Arts graduate education is uniquely positioned to deliver many of the public good needs of contemporary Canada. For the Public Good argues, however, that graduate programs must fundamentally change if they are to achieve this potential. Drawing on deep experience and research, the authors outline how reformed programs that equip graduates with advanced skills can address Canada’s most vexing challenges and seek action on equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization. They chart how current approaches to graduate education emerged and make a data-informed case for change. The authors then offer an evidence-based vision for reimagining arts graduate education and actor-specific steps to achieve this potential. This timely and optimistic guide will be of interest to faculty and university administrators who are responsible for graduate education and public policy specialists focused on post-secondary education.

Loleen Berdahl is the Director of Research at the Canada West Foundation. Dr. Berdahl's particular research interests include urban policy, regionalism and federalism.  In 2001 and 2003, Dr. Berdahl directed the Looking West surveys, western Canada's largest-ever public opinion survey. Dr. Berdahl has co-authored two books, Mindscapes: Political Ideologies Toward the Twenty-First Century (1996, with Roger Gibbins), and Explorations: A Navigator's Guide to Quantitative Research in Political Science (1998, with Keith Archer and Roger Gibbins).

Loleen Berdahl's profile page

Jonathan Malloy is a professor of political science and the Honourable Dick and Ruth Bell Chair in Canadian Parliamentary Democracy at Carleton University.

Jonathan Malloy's profile page

Lisa Young’s work has appeared in Jones Av., Misunderstandings Magazine, Quills Canadian Poetry Magazine, Rampike, among others. She is a fiction editor and senior poetry editor for Existere. She belongs to the Plasticine Poetry Collective, and Moosemeat as well as a few other long-standing writing groups in Toronto. When the Earth is her first poetry collection.

Lisa Young's profile page

“Authored by Canada’s foremost experts on postgraduate career planning and professional development, For the Public Good addresses the challenges of the declining academic job market and aligns graduate education with the evolving Canadian labour market, offering pragmatic solutions and transformative visions.” Rachel Berger, Associate Dean, School of Graduate Studies, Concordia University

“Offering a unique set of arguments, an assessment tool, and actionable recommendations, For the Public Good advocates for the recognition of arts graduates in addressing societal challenges and contributing to cultural inspiration.” Naomi Krogman, Dean, Faculty of Environment, Simon Fraser University

"For The Public Good] is the kind of quietly good book we need to see more of.... This book provides a very solid description of the process of defining and developing excellent, sustainable arts programs that serve students rather than academics. And not only is it dead-on in terms of its recommendations about how to design and evaluate programs, it has a lot of helpful matrices and worksheets to help those who are put in positions requiring them to do exactly that.... More like this, please." Alex Usher, Higher Education Strategy Associates, June 11, 2024 [Full review at https://higheredstrategy.com/early-2024-book-reviews/]

"For the Public Good offers a practical blueprint to redefine success in Arts graduate education in Canada. Focused on essential skills and knowledge for solving complex problems, the book re-imagines the way we approach our master's and doctoral programs. The authors issue an important wake-up call to leaders throughout civil society—particularly in the public, private, and knowledge sectors—to re-think and expand what we expect from graduate studies." Jared Wesley, Professor and Associate Dean (Graduate Studies), University of Alberta

"This book is provocative enough, honest enough, and practical enough to do what it intends: that is, encourage hard conversations about the potential of graduate education in Arts disciplines, the remaking of programs to meet their potential, and the proposition that enrollment growth is always the solution, whatever the problem." Roger Epp, Interim Dean, Faculty of Graduate Studies & Research, University of Alberta