Academic Plan
Transfer credits from the NATO Field School have been evaluated, in the past, as six credits of POLS 3UNS and six credits of POLS 4UNS. Both of these would fit into my degree program and satisfy a couple of my graduation requirements. For my POLS medial, I need a further six credits of POLS 400-level and three credits of POLS 200-level or higher. If this course transfers as it has previously, that would satisfy my requirements and more.
This course was the most rigorous seven weeks of academic study in my life. Most days started before eight in the morning and often stretched to five or even seven in the evenings. Especially during the two weeks when we worked on simulations. In both cases, we were tasked with preparing statements, developing policy platforms, and debating others in the program in meetings modeled on future NATO policy. POLS 400-level is made up of seminars that stress the importance of independent research and one’s ability to argue a point. I feel that the simulations I did during the NATO Field School embody this and, in some ways, are more rigorous than a traditional seminar. Much like Model Parliament or Model UN, the participants were encouraged to put themselves in the minds of certain countries or individuals. During the culminating simulation, I was placed as the Polish representative to NATO, and I had to truly understand what the Polish government would want out of a NATO summit.
Other portions of the program were more focused on lecture content. One that sticks out to me was a lecture on nuclear policy from the head of the Nuclear Planning Group. He discussed NATO’s policy on nuclear weapons and how strategic changes during the Ukrainian-Russian war could affect this. We also had lectures from military officials, such as the head of Task Force Latvia, who is in charge of managing the Multinational Brigade based out of Adazi, Latvia. He discussed the structure of the operation along with their readiness level and future expansion plans.
Not only did we complete coursework during the seven-week program, but we also wrote and produced a podcast afterwards. My group’s podcast was nearly 45 minutes long and was structured as a debate between our different members. The goal was to encourage the Canadian public they should care more about our contributions to NATO and our commitment to defending Latvia.
This course was the most rigorous seven weeks of academic study in my life. Most days started before eight in the morning and often stretched to five or even seven in the evenings. Especially during the two weeks when we worked on simulations. In both cases, we were tasked with preparing statements, developing policy platforms, and debating others in the program in meetings modeled on future NATO policy. POLS 400-level is made up of seminars that stress the importance of independent research and one’s ability to argue a point. I feel that the simulations I did during the NATO Field School embody this and, in some ways, are more rigorous than a traditional seminar. Much like Model Parliament or Model UN, the participants were encouraged to put themselves in the minds of certain countries or individuals. During the culminating simulation, I was placed as the Polish representative to NATO, and I had to truly understand what the Polish government would want out of a NATO summit.
Other portions of the program were more focused on lecture content. One that sticks out to me was a lecture on nuclear policy from the head of the Nuclear Planning Group. He discussed NATO’s policy on nuclear weapons and how strategic changes during the Ukrainian-Russian war could affect this. We also had lectures from military officials, such as the head of Task Force Latvia, who is in charge of managing the Multinational Brigade based out of Adazi, Latvia. He discussed the structure of the operation along with their readiness level and future expansion plans.
Not only did we complete coursework during the seven-week program, but we also wrote and produced a podcast afterwards. My group’s podcast was nearly 45 minutes long and was structured as a debate between our different members. The goal was to encourage the Canadian public they should care more about our contributions to NATO and our commitment to defending Latvia.