S.97-40
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT, ACADEMIC
MEMORANDUM
To:
?
Senate
From:
?
D. Gagan, Chair I0tV1'
Senate Committee on Academic
Subject: ?
Department of Political Science -
Graduate Curriculum Revisions
(SGSC Meeting Feb. 17, 1997)
(SCAP Reference: SCAP 97-18)
Date: ?
March 14, 1997
Action undertaken by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee and the Senate
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Committee on Academic Planning gives rise to the following motion:
Motion:
"that Senate approve and recommend approval to the Board of
Governors as set forth in S.97 - 40 , the curriculum revisions
in the Department of Political Science."
SCAP 97 - 18
•
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
To: Alison Watt, Director
Secretariat Services
Subject: Graduate Curriculum
Changes, Department of
Political Science
From: B.P. Clayman
Vice-President Research!
Dean of Graduate Studies
Date: February 20, 1997
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The deletion of oral field examinations at the MA
level in Political Science was approved by the Senate
Graduate Studies Committee, at its Meeting on February 17,
1997, and is now being forwarded to the Senate Committee
on Academic Planning for approval.
B.P. Clayman
Vice-President Research!
Dean of Graduate Studies
mm!
attach.
For Information:
Acting under delegated authority of Senate, the Senate Graduate Studies
Committee approved the following:
Revision of the Calendar entry for the MA Program in Political Science
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FROM:
Current Calendar
En"
MA Program
The degree
program may
be completed in one of
two
ways. In the thesis option
students are required to
complete
four graduate courses and to write and
defend a
thesis
of
approximately
25,000
words
length. In the
course
intensive
option
students are required
to complete
six courses, and
to
undertake two
field examinations
successfully. Under
both degree
options
students are required to take
POL
801.
For
students who take the
thesis
option, it is required
that
they
take two of their remaining three courses
from at
least two
of the five fields of study offered by the
department: political theory;
Canadian government and
politics;
comparative government and politics; international relations; and public administration and public policy.
Students who
undertake
the
course intensive option must identify one of these five fields as their major area
of
concentration and
a second area as
their
minor field of specialization. Examinations will then be conducted for
each student
in both
the major and minor fields of concentration.
The field
examinations will be
set
by a committee of no fewer than
two
faculty members from each field. Field
examination committees for students will be established by the
Graduate
Program Committee
at the
beginning
of
each academic year. Each field examination committee will develop in collaboration
with the Graduate
Program
Committee appropriate
reading lists for
students.
The field examination committee
will
schedule, conduct
and
evaluate a three hour
written
examination and
an
oral defence of the
written answers
of not
more
than one hour's
duration, Normally all students enrolled in the course intensive degree option will complete their examinations by
the end of
their
third semester.
Any
student who
fails
one of the field examinations,
and
one only, will be permitted to
take
a second attempt at
passing
the
failed
field
examination.
TO: ?
Proposed
Calendar Entry
MA Program
The
degree program may be completed in two
ways:
through a course intensive option
or a thesis option. Students
are admitted to the course intensive M.A. program
and require
the
approval
of the Chair of the
Graduate Program
to transfer to the thesis
stream.
To fulfill the
requirements
of the course intensive
stream,
students must complete Politics 801
plus
five
additional
courses from at least
two
of the five
Fields
of Study offered by the
Department. Students also
must
pass two
written
field examinations: one in their major
and
one in their minor Field of Study.
Upon
enrolment, students are assigned a two-member Advisory Committee
which shall have the
responsibility for
determining,
in
consultation with
the student, the
projected program
of study and for ensuring that the student
fulfills all
degree requirements. The
Advisory Committee
must approve all course choices
and
the selection of the
student's major
and
minor Fields of Study.
The
Advisory Committee shall serve
as the nucleus of the field examination committee. In consultation with the
student, the Advisory Committee
will be expanded to include
additional examiners if necessary.
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Any student who fails one of the field examinations, and one only, will be
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given one opportunity to retake the failed field examination.
Students who wish to transfer to the thesis stream must have the approval of
the Graduate Chair. To be considered for admission to the thesis stream,
students must submit first to the thesis Supervisory Committee and then to
the appropriate Field Committee a thesis proposal outlining a brief summary
of the topic, its relevance, the methodology to be followed in the
investigation and a chapter by chapter outline of the thesis, a timetable for
thesis completion and a select bibliography. The thesis proposal must be
approved by the thesis Supervisory Committee and by the appropriate Field
Committee.
Students in the thesis stream must complete four courses: Politics 801 plus
three additional courses from at least two of the five Fields of Study
offered by the Department. Students also must write a thesis normally 18,750
-25,000 words in length (plus bibliography) and defend it in an oral defence.
RATIONALE:
We have revised the calendar description of our MA program to make it clearer
and more in conformity with the actual practice in our department.
Most of the changes are editorial. For students in the course intensive
stream, we have clarified the functions of the Advisory Committee, including
its responsibility to serve as the nucleus of the student's examining
committee. For students who wish to transfer to the thesis stream, we have
clarified the procedures.
In addition to these editorial changes, there is one substantive change. We
have eliminated any reference to oral field examinations for M.A. students.
We believe that at the M.A. level, six courses plus two three-hour written
field examinations are sufficient and that there is no need for oral
examinations.
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