A former Miss Canada finalist from Ontario has become the first graduate of a Liverpool university's groundbreaking degree program based on the Beatles. Liverpool Hope University officials believe the master's program, which analyzes the iconic band's music and their impact on Western culture, offers the first advanced degree based on the life and times of the Fab Four. Mary-Lu Zahalan-Kennedy, a singer and actress born in Renfrew, Ont., and raised in Oakville, Ont., joined the program when it started in 2009 and graduated Wednesday. She is one of 12 full-time students of the program, titled The Beatles, Popular Music and Society. Zahalan-Kennedy said the course provided insight into the wide-ranging influence of the band. The course also deals with how the port city of Liverpool helped shape the group's identity.