Thesis Based Option and Course-Based Option
The M.A. in Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies offers students two options to complete the degree: a one-year course- and research-based M.A. or a two-year thesis-based M.A.
Masters candidates can choose one of the following two options:
1. Thesis-based M.A.(normally to be completed within 24 months)
- 2.0 credits including CSID 5000Y, “Core Colloquium”, and two other graduate half-credit elective courses from CSID offerings.
- A written and defended thesis on an approved topic. Theses will be supervised by a committee consisting of a primary supervisor, who must be a tenured or tenure-track faculty member of the Frost Centre, and one or two other committee members from the Frost Centre. Students are required to pass an oral defence of the thesis conducted by the committee and an external examiner.
2. Course-based M.A.(normally to be completed within 12 months)
To be completed within 12 months, this degree requires the same amount of work as the two year option, albeit structured differently. The workload is compressed into one calendar year. Students who select this option must be prepared for the intensive period of study it demands.
- 3.0 credits including CSID 5000Y, “Core Colloquium”, and four other graduate half-credit elective courses from CSID offerings.
- A written major research paper, to be evaluated by a supervisor and one other Frost faculty member, from a different academic unit or program from the supervisor. Further details are available in the posted policies.
Elective Courses:
CSID 5101H – Graduate seminar in Indigenous thought
CSID 5171H – Indigenous Settler Relations
CSID 5202H – Culture, heritage & the arts
CSID 5210H – Perspectives on the Canadian North
CSID 5301H – Policy, economy & the state
CSID 5401H – Environment & place
CSID 5501H – Identities & social movements
CSID 5701H – Feminist, gender & women's studies
Part-time students in the thesis-based MA are expected to complete their course requirements in eighteen months. Part-time students in the course-based MA are expected to complete their course requirements in two years.
All students must attain at least a B+/77% in their work. Additional requirements appropriate to the candidate's field may be specified by the supervisory committee.
For more information, consult the Trent University Graduate Academic Calendar or contact the Frost Centre Administrative Assistant frostcentre@trentu.ca
The two-year thesis M.A. option has proven to be an excellent preparation for doctoral studies — Frost Centre M.A. graduates can be found excelling in Ph.D. programs across the country with many of them having noteworthy scholarship and publication records even before completing their doctoral programs.
Students interested in integrating community-based education and research into their degree program should visit the Trent Centre for Community Research