Master of Arts (M.A.)

The purpose of the M.A. (thesis) degree is to encourage advanced study and research in one of the disciplines of religious studies for those who wish to become scholars or teachers, or will be engaged in some field of religious or public service. 

The M.A. without thesis is intended to ensure a student’s well rounded exposure to several religions and to several of the disciplinary approaches currently used in their academic study.

Program information

Specialization in Bioethics

An option in the M.A. (thesis) programs is the M.A. in Religious Studies with specialization in Bioethics—offered in collaboration with the Biomedical Ethics Unit. The curriculum is composed of required courses offered in the Biomedical Ethics Unit, bioethics courses offered by the base faculty or department, and any graduate course required or accepted by the base faculty for the granting of a Master’s degree. For more information on required courses, please refer to the "course requirements" tab.

M.A. with option in Gender and Women Studies

The Graduate Option in Gender and Women's Studies (GWS) provides graduate students with a cross-disciplinary specialization in feminist, women's, and gender studies. This Option is for those who wish to focus on gender-related issues and feminist research and methodologies. During the application process, prospective students can specify their interest in the Graduate Option when applying. There are no prerequisites to enter into the Option. However, previous coursework in gender and women's studies provides an ideal foundation for more in-depth study of and research in feminist scholarship.

Student supervision in the Option is undertaken by one's departmental supervisor who oversees student work, including choice of thesis, dissertation, or project topic. A student's M.A. thesis must be on a topic that significantly engages with issues of gender and/or women and/or feminism. For more information about GWS, visit the IGSF website.

Admission requirements

Applicants must possess a B.A. with a Major or Honours in Religious Studies or a Bachelor of Theology (B.Th.), or a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree normally with a minimum CGPA of 3.3/4.0 (B+) from an accredited university or college. Applicants with fewer than 30 appropriate credits in Religious Studies or Theology are normally required to take a Qualifying term or year before entering the M.A.  This will be assessed by the Graduate Admissions Committee at the time of application revision and the student will be informed accordingly.

Courses

Thesis

Candidates are required to complete satisfactorily a minimum of six, one-term courses (18 credits) and write a thesis (27 credits) embodying the results of their research. The minimum pass mark in courses is B- for M.A. students.

All students must consult with an advisor in the chosen area of study for selection of courses before registration.

Required Thesis Courses (27 credits)

RELG 688 Thesis Research 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 689 Thesis Research 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 698 Thesis Research 3 9 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 699 Thesis Research 4 12 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Required Course (3 credits)

RELG 645 Methods in Religious Studies 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Complementary Courses (15 credits)
15 credits selected from the 500 or 600 level course accepted by the School of Religious Studies for the granting of the Master’s degree.

Non-thesis

The program requires completing a total of 45 credits taken at the 500 or 600 level. The student is required to take 36 credits of course work, normally by taking four courses per semester for three semesters. The remaining nine (9) credits are to be earned by writing three research papers, each based on a reading list. Of these papers, one is to be in one specific religious tradition, a second, in another religious tradition different from the first, and the third, in methods used in the comparative study of religions. Each of these papers is worth three credits and each is graded on a PASS/FAIL basis.

A non-thesis student, who normally does course and graduate work in more than one field and therefore normally does not have a supervisor in one specific field, falls either under the responsibility of an area, such as presently is the case with Asian Religions as well as with the S.T.M. program, or is directly supervised by the chair of the graduate committee.

Upon entry into the M.A. (non-thesis) program, the student should immediately consult with the Area Advisor. They will advise the student on selection of courses and on the three research papers, decide what languages are required, and be responsible for receiving the Graduate Student Research Progress Report.

Research Project (9 credits)

RELG 660 M.A. Research Paper 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 661 M.A. Research Paper 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 662 M.A. Research Paper 3 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Required Courses (6 credits)

RELG 555 Honours Seminar 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 645 Methods in Religious Studies 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Complementary courses (30 credits)
Ten courses selected from the 500 or 600 level courses accepted by the School of Religious Studies for the granting of a Master's degree. All students must consult with the advisor in the chosen area of study for selection of courses before registration. The minimum pass mark in courses is (B-) for M.A. students.

