of this "high tech," "high touch" environment will include state-of-the-art facilities and advanced technologies such as computer workstations, powered tables with wireless access, electronic classrooms, video conferencing and streaming, interactive touch screens and studio space that will make learning more interactive and experiential.

The welcoming, vibrant atmosphere will make it a popular gathering place enhanced by a café, group study rooms, and comfortable, mobile seating to encourage interaction and collaboration among and between faculty, students and library staff. The Learning Commons @ Thode will be designed and equipped to support new teaching/learning programs and strategies developed through the Innovative Learning Initiative.

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Innovative Learning Initiative

Today's students share many characteristics, some of which are unique to this generation of young adults (e.g. digitally literate, always "connected," experiential, demand immediacy and highly social). Consequently, they process information, communicate and learn in a different way. The challenge is to develop and implement new strategies for educating these technology savvy students in order to prepare them for the 21st century.

The Innovative Learning Initiative will address this challenge by incorporating digital technologies such as social networking (Facebook, blogs, wikis etc.), multimedia creations, mobile computing (iPods and other handheld devices) and emerging technologies (educational gaming and virtual worlds) into the teaching and learning process. The program complements the Learning Commons @ Thode project and will utilize the innovative facility's advanced technological features for its novel initiatives.

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Centre for Visual Culture

Since its establishment 40 years ago, The McMaster Museum of Art has grown both in size and reputation and currently boasts an impressive collection of more than 6,000 works of art (including pieces from master artists van Gogh and Monet). The Museum also borrows and exhibits artwork from other galleries and museums, effectively bringing the world of art to the McMaster campus and the local community. More than 22,000 patrons enjoy the museum's exhibits, tours, workshops and lectures each year.

In addition to the core activities of collecting, preserving, exhibiting and interpreting, there has been an awareness that museums play an important role in framing current perceptions of our world. The McMaster Museum of Art's Centre for Visual Culture will develop innovative programs that address the influence of visual culture in our everyday lives. Anticipated to be a model for the "museum of the 21st century," the centre will be attached to the existing museum and will include space for students and faculty of all disciplines to interact, study and present their research. Features of the centre will include digital archives storage, seminar rooms, a library, performance/theatre space and a media gallery with a "tech alley" for the display of new media works. The Centre for Visual Culture will help expand the museum's influence on campus in an educational setting; it will promote unique programs that bring art and society together in engaging ways; and it will position the McMaster Museum of Art as an innovative leader in museum practice in Canada and globally.

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When time-consuming school work is combined with lack of financial security, it doubles the amount of stress that a student like me goes through. When I learned that I received financial aid, I was a little more relieved and I was motivated.”

Mehmet Efe Gulagaci,
Faculty of Engineering

At McMaster we celebrate inquiry and discovery in all areas, but most importantly in our teaching and learning activities. The University Library recently opened the Mills Learning Commons, a vibrant, student-centered learning space that supports learning and research through the use of information resources and information technology.

Funding for “Innovative Learning” will promote a culture of innovation at McMaster through the systematic exploration and implementation of programs, resources and services that focus on enhancing the student experience. Emphasis will be placed on evaluation and dissemination of results to encourage sharing within the University and externally with other Canadian universities.

The McMaster Museum of Art’s Centre for Visual Culture will provide the physical structure, material means, programme initiatives and staff structure, to enable the Museum to develop an innovative museological programme that addresses the societal influence of visual culture in the contemporary world.