Photo by Solange Adum Abdala
Afsaneh Abbaszadeh and Lydia Laflamme, two students from the 2025–26 cohort, reflect on their experiences in the Graduate Certificate in Migration Studies and share how the program shaped their academic journeys.
“Through the coursework and discussions, I gained insight into the important work being done by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. I discovered new directions for my own future research and professional contributions.”
I chose the Certificate in Migration Studies because of both my professional and academic involvement with immigrant communities. As a language interpreter, I worked closely with immigrants navigating various settlement and integration challenges. At the same time, as a research assistant in adult immigrant education, I became increasingly interested in understanding migration beyond my immediate experiences. I wanted to deepen my knowledge and develop a broader, interdisciplinary perspective on migration and its complexities.
This program has significantly expanded the way I think about migration. It introduced me to diverse disciplinary perspectives and helped me appreciate the many social, political, cultural, and educational dimensions of migration. Through the coursework and discussions, I gained insight into the important work being done by researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. I discovered new directions for my own future research and professional contributions.
The certificate has also helped me move closer to my career goals. It provided me with a deeper understanding of migration issues and a clearer sense of where my interests and expertise can make the greatest impact. The interdisciplinary lens offered by the program is, in my view, a valuable and distinctive skill that will support my development as a practitioner-scholar in the field of immigrant and adult education.
One of the most memorable aspects of the program was engaging with my classmates’ work and receiving feedback on my own. Listening to different perspectives often challenged my assumptions and showed me how the same issue could be understood in multiple ways. Those moments of dialogue, reflection, and intellectual exchange were both eye-opening and enriching, and they reinforced the value of learning within a diverse academic community.
“This program has taught me how to engage with work across disciplines, not just read it, but discuss it, comment on it, and offer feedback that is both critical and constructive.”
I chose this program because I see migration as not just a research topic to be approached casually. It is such a complex subject, often about deeply personal and emotional experiences for the people we study, and I wanted to learn about it from different perspectives so that I can approach my research with the sensibility and consideration it requires.
The program really expanded what I think about when I think about migration policy and politics. I used to think of migration mostly in terms of admission policy and public attitudes toward it, but now I understand how migration touches so many dimensions of our lives, from workplace regulations to political socialization to art and storytelling.
That broadened understanding also changed how I engage with research itself. This program has taught me how to engage with work across disciplines, not just read it, but discuss it, comment on it, and offer feedback that is both critical and constructive. In academia, much of what we do depends on how well we engage with others’ work, and this program has given me a space to practice that in a collegial, genuinely interdisciplinary setting.
The experience that brought all of this together was our last seminar. We discussed what we each took away from this program and what we learned from one another. It was a very rewarding moment to realize how we had each integrated small things from our peers’ different disciplines into our own work.
Don’t miss this opportunity to join the new 2026-27 cohort; apply by Monday, June 15, 11:59 PM PDT.
Contact Information
For any inquiries, please contact Maia Johl, Program and Administrative Assistant, at admin.migration@ubc.ca.
