Start your Bachelor's Degree at Coast Mountain College and transfer to any university in the province and beyond.  CMTN offers a comprehensive range of accredited first and second-year university level Arts and Science courses and programs. Learn more about our University Credit options.

With this entry-level business credential, you will elevate your experience in the workforce and can continue to pursue your business diploma at CMTN.

Pursue a career in finance with CMTN's Business Administration Diploma accounting concentration.

Pursue a career in business. Our program is designed to transfer to degree programs at other universities in the province and around the world.

CMTN’s Business Administration program gives you the credentials and expertise to get ahead in today’s competitive workplace.

Train to support an office or a business. Prepare for a new career or update existing skills with this 15-week refresher program.

Explore the wilderness of the northwest, focusing on freshwater systems. Investigate living and non-living components of alpine pools, mountain streams, lakes, wetlands, and major rivers. Gain skills required to determine the health and productivity of these systems.

Assess natural-resource management challenges and policy alternatives related to natural resource development. As a project-based field school, you will work together in teams to relate knowledge and data acquired on field excursions to the bigger picture of ecosystem health, sustainability, and make future predictions based on climate and human activity.

Courses | 6 credits:

• GEOG 210 - Environments and Society
• BIOL 201 - Invertebrate Zoology   

Instructors

• M. Beedle
• C. White 

Explore the diversity of our regional ecosystems as you spend two weeks studying temperate rainforest and alpine, aquatic, and riparian systems in our outdoor classrooms.

The field activities will help you learn about major concepts in ecology, including habitat and ecosystem classification, community ecology, succession, and impacts of management and disturbance.

Develop skills in project design, field research, and data analysis. Working as a team on a regional field project you will be involved in defining a research question and relating the work to the bigger picture of ecosystem disturbance and human impacts.

Course | 3 credits:

• BIOL 211 - Principles of Ecology

Instructor

• C.White

The Criminal Justice Field School combines two courses, Introduction to the Criminal Justice System and Forensic Psychology, in a compressed, 3-week format.

Explore the criminal justice system, and investigate, evaluate, and apply psychological and sociological research to areas such as lie detection, police interrogations, criminal profiling, racial profiling, murdered/missing Indigenous women/girls, wrongful convictions, and mental health and the criminal justice system.

This year's students will be travelling to various cities (e.g. Prince George, New Westminster, Vancouver) to visit criminal justice and other related agencies.

Courses | 6 credits

• CRIM 131 - Introduction to the Criminal Justice System
• PSYC 240 - Forensic Psychology

Instructor

• M. Brandt

ENGL 209 - Creative Writing I
3 Credits

English 209 incorporates Coast Mountain College's focus on experiential place-based learning. "Experiential learning means engaging with learners in direct experience and focused reflection to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities. Place-based learning connects classroom to learning from, about, in, and for the local environment, cultures, history, economy and politics."

Students are encouraged to consider their own lives, communities, experiences, and interests when performing their work. English 209 is designed to introduce students to a variety of genres of creative writing, including poetry, creative non-fiction, drama, and fiction. Students will experiment with imagery, voice, character, setting, story, development and revision before working more specifically in creative non-fiction, fiction, poetry and drama.

The focus of the course is on experimentation and skill development. This is a workshop-style course, requiring active participation. Students will be required to participate by writing and sharing their own work, and by reading and offering feedback on the work of their colleagues. Students should be prepared to experiment with their own writing.

Prerequisites
ENGL 101 and ENGL 102

This field-school explores the ethics of globalization on rural Canada. It features real-world, place-based learning experiences here in the northwest that highlight the impacts of globalization on rural communities. Students will be asked to think critically about the impacts and ethical implications of globalization on small rural communities, specifically in northern British Columbia, and develop their own perspectives on these issues. The courses will be taught by experienced instructors who have a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, having lived in Terrace & Haida Gwaii for more than 50 years combined!   

Additional fees for this field school include all travel/transportation, shared meals and overnight accommodations when required.  

For more information or to request Permission of Instructors to register, please contact Karen McMurray or Seth Downs to arrange an interview. Limited seats are available! 

