Why George Brown college is pausing its oldest jewelry programs - Toronto Star

The polytechnic announced that no new students will be admitted to jewelry and gemmology in 2027-28. 

Jace Menominee is finishing his final year in the Jewelry Arts program at George Brown Polytechnic. The school recently announced it was taking in no new jewelry or gemmology students in 2027-28, leaving Menominee to wonder if he could be among the last graduates. 

Jace Menominee was apprenticing as a goldsmith in his hometown of Owen Sound when he began to reach the limits of what he could learn there.

As an Indigenous artist, he saw adornment as a way to express his identity. “Regalia is really important to us,” says the 28-year-old, and “being able to bring cultural aspects into metalwork was what I wanted ... the ability to make sacred items.”

At George Brown Polytechnic, he found a place to do that. He is now in the final stretch of his three-year advanced diploma in jewelry arts.

He’s worried he’ll be among the last to graduate.

The polytechnic announced on Sept. 14 that no new students will be admitted to jewelry and gemmology in 2027-28, extending the pause to the one-year Jewelry Essentials, the last of four programs still accepting new enrolment. The other three — Gemmology, Jewelry Methods and Jewelry Arts — had already stopped taking in new students in 2025. No future delivery model has been approved.

George Brown is calling it a suspension. Those inside the program, considered one of the most comprehensive and respected in the country, are calling it something else.

Beatrice Milasan started her jewelry business at age 13. Now she is heading to Western.