The M.A. in Education and Society offers students the opportunity to explore educational issues within various societal contexts, encompassing cultural, historical, philosophical, economic, and political factors. Drawing from diverse theoretical frameworks such as philosophy, sociology, and cultural studies, this interdisciplinary program encourages critical inquiry into education's multifaceted nature. This stream in Gender and Women’s Studies allows students to explore learning and research with a gender-based critical lens. Students may choose from two program format options, as outlined below:
Master of Arts Education and Society (Project): Gender and Women's Studies
Within this option, the Master's project must focus primarily on topics related to gender and/or women’s studies, aligning with the program's thematic emphasis.
Details from the eCalendar
Education and Society (Non-Thesis) (M.A.): Gender and Women's Studies (45 credits)
Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)
Degree: Master of Arts
Program credit weight: 45
Program Description
The M.A. non-thesis project option - Gender and Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary program for students who meet the degree requirements in a participating unit and wish to earn 6 credits of approved coursework focusing on gender and women's studies, and issues in feminist research and methods. The non-thesis project option consists mainly of coursework, and includes two 6 credit projects. This option is suitable for practitioners interested in professional development with a research and theoretical orientation. The project must be on a topic centrally relating to issues of gender and/or women's studies.
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Research Project (12 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDER 633 | Project 1. | 6 |
Project 1. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical or practical project to explore and analyze an area of interest relevant to education and society. | ||
| EDER 634 | Project 2. | 6 |
Project 2. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Theoretical or practical project to explore and analyze an area of interest relevant to education and society. | ||
Required Courses (9 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEM 609 | Critical Perspectives in Educational Theory and Research. | 3 |
Critical Perspectives in Educational Theory and Research. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Critical exploration of contemporary issues in educational theory and research, in terms of current scholarship in the field, current educational contexts, and various research paradigms. Educational issues as expressions of social, ethical, political, economic, epistemological and cultural reconfigurations. Students will learn to be critical consumers of educational theories and research. | ||
| EDEM 690 | Research Methods: Theory and Practice. | 3 |
Research Methods: Theory and Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Overview of the epistemological foundations of a range of research methods, including but not limited to quantitative, philosophical, qualitative, arts-based, and mixed methods. Students will learn techniques to conduct research and to develop a research proposal. | ||
| WMST 601 | Feminist Theories and Methods. | 3 |
Feminist Theories and Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of feminist theories and research methods from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. | ||
Complementary Courses (15 credits)
12 credits from the following:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEC 602 | Foundations in Curriculum. | 3 |
Foundations in Curriculum. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course introduces the field of curriculum studies, including a historical approach to the discourses, debates and issues that have shaped it. Students will actively explore relationships between curriculum theory and professional as well as pedagogical practice. | ||
| EDEC 606 | Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . | 3 |
Self-Study, Autoethnography, and Autobiographical Research . Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Critical and ethical engagement with the relationship between self and other through various auto/biographical approaches to research in education, such as self-study, autoethnography, currere, life writing, artistic practices, writing the self, and memory-work. Exploration of various forms of writing, representation, analysis and critical discussion | ||
| EDEC 612 | Digital Media and Learning. | 3 |
Digital Media and Learning. Terms offered: Summer 2025 This course addresses emerging theories, pedagogies, and practices related to youth learning through digital media and online participatory cultures. Through direct engagement with multiple forms of digital media and youth, students will consider implications for teaching and learning within and beyond schools. | ||
| EDEC 617 | Special Topics in Educational Studies. | 3 |
Special Topics in Educational Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores important current issues in the field of Educational Studies. (Content varies from year to year). | ||
| EDEC 620 | Meanings of Literacy. | 3 |
Meanings of Literacy. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Investigation of basic issues related to definitions of literacy. Issues include new directions in literacy and education, the need for non-print literacies in contemporary life, and the challenges these changes present for educators. | ||
| EDEC 628 | Literacy - Multilingual/Multicultural Settings. | 3 |
Literacy - Multilingual/Multicultural Settings. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course examines the teaching of literacy in a range of multilingual and multicultural settings in schooling and society, primarily from the sociocultural perspectives of self and group identity as well as empowerment within majority-minority group relations. | ||
| EDEC 635 | Research Writing. | 3 |
Research Writing. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. The course offers a research-led introduction to processes and practices of research writing. Working to develop their research writing projects, students learn to examine, critically reflect on, and participate in the research writing practices in their fields, guided by current research on the discursive construction of knowledge. | ||
| EDER 606 | Philosophy of Moral Education. | 3 |
Philosophy of Moral Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. A study of principles underlying contemporary moral education such as what constitutes moral values and judgments, normative basis for morality, and differing foundations employed in determining moral norms. | ||
| EDER 607 | Ethics and Values in Education. | 3 |
Ethics and Values in Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Considers education as a concept and practice influenced by values (ethical, religious, aesthetic, cultural, political, etc.). Includes a critical examination of selected approaches to values education. | ||
| EDER 608 | Educational Implications of Social Theory. | 3 |
