Master of Arts (MA) graduates from our universities have pursued careers in business and law, politics, journalism, government service, teaching, museums and archives, to name only some of the general areas in which history graduates may be found. Some MA students choose a graduate program in history for no other reason than that they enjoy the study of history and realize that it can enhance their understanding of themselves and the world in which they live. For others, the Tri-University MA in history may also be seen as an opportunity to test their ability in a graduate program or to see if they have an interest in pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree, or perhaps through a Teaching Assistantship to sample the experience of participating in the teaching of university level courses. If the prospect of being part of an exciting new program built on the strength of three of Ontario's finest universities interests you, please consider the Tri-University MA.
Admission Requirements
The minimum standard for admission to the Tri-University Master's Program is an Honours Bachelor's degree in History with a 77% (B+) average calculated on the basis of the applicant's History courses in the last two years of undergraduate study, excluding any first year level courses which may have been taken during those two years.
Application Requirements - MA
All inquiries and applications concerning this program should be addressed to the Director, Tri-University Graduate Program in History. All applications requesting financial support for the Fall term must be received and be complete by the preceding 1 February of that year. Successful applicants normally will start their graduate studies in September, although some students may join the program in the Spring.
The program uses an online application. As part of the application, you will be asked to include:
- Payment of $100.00 (Cdn) application fee;
- Two letters of reference;
- Transcripts from previous institutions;
- A statement of historical interest.
- A sample of the applicant's written work in History;
- Evidence of proficiency in English, where an applicant's language of undergraduate instruction was other than English. A net score of 600 on the Test of English as a Foreign language (TOEFL) is required. See the English Language Proficiency page for other acceptable tests of English.
Deadline for Applications
For information about application deadlines please contact the Tri-University Graduate Program in History.
Degree Requirements
In order to obtain a Master's degree students are required to enrol in and complete the degree requirements for one of three possible streams.
- The Thesis stream: This requirement involves completion of four seminar courses and a research requirement of a thesis with an oral defence.
- The Master's Research paper (Cognate essay/Major paper/ at WLU) stream: This requirement involves completion of six seminar courses and a research requirement of Master's Research Paper for Waterloo students. Wilfrid Laurier and Guelph students must complete a Cognate Essay or Major Paper instead of the master's Research Paper. An oral defence is required.
- The Coursework only stream: This requirement involves completion of eight seminar courses and a research requirement to write a Research Paper, as define below, in at least three of the eight courses in which the student is enrolled.
In order to complete a course satisfactorily students must complete all course requirements as specified by the instructor and receive a minimum passing grade of B- (70%).
The MA Thesis offers a formal and extended treatment of a historical topic or problem which is grounded in the relevant historiography. Primary source materials must form the basis of thesis research, the goal of which is to contribute to original analysis either by consulting new material or by applying new historiographical insights or methods. A thesis carries the weight of four 0.5 credit courses, and its normal length is approximately 120-150 pages of double-spaced type.
The Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper is a research project on a historical or historiographical topic designed to explore a body of sources, demonstrate a thorough grasp of the secondary literature on the topic and permit the author to arrive at an independent conclusion. The Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper carries the weight of two 0.5 credit courses and its normal length is approximately 60-80 pages of double-spaced type.
The Research paper is a research project on a historical or historiographical topic designed to explore a body of sources, demonstrate a thorough grasp of the secondary literature on the topic and permit the author to arrive at an independent conclusion. It differs from the Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper primarily in depth of research and in length. A Research paper is developed as part of the requirements of a seminar course, is designed to explore a more narrowly defined body of sources and is normally approximately 20-25 pages in length.
Courses in the Master's Program are organized as seminars which a common structure of 0.5 credit seminar courses so as to allow students to move freely among the three institutions in the Tri-University Graduate Program.
Course Structure - MA
A variety of approaches to the study of history may be followed in the Tri-University Graduate Program:
- Seminars devoted to the broader historiographical study of the history, development and divergent forms of the discipline as a whole.
- Seminars devoted to the study of selected secondary readings from the historiography of a specific national or regional period or of a particular thematic subject.