Specialization in Bioethics

The curriculum is composed of required courses (6 credits) offered in the Biomedical Ethics Unit, bioethics courses (6 credit minimum) offered by the base faculty or department, and any graduate course required or accepted by the base faculty for the granting of a Master’s degree, for a total of 21 credits. A minimum of 45 credits is required including the thesis.

Required courses (12 credits)

BIOE 680 Bioethical Theory 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


BIOE 681 Bioethics Practicum 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 571 Ethics, Medicine and Religion 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 645 Methods in Religious Studies 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Complementary courses (9 credits)
Nine (9) credits selected from the 500 or 600 level are to be selected in consultation with the supervisor from graduate courses offered or accepted by the School of Religious Studies for the granting of a Master's degree. The minimum pass mark in courses is 65% (B-) for M.A. students.

Thesis component-required (24 credits)

BIOE 690 M.Sc. Thesis Literature Survey 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


BIOE 691 M.Sc. Thesis Research Proposal 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


BIOE 692 M.Sc.Thesis Res Progress Rep 6 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


BIOE 693 M.Sc. Thesis 12 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Specialization in Gender and Women's Studies

A minimum of 45 credits is required, including the thesis.

Required courses (33 credits)

RELG 645 Methods in Religious Studies 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 688 Thesis Research 1 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 689 Thesis Research 2 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 698 Thesis Research 3 9 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


RELG 699 Thesis Research 4 12 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


WMST 601 Feminist Theories and Methods 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer

Complementary courses (12 credits)
Twelve (12) credits selected from the 500 or 600 level are to be selected in consultation with the supervisor from graduate courses offered or accepted by the School of Religious Studies for the granting of a Master's degree. The minimum pass mark in courses is 65% (B-) for M.A. students.

Must include within (12 credits)

WMST 602 Feminist Research Symposium 3 Credits
    Offered in the:
  • Fall
  • Winter
  • Summer


or
3 credits of another 500- or 600-level course in Gender and Women’s Studies.

Language requirements

All M.A. students are required to complete one language other than English during their program. Students in the Bioethics program are exempted; language requirements, if any, will be determined in the process of supervision. The School of Religious Studies offers courses in primary text source languages, such as Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, Biblical Greek, Sanskrit, and classical literary Tibetan. The School relies upon other McGill units for instruction in languages other than those mentioned above.

The successful completion of at least twelve credits at the post-secondary level in a language course, or successful completion of a language examination administered by the appropriate member of the School, will constitute evidence of the student’s having the required reading knowledge of the language in question.

Students are required to give their area committee evidence of reading knowledge of a scholarly language other than English. This language may be either a modern language in which there is a significant amount of scholarship relevant to the student’s area of research, or a classical language relevant to the student’s area of research. If a classical language is chosen, it must be in addition to any prerequisite language for the area in question.

Thesis proposal guidelines

The thesis proposal is prepared under the direction of your thesis supervisor(s) with the guidance of your research committee and submitted to the Graduate Programs and Policies (GPP) committee for review and approval.

Drafting and time of submission for the M.A. proposal is undertaken in consultation with the supervisor.

General guidelines:

  • M.A. proposal word count: 1200 words maximum (excluding bibliography).
  • Your proposal must be submitted two weeks before the meeting of the GPP committee to be considered. Keep review deadlines in mind; they must be respected.
  • M.A. proposals are discussed and evaluated in the GPP meeting without the presence of the candidate.
  • Submit your proposal with your name and student number, date, indication of the degree being sought, proposal title, and supervisory signature(s).
  • It must be distributed in an unlocked PDF form that allows for highlighting and annotation by GPP committee members.
  • Use a standard double-spaced format, with brief supportive footnotes.

