Academic Program Director, Master of Counselling Program, Vancouver & Victoria
Claire Carolan is the Program Director for the Master of Counselling program at City University in British Columbia, a role she assumed in July 2026. She provides academic and operational leadership for the program, supporting students, faculty, curriculum, and strategic planning across multiple delivery models and campuses. Claire is committed to fostering a collaborative, student-centred learning environment while strengthening program quality, faculty engagement, and meaningful partnerships.
In her role, Claire works closely with faculty, Associate Program Directors, and university leadership to support student success and continuous program improvement. Her current priorities include strengthening communication and collaboration across program streams, enhancing faculty support and development, refining academic policies and processes, and laying the foundation for long-term strategic planning. She is committed to ensuring that the Master of Counselling program continues to provide a rigorous, responsive, and supportive learning experience for students while meeting the evolving needs of the counselling profession.
Research
Claire’s research explores reflective practice, creativity, and transformative learning in higher education, with particular interest in arts-based pedagogy, teacher identity, and the ways reflection can foster professional growth. She is also interested in academic quality assurance, curriculum development, and the design of learning environments that support meaningful student engagement.
Publications
- Panel lead and presenter, From Scarcity to Shared Capacity: Evaluating New Models for Technical Arts Training in an Austerity Era (Canadian Association for Theatre Research, 2026)
- “Optimizing Curricular Efficiency: Finding the “Goldilocks” Balance for Program Portfolio Management.” Conference proceeding and peer review publication. Hawaiian International Conference on Education. 2024
- “The Big Blue Bucket: An Interdisciplinary Pedagogy of Puppets and Mask”.
- Conference proceeding and peer review publication. Hawaiian International Conference on Education. 2024
- Technical Edit. Author Patrick P. Pennefather. Creative Prototyping with Generative AI: Augmenting Creative Workflows with Generative AI. Design Thinking Series. Apress. 2024
- “Volunteerism and Calgary’s “infa-Moose” Community Impro Theatre.” TRiC/RTaC, Vol. 41.2, pp. 300-303. 2020
- “An Informal Assessment of Twenty-First Century Skills Developed Through Hidden Curriculum in Theatre Studies.”TRiC/RTaC, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 80-82. 2018.
- “Beverly Emmons: Composing with Light.” Musicological Explorations: A Graduate Student Journal of the Department of Music, University of Victoria, Volume 15, pp. 5-22. 2018
- “A Politics of National Identity: Developing a Canadian Theatre Lighting Design Digital Archive.” The Blue Pages, The Society of British Theatre Designers, n.p. 2016
Teaching
Meaningful learning occurs through curiosity, dialogue, and reflection. Her teaching emphasizes active engagement, critical thinking, and the integration of theory with professional practice. She strives to create inclusive learning environments where students feel challenged, supported, and encouraged to develop their own professional identities while learning collaboratively with others.