The Question

Sample Student Questions & Program Map What is the best way to educate a child? What is a just foreign policy? What is Love?

How it works: At the end of their Foundation Program, Quest undergraduates working with a faculty advisor submit a statement of their "Question": a two-page proposal describing a topic of special interest to them. The Question guides students' attention in a sustained and rigorous intellectual inquiry during the final 16 blocks. The proposal may take the form of a statement or a question or even a set of related questions. For example, one student might be interested in the broad thematic question, "What is honour?" Another might choose a specific policy topic like, "How does politics influence the treatment of global epidemics such as malaria, SARS or AIDS?"

It's your education: Students consequently have the opportunity - and the obligation - to shape their own education. As Quest University Canada sees its first classes move through the program, our graduates will generate a "bank" of topics that can serve as examples and inspirations to the classes that follow. For the first years, the faculty can provide a set of sample Questions to guide students' choices. Some examples of Individual Concentration Programs are given below.

The Role of Academic Advising: All Quest students are assigned academic advisors during their foundation years, but in preparation for the proposal, they may seek out a faculty mentor who is particularly suited to their project. The upper level advisor helps students develop their Individual Concentration Program, and works with them in an ongoing conversation about it over the next four terms. Close work one-on-one between a student and his or her mentor is often the most demanding and rewarding aspect of an undergraduate education. It is an integral part of the Quest experience.