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!