Courses | 6 credits:

• ETHC 150 - Business Ethics (3)
• INTB 210 - International Business (3)

Instructors

• Karen McMurray
• Seth Downs
  

The coastal rainforest island archipelago of Haida Gwaii is the ancestral home of the Haida people, and the inspiration of the rich and beautiful Haida culture.

Students will learn from Elders, and other knowledgeable Haida people, about the ancient history, culture, language, lifeways, connections to the land, and the impacts of colonialism. Students will meet Elders and leadership working with fluent speakers committed to restoring and revitalizing the Haida language, and efforts of reconciliation and relationships that build cultural understanding. This Field School is unique and a special opportunity for students.

Courses | 6 credits

• SOCI 270 - Rural Sociology
• ANTH 203 - Northern Nations of the Northwest Coast

Instructors

• S. Ronaasen
• C. Carr

The coastal rainforest island archipelago of Haida Gwaii is the ancestral home of the Haida people, and the inspiration of the rich and beautiful Haida culture.

Students will learn from Elders, and other knowledgeable Haida people, about the ancient history, culture, language, lifeways, connections to the land, and the impacts of colonialism. Students will meet Elders and leadership working with fluent speakers committed to restoring and revitalizing the Haida language, and efforts of reconciliation and relationships that build cultural understanding. This Field School is unique and a special opportunity for students.

Courses | 6 credits

• FNST 120 - Aboriginal Languages: Preservation and Revitalization
• ANTH 270 - Traditional Knowledge in Practice

Instructors

• S. Ronaasen
• C. Carr

The Humans and their Environment field school offers students a chance to see the intersections between people, place, politics and traditional knowledge. Students will look learn about social applications, resource management, ethics, and be introduced to local systems of knowledge and practice. Students will become familiar with alternative cultural ways of knowing and relating to the environment.

Courses | 6 credits:

• ANTH 270 - Traditional Knowledge in Practice
• GEOG 111 - Intro to Human Geography

Instructors:

• G. Weary
• S. Ronaasen

Learn about geomorphology, environments and society by examining the unique landscapes of northwestern BC.

During this field school you will be introduced to the current environmental and geopolitical issues concerning our community and region. We plan to travel for four nights between Terrace, Stewart, and the Bruce Jack mine.

Courses | 6 credits

• GEOG 210 – Environments and Society
• GEOG 203 – Geomorphology

Instructors

• M. Beedle
• G. Weary

Course outlines

Geography

The Geography 210 component of the field school allows you to examine the environmental problems of today’s world in the context of different societies and societal responses. In this course, we will identify how individuals and cultures view key environmental issues, how we can objectively analyze these problems, and how solutions can be derived to mitigate or solve environmental issues at different scales, varying from site specific problems to the global biosphere. As a class, we will learn to listen to and evaluate responses to environmental issues from individuals, special interest groups, the ‘public’, politicians, and government agencies.  Develop skills in objective analysis and use them to undertake a community-based project that examines the relationships between environmental issues, the needs of different types of economic development, and the sustainability of communities.

Geomorphology 

In the Geomorphology 203 course we will examine the natural processes that shape the face of the Earth. It develops further on the material covered in Geography 160 and Geology 157. This course will focus on the fundamental principles that form the basis of geomorphology, in particular the processes that are active in the natural landscape and the landforms that are a consequence.  A strong emphasis will be placed on the glacial processes and deposits that influence much of the landscape in northwestern BC and southeastern Alaska. 

An opportunity to learn outside, improve field research skills, and experience the culture and environment that makes our region unique.

If you are interested in the outdoors, field research, and environmental stewardship, then this field school is for you. You will work with a team of students, instructors, and members of the Kitsumkalum Band to assess ecological diversity, the effects of disturbance, land use issues and ecosystem management.  A portion of the field school will be spent collecting and analyzing data and working in a field classroom and lab at Pine Lake.

Courses | 6 credits:

• BIOL 208 - Biology of Plants
• GEOG 210 - Environments and Society

This field school combines Biology of Plants and Environments and Society in an intensive, interdisciplinary field school with a spatial focus on the Kitsumkalum watershed.

