The thesis stream of the MA in Political Studies consists of coursework, a thesis and an oral examination.

Course Work

Students in the thesis stream of the MA program must complete a minimum of 12 credit hours at the 700 level in Political Studies. In some cases and with written permission of the Department's Graduate Committee, students may substitute 3 credit hours of course work at the 700 level in a related discipline. Six of these credit hours should be in field in which the candidate is planning to write the thesis. Students may be required to take more than the minimum 12 credit hours in Political Studies courses.

Thesis Advisor, Advisory and Examining Committee

Upon completion of the required course work, the student should submit in writing to the Department's Graduate Committee the name of a Departmental faculty member who has agreed to serve as his/her thesis advisor. In consultation with the thesis advisor, and normally following the approval of the thesis proposal, the student's faculty advisor will submit in writing the names of one additional departmental faculty member and one non-Departmental member chosen from the University Community to sit on the thesis examining committee. At least two of these examiners must be members of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Thesis Proposal

All thesis proposals must be approved by the Department's Graduate Committee well in advance of the submission of the completed thesis. The proposal should be approved within four months of the completion of course work (within the first year of the program). Later submissions may be accepted by the Graduate Studies Committee upon application from the student, including a written explanation from the advisor. The candidate and advisor, as part of the proposal, should submit the following to the Graduate Committee: 

      - the title of the proposed thesis project - a thesis outline of approximately 1,000 to 1,250 words including:
      - thesis statement;
      - the context in which the thesis topic will be evaluated (a brief introduction to the problem area,  the purpose of the study, and a general introduction to the thesis problem);
      - the relevance and importance of the thesis topic;
      - a description of the methodology/resources to be employed. In instances where the methodology calls for human participants (e.g. interviews or survey), plans for obtaining ethical review should be included;
      - a bibliography of relevant literature and secondary sources;
      - a proposed timeline for completion of the thesis; and
      - the advisor's written evaluation of the proposal as submitted.