The Program & Planning Your Route

Two Paths to Complete the CJPP Program

Course-Based

Students are required to complete six (6) core courses and two (2) electives for a total of 4.0 credits.

Thesis

Students are required to complete four (4) core courses and a thesis.

Course-based or Thesis?

This choice depends on your personal preference, your interest in a specific topic, your ability to research and write long-term projects, and your time and finances.

The thesis will give you the experience of in-depth research and the writing of a lengthy paper with multiple revisions. It may help you decide whether or not you want to apply to a PhD program. However, writing a thesis is also an intense and time-consuming process.

If you wish to write a thesis, discuss your interests with your prospective advisor and secure a faculty advisor before applying to the program. In all cases, your decision to write a thesis must be approved by the GPC.

You must achieve a cumulative grade point average of at least 80% in your first (fall) semester to stay in the thesis stream. If you do not meet this requirement, you will be placed in the course-based stream. This transition may have implications for funding, as many scholarships may only be held by students in a thesis degree. In exceptional circumstances and with your advisor's support, you may petition the Graduate Committee for permission to remain in the thesis option.

A thesis should be approximately 80-120 double-spaced pages (with about 250 words per page) and demonstrate some degree of original research. You will be required to present your thesis and address questions at an oral defence.

In attendance at your defence will be members of the examination committee, which normally consists of your advisory committee, one faculty member who is not on the advisory committee (the external examiner) and a chair (who does not ask questions but guarantees the fairness of the proceedings).

Course-based students do not have an advisory committee. The GPC is the advisor for all course-based students.

Timelines

This program typically takes between 10-24 months of full-time study, depending on which option you select. Students who select the thesis option often require 20-24 months to complete the program due to the need to collect and analyze original data. Course-based students are expected to complete the program in 10 months (from September to June) as the two required summer courses are 6-week intensive courses.

Planning your program is your most important responsibility at the outset of the first semester. You will want to tailor your courses to meet the program requirements and your own interests. Refer to the program requirements in the Graduate Calendar.

Course-based students should take two required courses and an elective in their first (fall) semester. Thesis students should take two required courses in their first semester.

It is natural to experience a marked increase in course responsibilities (both reading and assignments) in graduate courses. Do not be alarmed if you initially feel overwhelmed. You can draw upon many campus resources as well as your professors for advice as to how to manage your schedule.

The courseload each semester is designed so that you can achieve balance among your academic responsibilities, your teaching assistant responsibilities, and other interests.

Electives

For electives, you may take:

  • A CJPP graduate non-core course.
  • A graduate course in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology that is designated as an elective for CJPP.
  • A graduate course in the Department of Political Science that is designated as an elective for CJPP.
  • With the permission of the GPC, a graduate course in Political Science or Sociology & Anthropology that is not listed as an elective for CJPP or a graduate course in another department.
  • With instructor consent, and subject to the approval of the GPC, you may take one (1) fourth-year course in the undergraduate CJPP program, suitably modified (in workload and complexity) to reflect a graduate level course.

CJPP Core Courses and Electives

Graduate Reading Courses

You may also take one (1) reading course to meet your degree requirements.

This course must be in CJPP, Sociology, or Political Science, except in exceptional circumstances. Complete these steps to enroll in a reading course:

  1. Meet with the professor that you would like to supervise your reading course. Together, determine course content and prepare a course outline. The outline must specify readings, grading criteria, deadlines for submission of work and a schedule of meetings.
  2. Submit the outline to the GPC for review.
  3. After the review, complete a course add form (available from the GPA), using either CJPP*6650 Major Research Paper, SOC*6600 Reading Course, or POLS*6950 Specialized Topics in Political Studies. The form must be signed by you, the course instructor, and the GPC.
  4. Submit the course add form to the GPA, who will send it to enrolment services.
  5. If approved, your reading course will be added to your program for the specified semester.

Note:

  • Reading courses must be added by the course add deadline.
  • Reading courses are equivalent in credits to other courses (0.5 credits each). As such, expect to complete approximately 10 hours of work per week.
  • You may not request reading courses that are similar in content and/or purpose to existing courses.
  • You may not request reading courses that are directly related to topics that are central to your thesis, if you are writing one.

Academic Integrity Course

All students are expected to abide by the standards for academic integrity as set out in the graduate calendar.

All graduate students are required to take UNIV*7100 Academic Integrity. You will be automatically enrolled in this course in WebAdvisor. Access to this online course begins on the first day of scheduled classes for the semester.

If you have any questions about academic misconduct, please ask your supervisor, the GPC, or any CJPP faculty member.