Political Economy
Institute of Political Economy
A818 Loeb Building
Tel.: 613-520-7414
carleton.ca/politicaleconomy
M.A. Political Economy
About the Program
The interdisciplinary nature of the M.A. Political Economy is designed to offer students an exposure to the core concepts of political economy and an opportunity to develop individual areas of research concentration. The program focuses on investigating the relationship between the economy and politics as they affect the social and cultural life of societies, and secondly, focuses on the historical processes whereby social change is located in the interaction of the economic, political, cultural, and ideological moments of social life. The curriculum includes courses with a political economy orientation offered by other departments, schools, and institutes.
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
All master's candidates must maintain B standing or better (GPA of 8.0). A candidate may, with the recommendation of the Institute and the approval of the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, be allowed a grade of C+ in 0.5 credit.
Admission Requirements
The normal requirement for admission to the master's program is B.A.(Honours), with at least high honours standing, in one of the disciplines represented in the Institute. Prospective applicants without such qualifications may be considered for admission if they have both a strong academic record and relevant work experience.
Program Requirements
The Master of Arts in Political Economy is a 5.0 credit program, one of which may be at the 4000- (honours undergraduate) level. Each candidate, in consultation with the Institute, must select and follow one of two optional patterns:
- 3.0 credits, a thesis equivalent to 2.0 credits, and an oral examination of the thesis
- 4.0 credits, a research essay equivalent to 1.0 credit, and an oral examination of the research essay
Whichever pattern is selected, all students in the Institute are required to take PECO 5000 and PECO 5001, two 0.5-credit seminars offered by the Institute.
Ph.D. with Specialization in Political Economy (Collaborative Program)
About the Program
The Collaborative Ph.D. with a Specialization in Political Economy is especially designed for doctoral students in participating programs in the Faculties of Arts and Social Science and Public Affairs and Management who wish to enrich their training in a particular discipline or area of study by developing a political economy approach through interdisciplinary dialogue.
The following units participate in the Collaborative Program in Political Economy:
- School of Canadian Studies
- Department of Geography
- Department of History
- Department of Political Science
- School of Public Policy and Administration
- Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Academic Regulations
See the General Regulations section of this Calendar.
Admission Requirements
Students who are enrolled in a doctoral program in one of the participating units may apply to the Institute of Political Economy for admission to the Collaborative Program. Admission to the program is determined by the Program Committee and will normally take place before the end of the first year of registration in one of the participating doctoral programs.
Admission requirements to the Collaborative Ph.D. with a Specialization in Political Economy are:
- Registration in the Ph.D. program of one of the participating units;
- Registration in, or successful completion of, at least one course or comprehensive field with political economy content. This will normally be a course offered by the student's home unit but could also be selected from appropriate courses in other units. See Selection of Courses for a list of acceptable courses;
- Selection of a thesis topic with political economy content. The Program Committee will determine, in consultation with the supervisor, if the political economy content of the thesis meets the requirements of the Collaborative Program.
Program Requirements
Students enrolled in the Collaborative Program in Political Economy must meet the requirements of their respective home units as well as those of the Collaborative Program. The requirements of the Collaborative Program do not, however, add to the number of credits students are required to accumulate by their home unit and the credit value of the degree remains the same.
The requirements of the Collaborative Program are:
- 0.5 credit in PECO 6000 Political Economy: Core Concepts
- In addition, the following requirement(s) specific to the doctoral programs of the supporting units:
- Anthropology: a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit)
- Canadian Studies: a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit) or the comprehensive in the major field of Policy, Economy and Society
- Geography: PECO 6000 replaces GEOG 6003 or GEOG 6004 (0.5 credit), the field seminar The Geography of Societal Change, and students must register in GEOG 6906, the comprehensive The Geography of Societal Change.
- History: HIST 6701 (0.5 credit) Directed Studies - History and Political Economy, or a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit). The combination of the two courses will be considered as the second minor field of the student.
- Political Science: a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit).
