DPE Master of Arts Course Requirements

Program Chair: Richard Wolfe
rwolfe@oise.utoronto.ca

Program Secretary and Liaison: Marisa Freire, HDAP
mafreire@oise.utoronto.ca

Master of Arts Course Requirements
The one-year Master of Arts program comprises six half-courses and a thesis and is a full-time program. As an apprenticeship approach is favoured, students are expected to become closely involved in the research of their faculty advisor/supervisor. Courses should be chosen in consultation with the advisor.

Required Foundation Courses

• HDP1209H       Research Methods and Thesis Preparation in HDAP
• HDP1288H       Intermediate Statistics and Research Design
• HDP2252H       Individual Reading and Research in HDAP

In consultation with your advisor, choose at least two electives from the "Departmental Electives" list in Section 1.3 of the HDAP Program Guidelines. Substitutions must be approved by the DPE program chair. The following two courses are recommended:

• JDS1233H       Cognitive Development and Applications
• JDS1249H       Social-emotional Development and Applications

Required Menu
(Students must choose two courses from this menu in consultation with their advisor)
HDP1211H Psychological Foundations of Early Development and Education
HDP1236H Developmental Psychopathology
HDP1237H Cognitive Development, Learning and Instruction
HDP1241H Outcomes of Early Education and Child Care
HDP1256H Child Abuse: Intervention and Prevention
HDP1259H Child and Family Relationships – Implications for Education
HDP1265H Social and Personality Development
HDP1272H Play and Education
HDP1279H Preventative Interventions for Children at Risk
HDP1285H Psychology and Education of Children and Adolescents with Learning Disabilities
HDP1299H Language Acquisition and Development
HDP3282H The Psychology of Critical Thinking
HDP3286H Developmental Neurobiology
CTL1602H Introduction to Computers in Education
JDS1233H Cognitive Development and Applications
JDS1249H Social-emotional Development and Applications
JHC1251H Reading in a Second Language

Substitutions must be approved by the DPE program chair

Additional Requirements
Students who have not taken a human development course in their undergraduate program must take HDP1201 as an extra course (above the 6 half-course requirement). This requirement is waived for students who take both JDS 1233 and JDS 1249.

Students who have not had a previous course in statistics equivalent to HDP 1287 (Introduction to Applied Statistics) are required to take HDP 1287 in addition to their six half-courses.

MA Thesis
Normally, there are eight major steps to completing a thesis:

1. Review of OISE/UT Guidelines for Theses and Orals
2. Establishment of a thesis topic
3. Selection of a thesis supervisor (normally the student’s Faculty Advisor)
4. Formation of a thesis committee (form to be completed)
5. Ethical review, if required (forms to be completed)
6. Thesis proposal approval (form to be completed)
7. Thesis work
8. Final thesis approval and submission (form to be completed)

When preparing a thesis, a student works in consultation with his/her thesis supervisor until a committee is formed and, after that, with his/her thesis committee. A thesis in an MA program is evaluated by a minimum of two faculty members (both holding either Full or Associate School of Graduate Studies appointments, with at least one member from HDAP).