- Seminars which require students to read and discuss a mixture of secondary historiographical and primary documentary materials.
- Seminars devoted largely to the methodology, preparation and presentation of research papers based on primary research, which may require a specific, or one of several, historiographical courses as a prerequisite.
- Individual Directed Studies Courses. No student may take more than one Directed Studies course (0.5) in their program.
- Students may also enrol in seminars offered by appropriate departments in any of the three universities.
Second Language Proficiency
Students will be expected to be proficient in the language or languages needed for their research. No language examination will be required for students in the course-only stream. A student writing a Thesis or Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper will be required to pass a language examination if the Director and the Advisory Committee determine that this is warranted by the nature of the student's research topic.
Common Program Experience
The program will provide a symposium twice each term to bring together students from each of the participating departments. All registered Master's students will be encouraged to attend these symposia in each of the Fall and Winter terms.
Progress Through The Streams
The Choice of Stream of study for any individual student is made through consultation between the student and the department in which they are enrolled, but the final decision rests with the department concerned. All streams are of equal value. At the commencement of their program, students must identify the stream that they intend to complete.
Expected Progress through the Streams
Master's students will normally register for up to three seminar courses per semester.
- Full-time Thesis stream: students will take two seminars in each of their first and second terms. They will also register for their thesis at the end of the first term. The thesis should be completed no later than the student's fourth term of full-time registration in the program.
- Full-time Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper stream: students will take three seminar courses in each of their first and second terms. They will also register for their Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper with a view to developing their research topic. The Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper should be completed by the end of the student's third term of full-time registration in the program.
- Full-time Course-only stream: students will normally take three seminar courses in each of the Fall and Winter terms. They may complete two seminar courses in the Spring term if they wish to complete degree requirements in three consecutive terms. Otherwise they will enrol in their two remaining courses in their fourth term.
- Part-time students: will usually register in one, seminar course in each of the Fall and Winter terms with the possibility of taking two credit courses in the Spring Term.
Deadlines for Thesis or Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper Proposals
Students who register in the Thesis or Cognate essay/Major Paper/Master's Research paper streams must write a proposal which includes the tentative title, a rationale for the proposed research project and a list of sources to be used. Students will first identify a general area, time period, and/or problem upon which they wish to focus their research. From the list of research interests of the faculty they will then proceed to discuss the possibilities for a topic with the appropriate faculty member(s). Once a faculty member, who must be a member of the Graduate Faculty, has agreed to act as a supervisor, the student will inform the Graduate Officer who in turn will present this information to the Director of the Tri-University Graduate Program. The student, in consultation with the Supervisor, will define the research topic and a viable body of primary sources, and submit a research proposal to the Supervisor.
No student may register in the Thesis stream for more than one term without an approved thesis proposal. Students who register in the Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper stream must submit a research proposal in their second term of registration and have approval for their proposal by no later than the end of the second term of registration.
Thesis and Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper Advisory Committees
Students in the Thesis and Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper streams will submit their research proposals and undertake their research projects in consultation with an Advisory Committee consisting of their Supervisor and at least two other Readers/Advisors . An Advisory Committee may be composed from any of the faculty in the Tri-University Graduate Program in History, provided those faculty are members of the Graduate Faculty at their respective institutions. The Advisory Committees will be set up in conjunction with the deadlines established for student submission of proposals for Thesis or Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper projects. The additional members of the Advisory Committee for each individual student will be established by consultation between the local Graduate Officer, the Tri-University Director, the Supervisor and the student. To assist in this process the Director of the Tri-University program will maintain up-to-date lists or panels of faculty who might be asked to serve as Readers/Advisors, identified by historical period, areas of national or regional concentration and thematic focus.
The Advisory Committee will assess the student's research proposal to recommend its acceptance, modification or rejection. The Advisory Committee will review the final draft of the Thesis or Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper, and indicate whether it is ready for oral defence by completing the requisite examination request/release form.
Thesis and Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research Paper Defence Procedures
- Format: The regulations of the university at which the student is enrolled will be invoked for the format of a Thesis or Cognate essay/Major paper/Master's Research paper.
- Examination Committees: The procedures of the university at which the student is registered will be invoked for Examination Committees.