Calendar 2005/2006

Location

Craigie Hall, Room D318

Faculty number

(403) 220-4001

Fax

(403) 284-3634

E-mail address

fisgrad@ucalgary.ca

Web page URL

http://fis.ucalgary.ca/

Master of Arts (MA), thesis and course-based routes, in French and Spanish

Areas: French Language Studies, French Literature from the Medieval to the Contemporary periods, French-Canadian Literature, Francophone Literatures and Film, Hispanic Language Studies and Literatures, Hispanic Cultures and Film. Comparative Literature, Literary Theory and Language Instruction (including computer-assisted language learning)

The Department also participates actively in interdisciplinary degree programs, such as Canadian Comparative Literature (with English) and Film.

Applicants wishing to undertake a doctoral program with a specialization in French, Spanish or Second Language Studies should contact the Department.

In addition to Faculty requirements, the Department requires students:

(a)To demonstrate a sufficiently high level of oral and written competence in the French or Spanish language;

(b)To have an adequate academic background in the discipline;

(c)To submit an example of the applicant's written work: a term paper, research paper or other writing, which the applicant considers representative of his or her best work. The paper must be in either French or Spanish, depending on the language of study.

(d)A 250-word (minimum) statement of research interest including research topic and the reasons for wishing to pursue graduate work in this Department

Deadlines for the submission of complete applications :

1 February for September admission (when accompanied by scholarship application)

1 March for September admission (with no scholarship application)

1 September for January admission

Applications received later than the deadline will be considered, but chances of financial support are greatly reduced. The Department will be making its first round of decisions for financial support by the end of March.

The applicant must make advanced credit requests as part of the admission process. Credit will not be granted 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.

Note:Normally no more than one half-course of Directed Reading may be taken for credit.

In addition to Faculty requirements, the Department normally requires:

Master of Arts (Thesis)

Six half-course equivalents (including French 605 or Spanish 601, depending on the language of study)

Master of Arts (Course-based)

Ten half-course equivalents (including French 605 or Spanish 601, depending on the language of study)

Applicants lacking the requisite background in language or literature may be admitted as qualifying students. In this case, extra course work is normally required. A qualifying oral examination based on set texts may be required before the students attain regular Master of Arts status. Courses taken as qualifying student do not normally count as part of the student's course requirements.

(a)All students must attend an orientation session.

(b)Both options have a knowledge areas requirement that must be satisfied before or after admission. Upon admission students will be advised of any specific course or other work needed to fulfil this requirement.

(c)Before the end of their second year of study, MA Thesis students are required to make a departmental or external presentation relating to their research.

(d)Students in the thesis-based and course-based programs are also expected to demonstrate their participation in university-wide research activities by attending at least five departmental or external scholarly presentations every year in their programs. Information on the presentations and a one page critical summary for each one must be submitted with the Annual Progress Report.

(e)The course-based program also requires a comprehensive examination with a written and an oral component, taken after the completion of all course work and any other requirement. Students are required, as early as possible and, in any case, at least before registering for an eleventh semester to file the reading list on their chosen area of specialization with the Department's Graduate Committee. The list should be drafted after consultation with the student's supervisor and approved by that faculty member.

Not applicable

Expected completion time for full-time students is two years for a thesis program and three years for a course-based program. Maximum completion time is four years for a thesis program and six years for a course-based program.

Newly admitted students begin their programs under the supervision of the departmental Graduate Coordinator. Students are expected to choose a permanent supervisor by the end of the second regular academic session after first registration (30 April for September registrants and 15 December for January registrants). Selection of a supervisor should be by mutual agreement between the student and the staff member concerned, approved by the Graduate Coordinator.

Final thesis oral examinations are closed.

Thesis students are required to submit a written thesis proposal fourteen months after initial registration (31 October for September registrants and 21 February for January registrants.) This proposal should be approximately 1000 words in length and be accompanied by an abstract and an appropriately detailed preliminary bibliography. It should be drafted after consultation with the student's supervisor and have his/her preliminary approval. These documents will be circulated to the departmental Graduate Committee for approval. Abstracts of proposals may be reproduced for information purposes.

None

Funding is available to qualified thesis-based students in the form of research and/or teaching assistantships. Students can expect to receive funding for a maximum of two years. Students applying for scholarships for the following academic year must submit their applications to the Department by 1 February. All students are strongly encouraged to seek external financial assistance throughout their program. For information on awards, see the Awards and Financial Assistance section of this calendar.

Prospective students are encouraged to consult either the Head of the Department or the Graduate Coordinator. Detailed information on our programs is also available at http://fis.ucalgary.ca

Information about faculty members and their research interests may be found at http://fis.ucalgary.ca/fisweb/GradProg