A journey that will take you from inter-tidal zones to the wide-open ocean to witness the range of life in between.

Learn about coastlines and estuarine regions of northern BC to understand the complex interaction of local ecosystems. Study abiotic factors, primary producers and top predators of our local oceans.

Life in the oceans combines biological oceanography and ecology in this two-week intensive field course.

Courses | 6 credits

• OCGY 209 - Introduction to Biological Oceanography
• OCGY 210 - Methods of Monitoring the Marine Environment

Instructors

• Kirk Hart

Learn international marketing by visiting some incredible areas in Ecuador. You will explore the rich culture of the Indigenous people of the Andean region, have the opportunity to interact with the community and learn firsthand about the challenges and opportunities for indigenous populations in South America. 

You will also get the opportunity to visit the Montañita Spanish School, a successful language school that caters to both local and international students. The third location is the Acuario Valdivia Aquarium, a popular tourist attraction that offers services such as accommodations, volunteer tourism, and educational programs. 

Throughout the trip, you will be challenged to analyze complex marketing problems and generate appropriate recommendations for implementation. You will work collaboratively to develop a marketing plan for a hypothetical business that caters to both local and international markets while being culturally sensitive and socially responsible. 

For domestic students, airfare, accommodation, and tuition are covered with a grant from Colleges and Institutes Canada and our post-secondary partners.

Courses | 3 credits:

• MARK 150 - Introduction to Marketing

Instructors

• Evan van Dyk

Apply by contacting Evan Van Dyk at evandyk@coastmountaincollege.ca 

This exciting new field school opportunity allows you to complete 6 credits of Business Administration courses in a 2.5 week condensed experiential, place-based field school here in the Skeena region.

Get out of the classroom to assess the challenges that many entrepreneurs face while operating businesses in the Skeena region, perform research and assist in designing strategies that meet their unique needs.

Experience what the businesses within the Skeena region offer and compare it to their competitors. Assess how they are currently communicating with their customers and determine how they can reach a global audience with their marketing.

As new industry comes to the region, the opportunities for entrepreneurs are endless. This is your opportunity to apply the fundamentals of business and marketing with real-world experience and cultivate your entrepreneurial spirit.

Courses | 6 credits:

• MGMT 201 - Entrepreneurship
• MARK 150 - Introduction to Marketing

Instructor

• Evan van Dyk

The northwest coast and it's ecosystems from ocean to alpine meadows is the backdrop for our inquiry into birds.

This field school will give an overview of evolution, diversity, life history and behaviour of birds. The field trips and lab work will focus on identification of local species by sight and sound. Birds are unique; they offer the opportunity and challenge of observing with all our senses.

Courses | 3 credits

BIOL 236 - Ornithology: Biology of Birds 

Instructor: 

• Reto Riesen

Come explore the history, archaeology, and culture of Indigenous Peoples living on the shores of the Pacific Ocean in northwestern BC. We will visit landscapes and ancient villages that First Nations peoples have been occupying and using for thousands of years.

Through classroom and field-based experience, we will explore how Indigenous peoples have managed, modified, and stewarded their lands for millennia, and how long-term practical experience with the landscape relates to notions of territory, belonging, and Indigenous Rights and Title. We will study culturally significant places and landscapes through Indigenous oral histories, traditional ecological knowledge, anthropological ethnography, and archaeology, in order to understand connections between key concepts of place, culture, and history.

This course will be taught through one week of in-person class time in Prince Rupert from May 1-5, and then from May 7-12 we will take a field trip to an ancient village site and significant clam harvesting location for the Gitga’at Nation, on an island south of Hartley Bay and the mouth of Douglas Channel. We will camp at the site and participate in field activities with Gitga’at community members and other researchers to learn about the immense cultural significance of this location for Gitga’at people.

Courses | 6 credits

• ANTH 203 - Northern Nations of the Northwest Coast
• GEOG 227 - Ethnogeography of Northwest BC

Professor:

• Bryn Letham

Through classroom and field based experience, explore the cultural and environmental diversity of British Columbia, from past to present.  Field trips will include historic sites, museums, Indigenous communities and other places of significance on the landscape.

