Calendar 2005/2006

Location

Social Sciences Building, Room 222

Faculty number

(403) 220-6357

Fax

(403) 210-8164

E-mail address

mhillier@ucalgary.ca

smills@ucalgary.ca

Web page URL

http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/gradcoms

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Master of Arts (MA), thesis-based

Master of Communications Studies (MCS), course-based

The Doctor of Philosophy program offers a specialization in the Social Context of Information and Communications Technology.

Students applying for admission to the Master's program require an undergraduate degree in communications or the equivalent, although students with Bachelor's degrees in other areas will be considered. The doctoral program requires a Master's degree in communications or the equivalent. Prerequisites for admission to the program which are additional to Faculty requirements are:

Master of Arts (Thesis-based)

(a)A written statement of intent (250-500 words)

(b)Two samples of written work

Master of Communications Studies (Course-based)

(a)A written statement of intent (250-500 words)

(b)Two samples of written or professional work

(c)A minimum of three years work experience in a communications-related field

Doctor of Philosophy

(a)A statement of research intent (500-1000 words)

(b)Three samples of written work

(c)A detailed curriculum vita

The deadline for the submission of complete applications is 1 February for September admission.

MCS applicants must request advanced credit at the time of admission for graduate level courses up to a maximum of one half-course equivalent. Credit will not be given for course work taken as part of another completed degree/diploma or for courses taken to bring the grade point average to a required level for admission. Approval of the Director is required. Advanced credit is not available to MA applicants.

In addition to Faculty requirements, the Graduate Program in Communications Studies requires the following:

Master of Arts

(a)Three full-course equivalents including core courses Communications Studies 601, Communications Studies 613, and Communications Studies 615

(b)One-half of the above course requirements may be chosen from courses in appropriate research-related areas. One half-course equivalent elective may be selected from other graduate programs; one half-course equivalent elective may be Communications Studies 711 - Directed Studies.

Master of Communications Studies

(a)Five full-course equivalents including core courses Communications Studies 601, Communications Studies 605 and Communications Studies 615. These courses are chosen between the program's core and elective courses. One half-course equivalent elective may be selected from other graduate programs; one half-course equivalent elective may be Communications Studies 711 - Directed Studies.

(b)Communications Studies 790 - Master's Project; included as part of the five full course equivalent requirement

Doctor of Philosophy

(a)Six full-course equivalents at the 600 or 700 level in Communications Studies beyond the Bachelor's degree, three at the Master's level, and three at the doctoral level

(b)Three full-course equivalents at the 600 or 700 level in Communications Studies beyond the Master's degree

(c)For students in the Social Context of Information and Communications Technology specialization, at least four half-courses in this area

Not applicable

Credit for undergraduate courses toward a Master's program will be given only in the case of the course being developed for graduate level work. Students in the doctoral program will not be given credit for undergraduate courses.

Expected completion time is two years for the Master of Arts degree, two years of full-time study or three years of part-time study for the Master of Communications Studies degree, and four years for the Doctor of Philosophy degree. Maximum completion time is four years for the Master of Arts degree, and six years for the Master of Communications Studies and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

Master of Arts- An interim advisor is assigned by the program in the first year. The student must choose a thesis supervisor by the beginning of the second year.

Master of Communications Studies- The Program Director or designate is the assigned interim advisor for the first two years of the student's program for full-time and part-time students. The Program Director or designate is the supervisor for part-time students continuing past two years in the program. In the student's COMS 790 project year, the project supervisor may or may not be the permanent supervisor of record.

Doctor of Philosophy- By April of the first year in program, the student must submit his/her proposed field of research and the name of his/her proposed supervisor for the approval by the program. The supervisory committee must be appointed no later than three months after the appointment of the supervisor.

Doctor of Philosophy- Doctoral candidacy examinations have a written and an oral component. After completing the course work, within a period of ten calendar days, each student will take a three-hour written examination in each of the three fields of study. The student's supervisory committee sets the examination questions. The oral candidacy examination is taken no later than 20 calendar days after the last written examination.

Final thesis oral examinations are open.

Students whose research involves human subjects must receive approval from the Faculty of Communications and Culture Ethics Review Committee and the University of Calgary Conjoint Research Ethics Board before beginning data collection.

Master of Arts- Thesis supervisor must approve proposal.

Master of Communications Studies- Project supervisor(s) must approve proposal.

Doctor of Philosophy- In consultation with the supervisory committee, before the candidacy examinations, each doctoral student is required to submit a preliminary thesis proposal that may serve as an additional basis for questioning. A more detailed, Final Thesis Proposal (including an Application for Ethics Approval where relevant), approved by the supervisor, must be submitted after the successful completion of the candidacy examinations.

None

Financial assistance may be available to qualified students. For information on Awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this calendar.

Students applying for scholarships must submit their applications to the Graduate Programs Office by February 1.

Inquiries concerning specific questions about the program and degree requirements should be directed to: Faculty of Communication and Culture, Graduate Programs, Social Sciences 222, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4.

The active research interests of current faculty can be found at http://www.comcul.ucalgary.ca/Web/gradpgms/COMS/Faculty.html