The University of Manitoba is now a “top gun” in Air Force education, as the only university in Canada to offer a master’s in public administration (MPA) with a defence administration specialty.

17 Wing, which conducts and supports flying operations from Winnipeg, has offered the Aerospace Systems Course (ASC) for over 50 years; however, Air Force students who succeeded in completing the course received a certificate, not a degree. The new partnership with the University of Manitoba will give such students the chance at a degree, which is now expected for personnel wishing to move up in the ranks of the Air Force.

The U of M was not the only university in the running, as the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ont. was also bidding for the degree program, explained George Maclean, head of the political studies department at the U of M.

“The [U of M and RMC] actually had to meet with the [Air Force] staff at one point to make our ‘pitch’ for our university. At that meeting, we were able to convince the Air Force that our program had more opportunities and benefits,” he said.

The U of M won the bid because of its specially designed program that would become a new stream in the MPA and would meet the needs of the Air Force.

In addition, the U of M maintains a strong relationship with the Air Force, with many faculty members having previous connections through research, teaching and outreach, said Maclean.

Negotiations began in November 2009 between representatives from the Canadian Forces School for Aerospace Studies at 17 Wing and the department of political studies at the U of M.

“We agreed to a program of courses and exams that were based on the core requirements of the MPA degree, with new courses specifically designed for the Air Force students to be taught here at U of M and out at the Air Force base by U of M instructors,” said Maclean, who represented the U of M at the negotiations.

Major Jeff Paul, course director of the ASC, explained that the conjoint degree program formalizes the nature of the training done through the Air Force, which gives them wider recognition.

“The ASC has been around for 63 years; [ . . . ] it’s well respected in the Air Force and the aerospace industry, but not too many people outside of that area know about it, so this degree is going to be a big step forward for the graduates who decide to take that option,” he said.

According to Paul, the ASC has previously tried to form this kind of partnership four times with other institutions, without success.

The program came to life at the beginning of the 2010 academic year, eight months after the university won the bid — possibly marking a record for getting a new degree stream up and running at the U of M, Maclean said. The program is now offered jointly between the department of political studies at the U of M and the department of politics at the University of Winnipeg. There are currently five students enrolled.

Through the new defence administration program students will develop general and core expertise in policy development, administration, along with taking specialized courses in the areas of defence administration issues, according to Maclean.

“They will not only have an MPA at the end of their program, but will have truly learned the specifics of the discipline related to their careers. That will undoubtedly help them in their professional development,” he said.

Maclean explained that it is likely that some students will, at some point in their career, work at the National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa or other levels of defence policy development.

Executive director of the Asper master of business administration program, Steve James, is teaching two university credit courses that are embedded in the ASC curriculum.

James, who has 25 years of Air Force experience, explained that a large part of
the Winnipeg’s economy is based on aerospace development and production, as it is the third largest aerospace centre in the country.

“These puzzle pieces coming together is great news for the university, the Air Force and Winnipeg,” said James of the partnership. “The dialogue and collegial dynamics is going to serve the city extremely well in the long term.”

James felt that although there are currently only military students enrolled in the courses, there is potential in expanding the program’s audience.

“We see this developing into programs that are open to others in the community, both civilian and military alike,” said James. “These are national assets; [ . . . ] this initiative needs to be opened up to further use.”

Maclean said that this program marks the first step to a new relationship with the Air Force and will soon grow to other degree programs at the U of M. He said that new graduate degree programs in other faculties are likely to be offered to Air Force students in the future, such as a master of engineering degree.