The M.A. program is generally recognized as among the most demanding and rewarding in Canada. A main purpose of the M.A. degree is to demonstrate an ability to design and execute with competence a major piece of research, comparable to a full-length article in a scholarly journal. The length will vary with the nature of the topic. A thesis that contains considerable data analysis might be well developed in 50 pages, while an institutional or historical study would generally be longer.

The Development Studies Option (DSO) is a cross-disciplinary M.A. program offered within existing M.A. programs in the Departments of Geography, History, Political Science, Anthropology, Economics, and Sociology. This thesis option is open to master's students specializing in development studies. Students enter through one of the participating departments and must meet the M.A. requirements of that unit. Students take an interdisciplinary seminar (INTD 657 Development Studies Seminar) that will be co-taught by professors from two different disciplines and a variety of graduate-level courses on international development issues. The M.A. thesis must be on a topic relating to development studies, approved by the DSO Coordinating Committee.

Students interested in development will benefit from the expertise provided by the Institute for the Study of International Development. For more information on the Institute, see mcgill.ca/isid/teaching-programs/graduate/development-studies.

The European Studies Option (ESO) is an option offered within existing M.A. programs in the Departments of Political Science, History, and Sociology, as well as in the Faculty of Law. This option is open to students whose work is focused on Europe, in particular on issues relating to European integration, broadly understood. Students will take an interdisciplinary capstone seminar and two other courses on European themes and issues as part of their M.A. program. Students enter through one of the participating departments and must meet the requirements of that unit. The M.A. thesis must be on a topic relating to European Studies, as approved by the ESO coordinating committee. Knowledge of French, while not a prerequisite, is an important asset for admission and will be encouraged as part of the program, as will knowledge of a third European language.

The M.A. program is generally recognized as among the most demanding and rewarding in Canada. Students in the non-thesis program will submit a research essay. The research essay will normally be based on a paper written for a graduate seminar or an independent reading course. The research essay requirement also applies to each of the non-thesis options listed below.

The Development Studies Option (DSO) is a cross-disciplinary M.A. program offered within existing M.A. programs in the Departments of Geography, History, Political Science, Anthropology, Economics, and Sociology. Students enter through one of the participating departments and must meet the M.A. requirements of that unit. Students take an interdisciplinary seminar that will be co-taught by professors from two different disciplines (INTD 657 Development Studies Seminar) and a variety of graduate-level courses on international development issues.

Students interested in development will benefit from the expertise provided by the Institute for the Study of International Development. For more information on the Institute, see mcgill.ca/isid/teaching-programs/graduate/development-studies.

The European Studies Option (ESO) is an option offered within existing M.A. programs in the Departments of Political Science, History, and Sociology, as well as in the Faculty of Law. This option is open to students whose work is focused on Europe, in particular on issues relating to European integration, broadly understood. Students enter through one of the participating departments and must meet the requirements of that unit. Students will take an interdisciplinary capstone seminar and two other courses on European themes and issues as part of their M.A. program. Knowledge of French, while not a prerequisite, is an important asset for admission and will be encouraged as part of the program, as will knowledge of a third European language.

The Gender and Women’s Studies Option offers McGill graduate students who meet the degree requirements in a participating unit and who wish to earn 6 credits of approved coursework, a cross-disciplinary specialization in feminist, and gender and/or women’s studies, deploying a wide array of disciplinary methodologies and modes of inquiry. The student's research paper must be on a topic centrally focused on gender and/or women's studies. See mcgill.ca/igsf/programs.

**This program is currently not offered.**

The Social Statistics Option complements disciplinary training with research experience applying statistical methods to Statistics Canada data or equivalent. Students complete course requirements, supplemented by further statistical courses, as advised by the Option Advisor, and subject to approval by the Department, and a statistics-based M.A. research paper in conjunction with an interdisciplinary capstone seminar. See mcgill.ca/socialstatistics. Entrance to this option is by application to the Social Statistics Option Committee subsequent to acceptance into the Departmental program.

A research paper is required to demonstrate proficiency in research. It is normally about 50 pages in length and involves revision of a paper written for one of the graduate courses completed in the program. The research paper is evaluated by two faculty members in the Department.

The doctoral program is designed to give students the necessary foundation for making original contributions to knowledge. Graduate courses provide students with analytical and theoretical tools used in particular subfields. This general training includes specialized training in research methods. Recent graduates of our doctoral program are pursuing diverse employment opportunities.

The graduate option in Gender and Women's Studies is an interdisciplinary program for students who meet the degree requirements in Political Science and who wish to earn 6 credits of approved coursework focusing on gender and women's studies, and issues in feminist research and methods.

This option is a cross-disciplinary specialization run by the McGill Institute for Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies. The student's doctoral thesis must be on a topic centrally related to gender and/or women's studies. For more information on the option, see mcgill.ca/igsf/graduate-0.