MA in Women's Studies

Students may complete their degree either by Major Research Paper or by Thesis.

Officially the MA is a one-year Program. However, both full-time and part-time students have up to four years to complete the degree. Full-time students who take more than two years must change to part-time for a third and fourth year.

• MA Degree by Major Research Paper
• MA Degree by Thesis
• The MA Time Line

Courses
Starting in 2009/10, three full-courses (or equivalent) including WMST 6007 3.0 /Feminist Research Colloquium /and one half-course chosen from the Program -based core courses. The final selection of courses will be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and/or the Director of the Graduate Program in Women's Studies. With permission, one of the three courses may be chosen from those offered by another Graduate Program. Typically, full time students will complete all the coursework in the first two terms. (See Course Descriptions for details)

The Program Seminars
All MA students are required to attend 6 of the Program seminars usually during the first year (see Program Seminars for details).

Research Paper
The MA Major Research Paper (MRP) is equivalent to one full course. This option suits a student who wants more course work, while still seeking the opportunity to pursue one large piece of writing. It normally should take the equivalent of three months of full-time work to write and ideally is completed during the third (summer) term. The MRP involves either an original piece of research or analysis or a substantial review of research on a topic students should aim for a MRP of about 50-75 pages in length.

The MRP involves the following steps:

1. The student selects a supervisor and second reader:
   In consultation with the advisor and/or course directors and/or the Program Director, the student selects an MRP supervisor (who must be a member of the Women's Studies faculty) and a second reader.    When the committee is formed, the student will submit an MRP Supervisory Committee Approval Form to the Program Office.  If the second reader is not a member of the Women's Studies faculty, the student must submit a request explaining why the faculty member is appropriate, including a copy of the faculty member's CV, to the GPD for approval.
2. Under the direction of the MRP Supervisor, the student develops an MRP proposal which:
   1. Includes a working title which can be refined/changed later.
   2. Defines the research question or questions, the goals, the thesis (the central point/argument) of the paper and key terms.
   3. Provides a statement about the conceptual or theoretical perspectives informing the project.
   4. Outlines the steps required to do the research - the organization/structure for the study – e.g., by a tentative breakdown into divisions of related ideas – sections or chapters with identifying headings.
   5. Comments on the suitability of the project to the interdisciplinary nature of women's studies.
   6. Comments on the do-ability (the logistics) of the project in terms of availability of relevant sources and resources.
   7. Describes the methods of data collection including a statement about whether travel is necessary.
   8. Presents a realistic work schedule including proposed beginning and completion dates.
   9. Lists a sample of the 12 most relevant bibliographic sources*.
   10. Includes, if applicable, a completed Human Participants Research Form. (Download from www.yorku.ca/grads/policies/ethics.htm)

       Steps 1 through 7 should not require more than five pages. When the Supervisor and Second Reader deem the proposal acceptable, the student completes an Approval of MRP Proposal Form and submits the form and the proposal to the Program Office normally three months before the expected completion date. The proposal is reviewed by the Graduate Study Committee.

3. The student completes the MRP:
   Once the supervisor and second reader indicate that the MRP has been approved, the student completes an Approval of MRP Form and submits it to the Program Office.
4. The student submits to the Program office a copy of the MRP in a durable binder.
5. The Program Assistant completes the Convocation form and submits it to the Registrar's Office, which ensures that the student is placed on the next Convocation List.

Note: In planning the timing of their work and the submission date, students should take into account the schedule of their supervisor and second reader and the dates for submission of names for the Convocation at which they wish to graduate.

IMPORTANT: The dates for submission for 2011/12 are Wednesday September 14, 2011 and Friday April 13, 2012

Courses
Starting in 2009/10, two full-courses (or equivalent) including WMST 6007 3.0 /Feminist Research Colloquium /and one half-course chosen from the Program -based core courses. The final selection of courses will be determined in consultation with the faculty advisor and/or the Director of the Graduate Program in Women's Studies. With permission of the Program Director, one of these courses may be chosen from those offered by another Graduate Program. Typically full-time students will complete all the course work in the first two terms. (See Course Descriptions for details)

The Program Seminars
All MA students are required to attend 6 of the Program seminars, usually during the first year (see Program Seminars section for details).

Thesis and Oral Examination
The MA Thesis is equivalent to two full courses. It has a more formal supervisory process than the MRP and is governed by rules set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. It normally should take the equivalent of three months of full-time work to write and ideally is completed during the third (summer) term, although many students take an additional fourth term to complete the thesis. Students planning to complete their thesis during their third term should have their committee selected and the proposal approved early in their second term. The MA thesis should be based on original work and should demonstrate the candidate's independence, originality and understanding of the area of investigation. The thesis is about 100-150 pages, organised in an appropriate thesis form. Once it is completed, there is a formal oral examination held in accordance with Faculty of Graduate Studies regulations. See the FGS Regulations 27, 28 & 29 in the FGS Calendar for further details.

The MA Thesis involves the following steps:

1. The student selects a thesis committee and supervisor:
2. In consultation with the advisor and/or course directors and/or the Program Director, the students are responsible for the initial definition of their thesis topic and for identifying a Graduate Women's Studies faculty member who is qualified and available to supervise their thesis, plus two other committee members. The supervisory committee will normally be formed by the beginning, and no later than the end, or the second term of study for the MA in the case of full time students, or by the end of the fourth term of study in the case of part time students. When the committee is formed, the student will submit an MA Thesis Supervisory Committee Approval Form to the Program Office. If one member of the Supervisory Committee is not a member of the Women's Studies faculty, the student must submit a request explaining why the faculty member is appropriate, including a copy of the faculty member's CV, to the GPD for approval.
3. The Supervisory Committee must be approved by the Graduate Study Committee and the Dean of FGS. (This will normally happen before the thesis proposal is developed). Please see the FGS policy on supervision "Graduate Supervisory Principles, Policies and Practices" available on the web or in the FGS Handbook.

The MA is designed to be a completed in one year (three terms) but many students take four terms or longer. The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires that a Master's degree must be completed within four years (12 terms) as a full time or part time student.

The expected progress for students through the Program :

 (for various legitimate reasons not all students follow precisely this pattern)