Work and Society, M.A.

Course Work and Research Paper Option

Students will be required to complete six (6) half courses, including:

1. At least three half courses from the menu of Work and Society core courses.
2. Three additional courses, at least two of which must be from among those offered by other departments. Students could end up taking these three additional courses all from one department, an option likely to be attractive to students anticipating further graduate work, or they could select courses from more than one department. Programs of study will be subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.
3. A research paper (10,000-12,500 words, including endnotes and bibliography) supervised by a core or associate faculty member. The research paper will be read by the supervisor and another faculty member. (If the supervisor is an associate member, then the second reader must be a core faculty member selected by the supervisor in consultation with the student).

Course Work and Thesis Option

Students will be required to complete five (5) half courses, including:

1. At least three half courses from the menu of Work and Society core courses. The Methods course is required for students choosing the thesis option unless the student is taking a methods course offered in another department.
2. Two additional courses, at least one of which must be from among those offered by other departments. Students could take both courses from one department, an option likely to be attractive to students anticipating further graduate work, or they could select courses from more than one department. Programs of study will be subject to the approval of the Graduate Studies Committee.
3. A thesis (15,000-20,000 words including endnotes and bibliography) supervised by a core faculty member. The thesis will be orally examined by a committee including the supervisor and two other faculty selected by the thesis supervisor in consultation with the student.
4. For students choosing the thesis option, an additional three terms are available to complete their degree. This will be negotiated with their supervisor during January of their first year when their proposal is being developed.

Introduction to Methods

This course will assist students in developing a proposal for either an MRP or Thesis and increase their methods knowledge and competence. Topics covered will include: research paradigms; graduate level literature reviews; forming a research question; undertaking surveys and qualitative interviewing; and survey and interview data management and analysis. This course is Mandatory for students wanting to complete a Thesis and ‘strongly encouraged’ for students doing an MRP.

Core Courses in Work and Society

Core courses will be selected from the following menu:

• WORK SOC 700 / Work, Workers and Their Workplaces
• WORK SOC 710 / Class, Gender & Race: Theorizing Work, Home & Society
• WORK SOC 715 / Introduction to Methods
• WORK SOC 720 / Labour Markets, the State and Inequality
• WORK SOC 730 / Work and Democracy in the Global Society
• WORK SOC 740 / Selected Topics in Work and Society
• WORK SOC 750 / Independent Study
• WORK SOC 760 / Social Justice, Work and Society
• WORK SOC 780 / Bodies at Work: Politics, Science, Law & Occupational Health