Please note new MA course requirements do not apply to current EDST MA students. These requirements take effect for new MA students who will begin their studies in September 2012. Course requirements for current master’s students are listed in the program worksheets.

Introduction

The MA program in Educational Studies is a cohort program which can be taken full-time over a two year period or over a longer period for part-time students. The EDST MA is a flexible program designed to meet the needs of a wide range of people interested in conducting and learning about educational research. The emphasis on educational research provides students opportunities and training to conduct their own small-scale research projects. MA students can focus their studies in one of four MA concentrations: Adult Learning and Education (ALE); Higher Education (HIED); Society, Culture and Politics in Education (SCPE) or Educational Leadership and Administration (EDAL). MA students can also develop an independent concentration with the support and approval of a faculty supervisor. The EDST MA is excellent preparation for continuing doctoral work in education (PhD and EdD) in addition to providing a rich and satisfying educational experience in its own right.

EDST provides scholarship funding to outstanding full-time MA applicants. Funding is limited and distributed on a competitive basis. Not all students who apply, and are admitted, receive funding. Students who apply to the EDST MA are automatically considered for scholarship funding. The amount of scholarship funding varies from year to year.

Content and expectations

The EDST MA is a 30-credit program that culminates in the completion of a research thesis. The degree is a deliberate approach to understanding educational research as an integrated process involved with numerous design choices. The degree provides beginning researchers excellent preparation for their own research projects and a rich learning environment about educational research given the breadth of educational theories, methodologies, and problems.

In addition to the 30-credit requirement, students are expected to complete two (2) research presentations during the course of their studies. The research presentations are predicated on the belief that educational research is a public enterprise and that educational researchers work and share their work with others. The first research presentation occurs during the end of the first year of the program, and is an opportunity for students to present their emerging research designs (MA proposal/drafts). The second research presentation occurs at the completion of the research, and is an opportunity for students to present their research findings (or conclusions) and the research implications.

MA Program Overview

Please note new MA course requirements do not apply to current EDST MA students. These requirements take effect for new MA students who will begin their studies in September 2012. Course requirements for current master’s students are listed in the program worksheets.

MA students typically enroll in two courses per term, with the required courses completed within the first year. Students enrolled in the MA program must complete:

• 9 credits of required MA courses (EDST 571: 6 credits; EDST 572: 3 credits)
• 3 credits of research methods coursework
• 12 credits of coursework in an MA concentration (3 required courses; 1 elective)
• 6-credit MA thesis

Required Educational Studies MA courses

• EDST 571 Educational Research: Relating Questions, Theory and Methodology is a required two-term course spanning Winter 1 and Winter 2 terms (3 credits each term; 6 credits total).
• EDST 572 Research, Writing, and Representation (3 credits) is a second required course taken in the summer term over five (5) Fridays. To accommodate both full- and part-time students, required MA courses are offered in evening time slots or on weekends.

Required Courses in each MA Concentration

Please note new MA course requirements do not apply to current EDST MA students. These requirements take effect for new MA students who will begin their studies in September 2012. Course requirements for current master’s students are listed in the program worksheets.

Adult Learning and Education (ALE)
EDST 503  Foundations of Adult Learning and Education
EDST 514  Adult Education Program Planning Theory
EDST 518  Theory and Research on Adult Learning

Society, Culture and Politics in Education (SCPE)
EDST 577     The Social Context of Educational Policy (Social Contexts of Educational Policy and Politics)
EDST 509    Constructing Citizens: Canada and the Educational Past
EDST 597    Educational Theories (Educational Theories: Equality, Democracy, and Justice)

Higher Education (HIED)
EDST 511  Organization and Administration of Higher Education
EDST 521  Foundations of Higher Education
EDST 536  Higher Education Systems in Canada

Educational Adminstration and Leadership (EDAL)
EDST 532  Leadership in Educational Organizations
EDST 581  Leadership, Administration, and the Aims of Education
EDST 582  The Study of Educational Organizations

MA Program Overview