Educational Implications of Social Theory. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An analysis of some of the educational implications of various social and political theories: liberalism, Marxism and others. | ||
| EDER 609 | Education and Philosophical Thought. | 3 |
Education and Philosophical Thought. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An analysis of the educational implications of various philosophical positions concerning the nature of reality and the nature of knowledge. | ||
| EDER 614 | Sociology of Education. | 3 |
Sociology of Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Social context of schooling, including education and social stratification and socialization processes within and outside schools. | ||
| EDER 615 | Introduction to Philosophy of Education. | 3 |
Introduction to Philosophy of Education. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Explores questions, aims, debates and modes of inquiry that characterize philosophical approaches to studying educational questions. Introduces philosophy of education as a distinctive field of educational research and may focus on figures or themes of contemporary interest. | ||
| EDER 617 | Aesthetics and Education. | 3 |
Aesthetics and Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. An examination and critical analysis of selected readings on the topic of aesthetics, with specific reference to their application to educational practice. | ||
| EDER 622 | Studies in Comparative Education. | 3 |
Studies in Comparative Education. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Comparative study of the economic, political and social aspects of education systems. | ||
| EDER 625 | Special Topics in Educational Studies. | 3 |
Special Topics in Educational Studies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Explores important current issues in the field of Educational Studies. (Content varies from year to year.) | ||
| EDER 626 | Theory and Praxis of Culture and Citizenship. | 3 |
Theory and Praxis of Culture and Citizenship. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Study and critique of contemporary ethics and cultural education models with a specific emphasis on Quebec’s Culture and Citizenship program. Introduction to a variety of theoretical and practical perspectives on the roles culture and citizenship play starting from our personal lives to the classroom. | ||
| EDER 643 | Women, Education and Development. | 3 |
Women, Education and Development. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. This course will trace the major theoretical developments in women and development and relate them to educational issues in the formal, non-formal and informal settings. There will be an emphasis on the significance and policy implications of women's education for sustainable developments in the countries of the South. | ||
| EDER 649 | Education: Multicultural Societies. | 3 |
Education: Multicultural Societies. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Majority-minority relations and their implications for educational policy and practice. | ||
3 credits chosen from the following, must be either:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WMST 602 | Feminist Research Symposium. | 3 |
Feminist Research Symposium. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion and development of participants' research in gender and women's studies. | ||
or one 3-credit course, at the 500 level or higher, on gender/women's issues.
Elective Courses (9 credits)
9 credits at the 500 level or higher. An elective course can be any course in DISE. If the course is outside the department, the student should consult with the Program Director or Coordinator prior to registering for the course. A maximum of 9 credits outside of DISE is permitted.
Master of Arts Education and Society (Thesis): Gender and Women's Studies
Within this option, the Master's thesis must focus primarily on topics related to gender and/or women’s studies, aligning with the program's thematic emphasis.
Details from the eCalendar
Education and Society (Thesis) (M.A.): Gender and Women's Studies (45 credits)
Offered by: Integrated Studies in Ed (Faculty of Education)
Degree: Master of Arts
Program credit weight: 45
Note: For information about Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 course offerings, please check back on May 8, 2025. Until then, the "Terms offered" field will appear blank for most courses while the class schedule is being finalized.
Thesis Courses (24 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEM 621 | Thesis 1. | 6 |
Thesis 1. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Departmental seminar to guide students through the process of developing a thesis proposal, identifying a supervisor, research sites and participants, and considering ethical issues. | ||
| EDEM 623 | Thesis 2. | 6 |
| EDEM 699 | Thesis 3. | 12 |
Thesis 3. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Final synthesis of the research project. | ||
Required Courses (9 credits)
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| EDEM 609 | Critical Perspectives in Educational Theory and Research. | 3 |
Critical Perspectives in Educational Theory and Research. Terms offered: Summer 2025 Critical exploration of contemporary issues in educational theory and research, in terms of current scholarship in the field, current educational contexts, and various research paradigms. Educational issues as expressions of social, ethical, political, economic, epistemological and cultural reconfigurations. Students will learn to be critical consumers of educational theories and research. | ||
| EDEM 690 | Research Methods: Theory and Practice. | 3 |
Research Methods: Theory and Practice. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Overview of the epistemological foundations of a range of research methods, including but not limited to quantitative, philosophical, qualitative, arts-based, and mixed methods. Students will learn techniques to conduct research and to develop a research proposal. | ||
| WMST 601 | Feminist Theories and Methods. | 3 |
Feminist Theories and Methods. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Examination of feminist theories and research methods from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. | ||
Complementary Courses (3 credits)
3 credits chosen from the following, must be either:
| Course | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| WMST 602 | Feminist Research Symposium. | 3 |
Feminist Research Symposium. Terms offered: this course is not currently offered. Discussion and development of participants' research in gender and women's studies. | ||
or one 3-credit course, at the 500, 600, or 700 level on gender/women's issues, chosen in consultation with the Thesis Supervisor or Graduate Program Director.
Elective Courses (9 credits)
9 credits at the 500- level or higher, chosen in consultation with the Thesis Supervisor or Graduate Program Director. Maximum 3 credits from outside the Department.
Have questions? Grad.DISE [at] mcgill.ca (subject: M.A.%20Education%20%26%20Society%20(Thesis)%20G%2FW%20Studies%20Inquiry) (Contact us!)