This field school will integrate History 213: The History of BC and Geography 225: Regional Geography of BC. 

Courses | 6 credits

• HIST 213 - History of British Columbia
• GEOG 225 - Regional Geography of BC

Immerse yourself in the rich and amazing Gitxsan culture and history, while learning about the traditional usages of plants, including the tree of life, cedar weaving, and other traditional activities, such as the preparation of smoked salmon.

The People of the Skeena Field School will take place in the Terrace area where you will visit the Gitxsan Eagle Clan’s fishing site of Guxts’eliksit. At this Language Preservation and Culture Camp, students will be hosted by Skaỳan (Anita Davis), Hereditary Chief/Matriarch, and other Eagle Chiefs/Elders.

Course | 3 credits

• FNST 110 - Ethnobotany: Plants & First People 

Instructor

• S. Ronaasen

Learn how to create sustainable communities through the process of permaculture design.  During this two-week intensive study you will complete a variety of outdoor activities, lectures, visits to field sites, and explore how the creative design process of permaculture can provide an organizing framework.

Permaculture is the conscious design of landscapes which mimic the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems and the relationships found in nature while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for the provision of local needs.

This field school will be taught by Ken Shaw who has trained with many leading permaculture teachers including, Geoff Lawton, Toby Hemenway, Dave Jacke, Owen Hablutzel, and Jesse Lemieux as well many years of farming in rural and urban settings. 

Course | 3 credits

• SUST 120 - Introduction to Permaculture

Instructor

• K. Shaw

Explore the dynamic forest ecosystems of northwest BC, from the lush, dense coastal forests, to the drier, cooler ecosystems of the interior plateau.

Along the way you will develop your skills in plant biology and investigate a diversity of ecosystems including temperate rainforest, boreal forest, alpine, wetlands, estuaries, and coastal habitats. As a project-based field school, you will work as a team to describe and compare the ecology of each major ecosystem visited.

Courses | 6 credits

• BIOL 208 - The Biology of Plants
• GEOG 202 - Geography of Ecosystems

Instructors

• C. White
• M. Beedle

POLI 102 Canadian Politics and Government
3 Credits

How does the Canadian political system work? Who are the actors, and what are the rules and the current issues? In this course will study the political landscape and the electoral system, Legislative procedures, and how they connect with us.  

Prerequisites
English Studies 12, English First Peoples 12 or equivalent

Transfer Credits
Explore transfer credit opportunities by visiting the BC Transfer Guide

PSYC 215 | Research Methods in Social Sciences 
3 Credits

Who says that research is difficult? It is fun and useful. In Psychology 215, you will learn how to conduct a study in social sciences using experiments, observations, and surveys, in addition to interviews. We will meet 4.5 hours a day for two weeks, and you will complete the course this summer. It will be video conferenced throughout the region.

Prerequisites
PSYC 101 and PSYC 102

Instructor: 

Yuriko Riesen

Transfer Credits: 

 Explore transfer credit opportunities by visiting the BC Transfer Guide

Gain knowledge of both geography and ecology while being immersed in one of the most ecologically and environmentally diverse places on earth.

Our instructional team will take you into the world's largest pristine temperate rainforest, visit glacial landscapes and anthropological sites, and explore rivers and oceans along the way. The rich history of First Nation culture in this region will also be explored.

Designed as a unique two-week experiential adventure for high school students, this field school is an opportunity to gain the personal and educational experience of university in an applied outdoor setting.

Coast Mountain College has been a leader in developing place-based experiential learning and has been delivering upper level University Credit field schools in this region for over 15 years. We are now opening up this opportunity to senior level high-school students and recent high-school graduates.

Credits from this field school are transferable to all universities in BC. You may also be eligible to use those credits as electives (dual-credit) towards your high school diploma.

For more information please contact the Academic Head, Gordon Weary at gweary@coastmountaincollege.ca.

