Master of Arts (MA) in English - Experimental Digital Media

The program information below was valid for the winter 2023 term (January 1, 2023 - April 30, 2023). This is the archived version; the most up-to-date program information is available through the current Graduate Studies Academic Calendar.

The Graduate Studies Academic Calendar is updated 3 times per year, at the start of each academic term (January 1, May 1, September 1). Graduate Studies Academic Calendars from previous terms can be found in the archives.

• Admit term(s) 
  • Fall
• Delivery mode 
  • On-campus
• Length of program 
  • All requirements for the degree should be completed no later than six terms after a full-time graduate student has been admitted as a candidate.
• Program type 
  • Master's
  • Research
• Registration option(s) 
  • Full-time
  • Part-time
• Study option(s) 
  • Master's Research Paper
  • Coursework

• Minimum requirements 
  • An Honours Bachelor's degree in English, or its equivalent, with an average of at least 78% in English courses, and at least 75% overall.
    • Those with Honours degrees not in English may apply to the program but may be required to take as many as 10 undergraduate courses in English to prepare them for graduate-level study in the discipline. Additional courses will be chosen in consultation with the Graduate Officer and will generally correspond to the minor program in English.
  • A Statement of Interest, no more than 500 words, explaining your reasons for applying to the program.
• Application materials 
  • Supplementary information form
  • Transcript(s)
• References 
  • Number of references:  3
  • Type of references: 

    at least 2 academic

• English language proficiency (ELP) (if applicable)

Master's Research Paper option:

Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)

Courses 

• Students must complete the following 6 courses:
  • ENGL 701 Critical Design Methods (with an added "digital bootcamp" element)
  • 2 courses designated as Experimental Digital Media
  • 1 course designated as Literature
  • 2 elective courses from either within or outside the Department
• Students may include 2 extra-departmental graduate courses in their degree requirements, but these courses must be approved by the Graduate Committee. For a course outside the University of Waterloo, the Ontario Visiting Graduate Student (OVGS) form must be completed. For a course inside the University, the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee must approve. In either case, the Department’s Graduate Office must be supplied with a syllabus in electronic form and the course must be approved before the beginning of the term in which it is scheduled to run.
• If students can demonstrate that a reading course is necessary to their overall program, they may petition the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee to allow such an independent course. Directed reading courses must be designed and submitted to the Graduate Committee by the instructor in consultation with the student, and the course outline (with rationale, reading list, assignments and schedule) must be approved by the Graduate Committee in the term prior to the one in which the course is to be run. A reading course will not be approved if a course in a similar area, or with the same faculty member, will be taught that year; if the proposed course overlaps substantially with work that is also to be credited as an MRP or thesis; or if it would not be feasible within that term’s scheduling and enrolment constraints. Students are permitted to take only 1 reading course as part of the degree.
• In order to graduate, candidates must receive an average of at least 75% in their courses. If a student receives one failing grade or two grades lower than 70%, the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee will review their standing in the program and the student may be asked to withdraw from the program.

Link(s) to courses

• English (ENGL) courses

Master’s Research Paper

• Students must prepare a proposal for their project and a working bibliography with advice from their planned supervisor. These proposals must be submitted for approval to the Department Graduate Committee before the end of the second academic term.
• The project is the culminating point of the program, in which students demonstrate a mastery of critical theories and theoretical concepts by embodying them in digital artifacts, environments, or practice. Projects will entail the design, conception or production of objects-to-think-with, evocative objects that focus attention on key cultural and theoretical issues in the humanities.
• In many cases the project will remain at a design or prototype stage, although the manufacture of the object is by no means ruled out in principle. The design or prototype itself will be accompanied by a commentary of 40 pages in which the student will describe the theoretical and cultural context of the project and its aims, analyse its feasibility and its functioning, describe its cultural and rhetorical significance, and indicate its possible lines of development.

Coursework option:

Graduate Academic Integrity Module (Graduate AIM)

Courses 

• Students must complete the following 8 courses:
  • ENGL 701 Critical Design Methods (with an added "digital bootcamp" element)
  • 3 courses designated as Experimental Digital Media
  • 1 course designated as Literature
  • 3 elective courses
• Students may include 2 extra-departmental graduate courses in their degree requirements, but these courses must be approved by the Graduate Committee. For a course outside the University of Waterloo, the Ontario Visiting Graduate Student (OVGS) form must be completed. For a course inside the University, the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee must approve. In either case, the Department’s Graduate Office must be supplied with a syllabus in electronic form and the course must be approved before the beginning of the term in which it is scheduled to run.
• If students can demonstrate that a reading course is necessary to their overall program, they may petition the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee to allow such an independent course. Directed reading courses must be designed and submitted to the Graduate Committee by the instructor in consultation with the student, and the course outline (with rationale, reading list, assignments and schedule) must be approved by the Graduate Committee in the term prior to the one in which the course is to be run. A reading course will not be approved if a course in a similar area, or with the same faculty member, will be taught that year; if the proposed course overlaps substantially with work that is also to be credited as an MRP or thesis; or if it would not be feasible within that term’s scheduling and enrolment constraints. Students are permitted to take only 1 reading course as part of the degree.
• In order to graduate, candidates must receive an average of at least 75% in their courses. If a student receives one failing grade or two grades lower than 70%, the Departmental Graduate Studies Committee will review their standing in the program and the student may be asked to withdraw from the program.

Link(s) to courses

• English (ENGL) courses