Carleton University Graduate Calendar 2010-2011

• About the Program
• Academic Regulations
• Admission Requirements
• Program Requirements
• Selection of Courses

About the Program

The doctoral program is offered jointly by the School of Canadian Studies at Carleton University and the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Native Studies at Trent University. The program of courses and thesis guidance, drawing upon the faculty of the two academic units and universities, will encompass course requirements, comprehensive examinations, and a thesis.

Students concentrate in two of five fields: "Culture, Literature, and the Arts," which engages with the critical study of art and culture in Canada; "Environment and Heritage," which examines theories of tangible and intangible heritage in Canada; "Identities" which explores how individual, collective, regional and national identities have been constructed and contested within Canada; "Policy, Economy and Society" which covers the intricate network of relationships that link economy, civil society and public policy in Canada; and "Women's Studies," which enlists feminist theories, gender studies and other poststructuralist discourses to examine female subjectivities in Canada.

 

Academic Regulations

• See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
• Academic Standing - All Ph.D. candidates must obtain at least B+ standing or better (GPA 9.0) in each course counted towards the degree. Comprehensive examinations (which will be graded on a Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory or Pass with Distinction basis) are exempted from this required standing.

 

Admission Requirements

• Master's degree (or equivalent), with at least high honours standing in Canadian Studies or one of the disciplines represented in the School. Applicants should note, however, that meeting the admission requirement does not guarantee admission to the program.
• The Ph.D. program in Canadian Studies normally will be undertaken on a full-time basis. In cases of exceptional merit, the School will accept a few candidates for the degree on a part-time basis.
• Language Requirement - All doctoral students are required to pass the Ph.D. program's language test. The language test entails the translation into English of a French text (or a text in another approved language such as an Aboriginal language indigenous to Canada or another language if it is demonstrably relevant to their research interest). The language test is two hours long, and students are permitted to use a dictionary. Grades for the language test are Pass or Fail.
• Students who have taken a language test as a requirement for their M.A. cannot use it to meet the Ph.D. language requirement. In order to establish equal treatment of all students, all doctoral candidates will be required to pass the Ph.D. language test.

Program Requirements

Doctoral candidates must successfully complete 10.0 credits. Candidates with deficiencies in certain areas may be admitted to the Ph.D. program, but normally will be required to complete additional work. The specific requirements are as follows:

• 1.0 credit for successful completion of CDNS 6900, the mandatory core seminar;
• 1.0 credit for successful completion of two courses or tutorials (or the equivalent) drawn from the graduate list offered by the School, below, with one 0.5-credit course drawn from each of the candidate's two major fields of study; a GPA of 9.0 or better must be obtained in these courses for students to be allowed to proceed to the comprehensive examinations;
• 1.0 credit for successful completion of two 0.5-credit written comprehensive examinations. Students will be examined in two fields;
• Satisfactory demonstration of an understanding of a language other than English. Although French is the preferred second language, students may be permitted to substitute an Aboriginal language indigenous to Canada or another language if it is demonstrably relevant to their research interests;
• A public defence, in English, of a written thesis proposal. Following the completion of their comprehensives, students will be expected to defend a proposal of the research and analysis they plan to undertake in completing their Ph.D. thesis. The thesis proposal defence should normally occur within six months after completion of a student's comprehensive examinations and within the first 27 months of registration in the program. The thesis committee will be composed of three faculty members, always including one from each university;
• A 7.0-credit thesis, which must be successfully defended in English at an oral examination.
• Comprehensive Examinations - Full-time students are expected to complete their comprehensive examinations within 24 months of their initial registration in the Ph.D. program. Part-time Ph.D. students should finish their comprehensive examinations within 36 months of completing course work. Both full-time and part-time students should complete their comprehensive examinations before defending their dissertation proposal.
• Candidates are required to take an oral examination after each written examination.
• The fields of study for the Ph.D. comprehensive examinations are to be chosen from the following list:

  Culture, Literature, and the Arts

  A general knowledge of theories of culture in general, Canadian theoretical discourses on cultural practices, and on the interplay among theory, art, and literature, and their social contexts.
  

  Environment and Heritage

  A general knowledge of locality, landscape, environment and region in Canada.
  

  Policy, Economy and Society

  A general knowledge of the complex web of relationships linking economy, civil society, and public policy in Canada and their interaction within social, political, and cultural life.
  

  Identities

  A general knowledge of the character and experience of individual, collective and communal identities in Canada.

  Women's Studies

  A general knowledge of women's experiences of the major dynamics of social, political, economic and cultural development at all levels of Canadian life.
  

 

Canadian Studies Courses at Carleton University by Fields of Study

To meet program requirements Carleton students must take at least one of the 0.5 credit courses from the Canadian Studies courses listed below. Students can also choose from approved graduate courses at the Frost Centre for Canadian Studies and Native Studies at Trent University. Students should consult with the Graduate Studies Administrator for the complete listing of acceptable graduate courses available at Trent University in any given year.

Culture, Literature, and the Arts
CDNS 5301, CDNS 5302

Environment and Heritage
CDNS 5401, CDNS 5402

Policy, Economy and Society
CDNS 5302, CDNS 5501, CDNS 5601

Identities
CDNS 5101, CDNS 5102, CDNS 5501

Women's Studies
CDNS 5201, CDNS 5202, CDNS 5501

Students may also register in graduate courses offered outside Canadian Studies. A list of courses with substantial Canadian content follows the Canadian Studies course list.

All graduate courses must be approved by the Ph.D. Coordinator in Canadian Studies at Carleton University.

Selection of Courses

In addition to the graduate courses offered by the School, the following courses are of particular relevance to students in Canadian Studies. The list is not exclusive and is subject to change. Students in the master's program in the School must complete 3.5 credits of the 4.0 credits required for the degree at the 5000-level, with the possibility of 0.5 credit at the 4000-level with prior approval from the School of Canadian Studies.

Note: the number of spaces in graduate courses offered by other departments may be limited, and registration may be conditional upon obtaining the prior approval of the department concerned. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that permission is obtained from the appropriate department prior to registering in any of that department's courses.