An institution as modern as the University of British Columbia strives to grow in tandem with our changing world. There used to be only three faculties in our school: arts, applied sciences and agriculture. To suit new demand a faculty of law was established, followed shortly by forestry and eventually all the faculties we have come to know today. The natural question to ask is “What could be next?” Well if we have a faculty of dentistry, anything is possible. Even though it is impossible to perfectly foretell what faculty will be established next, it is worth it to try.
The faculty of influencing
So many UBC students are passionate about their Instagram follower count and it is important we have options that cater to their interests. This would be an ideal choice for those that have their faculty as their entire Tinder bio. A degree in the faculty of influencing can open a lot of doors. New fashion brands, expensive car dealerships and aesthetic photo spots are popping up all around the country. There has never been a better time to get into the industry. This faculty could appeal to not just Instagram clout chasers but also to /r/UBC shitposters, UBC confessions posters or anyone interested in joining a pyramid scheme.
The faculty of “Yeah I’m in arts, but I think I want to transfer”
Applicants to UBC often do not know what they want to do upon getting accepted, probably 80 per cent of those people apply for arts because “you gotta apply for something.” As the largest faculty, arts is kind of a default for those who don’t know where to go. It just sucks for the students who actually want to be there. Instead of applying to the faculty they want, many students try to transfer in through the faculty of arts. It is hard to tell what students in the faculty of arts are there by choice. That’s why the faculty of “Yeah I’m in arts, but I think I want to transfer” is something this school needs. The way it is now, the faculty of arts feels like living in Vancouver — you hear a lot of people say “It’s very nice, but money wise it doesn’t make sense to stay.”
The faculty of artistically forested commerce
Everyone knows someone who dismisses entire faculties as cakewalks, someone who thinks their major’s difficulty is a sign of their virtue, someone who loves to say “I could do that.” This faculty would be perfect for them. It combines three faculties thought to be easy, forestry, arts and commerce. Upstart students could have the opportunity to study three things at once and the rest of us could watch them suffer in supposedly easy classes. Before you make fun of a Sauder student, slither a mile in their shoes.
While all of these options are incredible choices for new faculties for the school, the possibilities don’t end here. As of 2013, there were over 21,000 dentists in Canada, 3,118 of those were in British Columbia. If we assume that Vancouver has a proportional amount of dentists that puts us at 415 dentists in Vancouver. There are over 600 sushi restaurants in the greater Vancouver area. I’m not saying we should be offering a faculty of sushi instead of a faculty of dentistry, but this shows there are plenty of untapped fields just waiting to be taught.