Main elements of a proposal:

Apart from the provisional title, there are essentially FIVE main elements of a thesis proposal, which will normally (though not necessarily) appear discretely in the following order.

  • Research question and thesis statement: The first section indicates the main subject of inquiry and the principal text(s) concerned. More specifically, it identifies the central task to be undertaken and the primary claim that is being made, a claim that will be elaborated and defended as the dissertation unfolds. Establishing the "problematic" and the "thesis" (that is, the question and the answer) is crucial to the viability of any proposal. Clarity here is essential and the labour required to attain it is an excellent investment. This process normally requires multiple revisions in the drafting the proposal and often involves important refinements or alterations to the version reviewed by the GPP committee. If one cannot formulate convincingly the main problem to be addressed, or the primary aim and claim of the work, the dissertation project is not yet ready to proceed.
  • Literature Review: This section should position the thesis in relation to previous scholarship in the area, to show how the proposed project offers an original contribution to scholarly debate or addresses an important gap in the literature. The literature can be grouped into “schools” of interpretation, if such exist. A proposal cannot offer a thorough literature review but should offer an examination of representative studies as a backdrop or a foil for your own inquiry. This normally will involve weeks or months of intensive research and reading, beyond your comprehensives, in order to have a good grasp of the literature relevant to your topic. While some research topics might not have a large body of existing academic literature, this limitation can be explained in the literature review section and literature relevant to the broader thematic concerns of the thesis can be mentioned here.
  • Methodology and approach: This section sets out the relevant operating assumptions and the theoretical tools or types of analysis to be employed. The former should be clearly indicated and the latter competently articulated. Assumptions do not have to be defended but their bearing should, as far as possible, be recognized. Analytical tools should be appropriate to the subject matter and their use (or non-use) may require explanation or defence. Proposals dealing with scriptural or foundational documents usually involve various forms of textual, hermeneutical, theological, critical, or historical analysis. Ethnographic topics may entail anthropological, sociological or qualitative ethnographical approaches. Some topics may lend themselves to a mixed-methods approach. How does the approach you are proposing address some of the limitations or difficulties of earlier approaches? Will your theoretical or methodological approach offer something original to scholarship in your field of inquiry?
  • Annotated outline: Provide a basic map of your project in the form of an annotated chapter outline. This should evince a coherent structure within which to develop your aims and arguments systematically. A Master’s project will typically have three or four chapters, including introduction and conclusion. Descriptions of each should help the committee assess your readiness for the work proposed, though in that work you are not bound to its present outline, which may well undergo significant change dictated by future findings or conceptual adjustments.
  • Select bibliography: This should include the main primary texts, or portions thereof, which constitute the focus of the inquiry. Also provide the most relevant critical literature which is most pertinent to the setting up of your own methodology and approach, specifically the most important criticism outlined in the literature review.
    M.A. bibliography: 1 page minimum (in addition to the proposal).
    You may attach your more extensive bibliography as an appendix if you wish.

General observations:

Keep the main text as clean as possible and make it accessible to those whose expertise is in other fields. Be concise, however, not impressionistic. Your research can and should proceed while you await review. Bear in mind that the labour that leads to a successful thesis proposal is the most important work that will go into your project. Where these elements are sound, the further work based on them is more likely of success and the misery of "thesis neurosis" much less likely. As Aristotle rightly maintained, “the beginning is most difficult.” It is perhaps more than half the labour.

Residency

Refers to the number of terms (or years) students must be registered on a full-time basis to complete their program. Students are not permitted to graduate until they have fulfilled the residence requirement (or paid the corresponding fees) in their program.

The normal residence requirement is three terms of full-time resident study. Students may apply to do the third term during the summer of their first year. Students may also register on a half-time basis.

Time limitation

Candidates for Masters degrees must complete the degree within three years of initial registration. If the degree is pursued strictly on a less than full time basis, it must be completed within five years of initial registration.

Please see GPS's policies on Time Limitation for more information.

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