Courses | 6 credits

• GEOG 111 - Introduction to Geography
• BIOL 191 - Introduction to Ecology

Seats

• Note that 9/18 seats are reserved for Dual Credit high school students

Instructor

• TBA

Learn about the early relationships between First Nations people and European newcomers and explore language restoration and revitalization.

In this field school you will examine how reconciliation is formed through relationship building and understanding. With visits to five First Nations communities, you will engage with Elders and leadership in each community, working closely with fluent speakers and leaders committed to restoring and revitalizing languages. Our field school includes visits to cultural centres as well as other sites that are key to the broader history of British Columbia and Canada.

Courses | 6 credits

• FNST 120 - Aboriginal Languages - Preservation & Revitalization
• HIST 213 - History of British Columbia  

During this exciting field study, play an active role in marketing local businesses and non-profit organizations in the Bulkley Valley area.  Get out of the classroom to perform research and assist local organizations in designing a marketing strategy that meets the need of their customers.

Through these community-based projects, Coast Mountain College will connect you with the practical challenges of local marketing initiatives.

As consumer, media, and technology landscapes evolve, the need for innovative and strategic marketers grows. This is your opportunity to apply the fundamentals of marketing with real-world experience.

Course | 3 credits:

• MARK 150 - Introduction to Marketing

Experience the spectacular geography of the northwest coast while you participate in traditional seafood harvesting and processing.

This field school includes a five-day trip where you will travel by boat up the Douglas Channel to the remote location of Hartley Bay. Experience the life of the seaweed camp and the culture of the Gitga’at First Nation who continue to gather and harvest 90% of their food from the land and marine environment.

Explore topics concerning women, gender and differences as you immerse yourself in the culture of the Gitga’at whose surroundings are deeply tied to their customs, daily life and cultural identity. You will also use the concepts and methods of regional geography to examine Hartley Bay and surrounding area in the terms of the patterns of its physical and human landscapes.

Courses | 6 credits:

• WMST 102 - Introduction to Women Studies
• GEOG 225 - Regional Geography of British Columbia

Learn about the various ecosystems surrounding the Terrace area. Explore environmental factors that determine the distribution and function of local ecosystems that extend from the alpine to river valleys.

This two-week intensive course takes learning outside the four walls of a classroom and upon successful completion, awards students 3 credits in GEOG 202 - Geography of Ecosystems. The course emphasizes ecology, the structure and functioning of ecosystems and ecosystem strategies relative to soil and climatic conditions.

Course | 3 credits:

• GEOG 202 - Geography of Ecosystems

Experience local Indigenous culture while developing an appreciation for a wide variety of geomorphological processes and landscapes.

The Stewart/Telegraph Creek field school begins in Terrace where you will gain a foundation in geoscience and anthropology. We will then travel towards Stewart to investigate the geology and observe some of the most spectacular glacial and alpine landscapes on Earth. Our journey will continue to the volcanic area of Mt. Edziza, and the lava deposits along the valley of the Stikine River to Telegraph Creek. While at Telegraph Creek, you will be guided by the Tahltan people on their amazing and breathtaking territory, to learn about the Tahltan culture, history, and salmon fishing villages.

As part of your field studies you will be encouraged to draw upon the information and experiences acquired in both the geomorphology and anthropology courses to develop and articulate more informed opinions on culture, resource exploration and environmental stewardship.

Courses | 6 credits:

• ANTH 202 - Indigenous Cultures in Transition
• GEOG 203 - Geomorphology

Through classroom and field based experience, explore the cultural diversity of British Columbia from past to present. Field trips will include historic sites, museums, Indigenous communities, and other places of significance on the landscape. Learn about how heritage sites are managed and how stories about these places are told.

Courses | 6 credits

• ANTH 212 - Cultural Resource Management
• HIST 213 - History of British Columbia  

Instructors

• Dina Von Hahn
• Travis Freeland

An entry-level credential to gain career-ready social services worker skills and transfer your credits into our diploma program.

Start your Bachelor's Degree at Coast Mountain College and transfer to any university in the province and beyond.  CMTN offers a comprehensive range of accredited first and second-year university level Arts and Science courses and programs. Learn more about our University Credit options.