- Public Policy and Administration: a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit) .
- Sociology: a relevant political economy course from the approved list (0.5 credit) or part of comprehensive preparation in the sub-field of political economy.
- Submission and successful defence of a doctoral thesis on a political economy topic in the participating unit. The proposed topic must be approved by the student's home unit and by the Program Committee. At least one of the student's advisors or members of the examining committee will be selected from among the core faculty for the Collaborative Program.
Selection of Courses
In addition to the graduate courses offered by, or associated with, the Institute, the courses listed below are relevant to students of political economy and would, with the prior approval of the Institute, be used to design a coherent and internally complementary set of courses to fulfil degree requirements. The list is not exclusive and is subject to change. Moreover, students in the Master's program may select 1.0 credit in political economy that is offered at the 4000-level.
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 the following courses.
The Institute expects to attract high quality graduate students who will be likely to continue to a second post-graduate degree. Master's students will be directed to consult with the department where they might wish to pursue doctoral studies so that they may select courses that will prepare them for this next stage.
Anthropology
ANTH 5106, ANTH 5107, ANTH 5109, ANTH 5202, ANTH 5208, ANTH 5210, ANTH 5704, ANTH 5808, ANTH 5809
Canadian Studies
CDNS 5101, CDNS 5102, CDNS 5201, CDNS 5202, CDNS 5501, CDNS 5601
Economics
ECON 5403, ECON 5500, ECON 5504, ECON 5505, ECON 5507
Geography
GEOG 4207 Urban Development and Analysis
GEOG 4300 Comparative Environmental MovementsGEOG 4400 Environmental Geopolitics
GEOG 4401 Geographies of Globalization
GEOG 5005, GEOG 5200, GEOG 5400, GEOG 5500
History
HIST 5506, HIST 5508, HIST 5509, HIST 5800
International Affairs
INAF 5007, INAF 5101, INAF 5300, INAF 5303, INAF 5501, INAF 5502, INAF 5601
Law
LAWS 4001 Law, Family and Gender
LAWS 4002 Feminist Theories of Law
LAWS 5002, LAWS 5003, LAWS 5004, LAWS 5005, LAWS 5006, LAWS 5007, LAWS 5200, LAWS 5302, LAWS 5306
Political Science
PSCI 4000 Topics in Canadian Government and Politics
PSCI 4002 Policy SeminarPSCI 4009 Quebec Politics
PSCI 4102 Politics of Western Liberal Democracies
PSCI 4103 The State in Advanced Capitalist Societies
PSCI 4104 Theory and Practice in Third World Development
PSCI 4105 Selected Problems in Third World Development
PSCI 4401 Business-Government Relations in Canada
PSCI 4500 Feminist Analysis in Comparative Perspective
PSCI 4505 Transitions to Democracy
PSCI 4603 Analysis of International Political Economy
PSCI 4604 Selected Problems in International Political Economy
PSCI 5003, PSCI 5008, PSCI 5101, PSCI 5105, PSCI 5107, PSCI 5202, PSCI 5501, PSCI 5502, PSCI 5504, PSCI 5507, PSCI 5509, PSCI 5607
Public Administration
PADM 5115, PADM 5213, PADM 5220, PADM 5224, PADM 5228, PADM 5702, PADM 5811, PADM 5813, PADM 5814
Social Work
SOWK 4102 Aboriginal Peoples and Social Policy
SOWK 4103 Practice and Policy in Immigration
SOWK 5102, SOWK 5105, SOWK 5106, SOWK 5301, SOWK 5805
Sociology
SOCI 5000, SOCI 5002, SOCI 5007, SOCI 5109, SOCI 5204, SOCI 5205, SOCI 5209, SOCI 5300, SOCI 5301, SOCI 5302, SOCI 5308, SOCI 5400, SOCI 5404, SOCI 5405, SOCI 5408, SOCI 5409, SOCI 5500, SOCI 5504, SOCI 5607, SOCI 5608, SOCI 5804, SOCI 5806
