By NJB/CDT/Litalien/Patriquin/Chen
Part I
What is a Master’s Degree?
DIFFERENCES FROM
UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES
Fewer courses each semester
Courses more independently driven
Much more reading and writing
You choose classes, professors, supervisors, and committees
All aspects of graduate programs, from application to completion, assume
that you take the initiative.
TYPES OF PROGRAMMES
Format 1: Coursework only
Format 2: Coursework plus major paper or project
Format 3: Coursework plus Masters’ Thesis
A few programmes – in any of the forms listed above – may require
“qualifying examinations” or “comprehensive examinations.”
Tips when applying for an
MA
MA applications and scholarship applications are due
early in the autumn.
You should decide which programs you want to apply
to during the summer following your third year of
undergraduate studies.
Please give your professors at least two weeks to
prepare your letters of reference.
Part II
Why should you do an M.A.?
Why should you do an
M.A.?
1) Financial advantage (earn more money)
2) Better job opportunities
3) Lower unemployment rate
4) You can get university funding to do an MA ($2000$10,000/year)
5) You may also pay for your MA by becoming a
research assistant or a teaching assistant
Incentives
more people earn undergraduate degrees
a master’s degree: increasingly useful in distinguishing
candidates with university education
smarter than most
dedicated enough to set your sights on a tough goal
and attain it
MA: a prerequisite to a PhD program
Incentives
Salaries
The median annual earnings among
those who were working full time in 2007
College graduate
Bachelor
Master’s
Doctoral
$35,000
$45,000
$60,000
$65,000
In sum, earn $15,000 more a year with an MA. It is a huge income gap
Incentives
Many MA degree’s take two years full-time
Some MA degrees can take only one year to complete
Part III
How can I afford to do this?
FUNDING
POSSIBILITIES
Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS)
Ontario Graduate
Scholarships (OGS)
1) Awards = each university gives them individually +
sets their own deadlines
2) Apply for an OGS to each of the universities you are
interested to attend
3) Graduate Studies Office at eligible Ontario
Institutions will be responsible for administering the
OGS Program
4) At Nipissing: Sarah Clermont is the Research and
Graduate Studies Coordinator (F307):
sarahc@nipissingu.ca
Funding - Canada
Qualifying Canadian universities receive a Canada
Graduate Scholarships Master’s Program (CGS M)
allocation.
Allocation indicates the number of students to whom
they can award scholarships
Allocations are divided by broad fields of study:
1) health, 2) natural sciences and/or 3) engineering
and 4) social sciences and/or humanities
Funding - Canada
The CGS M Program supports 2,500 students every year.
Financial support in all disciplines
Administered jointly by Canada’s three federal granting agencies:
1) CIHR -Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate
Scholarship
2) NSERC - Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate
Scholarship
3) Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship
FUNDING
POSSIBILITIES - Links
Canada Graduate Scholarships - Master’s Program (CGS M)
(September-December):
1) CIHR – Frederick Banting and Charles Best Canada Graduate
Scholarships
2) NSERC – Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate
Scholarship
3) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) –
Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships
4) Canada Graduate Scholarship – Michael Smith Foreign Study
Program
OTHER
FUNDING POSSIBILITIES
University & Programme Scholarships
Teaching Assistantships
Research Assistantships
You can pay for your MA!
Where Should I Go?*
*listed MA programs are not exhaustive
Social Work
Wilfrid Laurier University (MSW)
York University (MSW)
University of British Columbia (Advanced MSW or Foundation MSW)
University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) MSW
University of Calgary (MSW)
University of Victoria (MSW)
University of Windsor (MSW)
Dalhousie University (MSW)
University of Regina (MSW)
Sociology
University of Windsor (Ontario)
University of Lethbridge (Alberta)
Memorial University (Newfoundland)
Political Science
York University (Ontario)
Queen’s University (Ontario) 12 months
University of Western Ontario (Ontario) 12 months
Wilfrid Laurier (Ontario)
McMaster University (Ontario) 12 months
Brock University (Ontario)
Social and
Political Thought
York University (Ontario) 2 years
Acadia University (Nova Scotia) 2 years
University of Regina (Saskatchewan) 2 years
Public Administration
Ryerson University (Ontario)
Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia) – 1 to 4 years
Carleton University (Ontario)
McMaster and University of Guelph (Ontario)
International development
and Global Studies (IDS)
University of Ottawa (Ontario) $16,500 guaranteed
University of Waterloo (Ontario) 16 months
University of Waterloo (second degree)
McGill University (Québec)
Saint Mary’s University (Nova Scotia)
Guelph University (Ontario)
Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia)
Indigenous/Native Studies
Trent University (Ontario)
Queen’s University (Ontario)
University of Toronto (Ontario)
University of Manitoba (Manitoba)
University of Winnipeg (Manitoba)
University of Victoria (British Columbia)
University of Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan)
Women’s/Gender Studies
Queen’s University (Ontario) $14,000
Lakehead University (Ontario)
Carleton University (Ontario)
McMaster University (Ontario)
Simon Fraser (British Columbia)
University of Ottawa (Ontario)
Interdisciplinary MAs
Political Economy (Carleton University)
Work & Society (McMaster University)
Community Development (MACD) (University of Victoria)
Social Justice and Equity Studies (Brock University)
Social Justice and Community Engagement (Wilfrid Laurier)
Philanthropy and Non-Profit Leadership (MPNL) (Carleton)
Part V
Fall Graduate Studies Workshop
Fall Graduate Studies
Workshop
The following topics will be covered:
The Application Process
Statement of Purpose
Letter of Reference
Sample of Written Work
Thank You!
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