Foundation Year

Emily Carr's Foundation Program takes a vibrant approach to introducing students to the University community and the world beyond its doors. Based on a spirit of critical inquiry and interdisciplinary exploration, the program offers a spectrum of art, design, and media courses for first year students to explore their creativity on their own and in collaborative groups.

Housed in the Faculty of Culture and Community, Foundation challenges students to imagine their creative practice as service to an interdependent world in need of those who can communicate their knowledge, passion, and ideas through images and objects. The program is based on a blend of academic and studio courses where students develop visual literacy, conceptual sophistication, material and technical skills, and the fundamentals of studio practices in every discipline. Key to the program's philosophy is the encouragement of creative risk-taking in which the imagination is celebrated as the most valuable resource for the social and cultural renewal of the environment and human societies.

Note: The Foundation curriculum is under review and subject to change beginning September 2011. Changes are expected to be considered by the Universite Senate in early March. Please check back after March 15 for an update.