Education | USJ offers first four associate degrees in town

From left: Álvaro Barbosa, Peter Stilwell and Alan Baxter

The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) is launching four two-year Associate Degree programs in 2017/2018, becoming the first university in the region to offer associate degrees, as announced by USJ during a press conference held this week.

Peter Stilwell, rector of USJ, drew attention to the fact that, in recent years, associate degree programmes (better known in the UK as foundational degrees) have become a trend in many English-speaking countries.

Stilwell also remarked that in Macau’s neighbouring Hong Kong, associate degree programs are popular choices for vocational training and professional development.

Since no associate degrees are being offered at the moment in Macau, USJ obtained the support of Macau government to open four of these programs in areas where it has expertise; Portuguese-Chinese Translation, Architectural Technology, Media Production and Product Design.

The rector noted that recent research shows that 98 to 99 percent of USJ students obtain a job within a year after graduation.

The same research also shows that the English medium in which most of USJ’s programmes are delivered is considered by its alumni to be an important asset in their professional lives.

Stilwell claims that “we are positive that they [the graduates] will find places to work [after graduating].”

The rector also noted that graduates of these four programmes are not only able to study for two more years at USJ in order to obtain a Bachelor degree in relevant majors after they complete the Associate Degree, but may also be accepted by European universities to pursue bachelor degrees.

Álvaro Barbosa, Dean of the Faculty of Creative Industry, when introducing three programmes that will be included in his department, informed that native speakers of Chinese currently active in the Macau workforce are the target audience for the degree in Architectural Technology, Media Production and Product Design.

People who are 25 years old or older, or have completed secondary education are eligible for application.

The programs will start on September 20 next year. Classes will run in the evening, and day-time classes may be run for selected programs, depending on demand.