HSSSJE Graduate Program
Overview
HSSSJE is an interdisciplinary graduate social science program. It is concerned with forms of social relations as they appear in specific historical, cultural, and political contexts. The program focuses on identifying new relationships and making connections by asking significant questions within and across disciplines. HSSSJE addresses theoretical and empirical problems regarding in/equity in educational spaces broadly conceived, such as schools, universities, workplaces, government, unions, media, public cultures, and communities. The examination of social relations, knowledge, and power in these educational spaces is crucial to questions of justice in everyday life. In the face of these questions, learning to teach and teaching to learn take on new promise, particularly in relation to curricular and pedagogical possibilities. HSSSJE engages with established and emergent questions and debates in research on, and at the intersections of, antiracism and critical race theory, culture and communication, feminism and gender, work and learning, class and poverty, aboriginal and indigenous studies, and francophone studies. Postcolonial and anti-colonial, diaspora and transnational, queer, and disability studies also constitute growing areas of inquiries.
Graduate Degree Program Description and Admission Requirements
Master of Arts|Master of Education|Doctor of Education|Doctor of Philosophy
Master of Arts - MA
Minimum Admission Requirements
HSSSJE welcomes applicants with diverse but relevant backgrounds. Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies.
Admission to the MA program requires an appropriate bachelor’s degree in a related discipline from a recognized university, with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year.
Applicants are required to submit the documents below. Incomplete applications may be subject to processing delays or rejection:
- a careful statement of intellectual interests and concerns relevant to sociology in education as well as reasons for undertaking a program in the department, including a statement of preference for one or more faculty members whose research is best matched to the student’s research interests
- two letters of reference, preferably from university instructors with whom the applicant has studied or worked at least one sample of written work in the social sciences
Program Requirements
- The MA is a research-based degree program which can be taken on a full-time or part-time basis.
- 3.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs), of which at least 2.0 must be Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education (HSSSJE) courses.
- Students who are registered in a collaborative program may apply to have their HSSSJE course requirement reduced by 0.5 FCE. Students must consult with their faculty advisor before enrolling in any out-of-department course for which they wish to receive HSSSJE credit.
- Additional courses may be required of some students, and some students may be required to take specified courses in research methods and theory.
- Students complete a thesis which may lay the groundwork for their doctoral research.
TOP
Master of Education - MEd
Minimum Admission Requirements
The department welcomes applicants with diverse but relevant backgrounds. Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Admission to the MEd program requires an appropriate bachelor’s degree from a recognized university, with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto mid-B or better in the final year. Applicants must have the equivalent of 12 months’ professional experience.
Applicants are required to submit the following as listed below. Incomplete applications may be subject to processing delays or rejection:
- a careful statement of intellectual interests and concerns relevant to HSSSJE, as well as reasons for undertaking a program in the department, including a statement of preference for one or more faculty members whose research is best matched to the student’s research interests
- two letters of reference, preferably from university instructors with whom the applicant has studied or worked
- at least one sample of written work
Program Requirements
- Students may complete the MEd program by one of three options:
-Option II: 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs) plus a Major Research Paper (MRP)
-Option III: 3.0 FCEs plus a thesis
-Option IV: 5.0 FCEs
- At least half of the FCEs in an MEd program must be Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education (HSSSJE) courses. Students who are registered in a collaborative program may apply to have their HSSSJE course requirement reduced by 0.5 FCE. Students must consult with their faculty advisor before enrolling in any out-of-department course for which they wish to receive HSSSJE credit. The degree may be completed on a full-time or part-time basis.
Doctor of Education - EdD
The EdD degree program is distinct from the PhD in that students are encouraged to orient towards applied and theoretical dimensions of professional educational practice understood as knowledge, teaching, and learning which takes place within or beyond schooling.
Minimum Admission Requirements
The department welcomes applicants with diverse but relevant backgrounds. Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies.
Admission to the EdD program requires a University of Toronto MEd or MA in education, or its equivalent from a recognized university, in the same field of specialization proposed at the doctoral level, completed with standing equivalent to a University of Toronto B+ or better in master’s courses.
Applicants must have the equivalent of 12 months’ professional experience.
Applicants are required to submit the following. Incomplete applications may be subject to processing
delays or rejection:
- a careful statement of intellectual interests and concerns relevant to HSSSJE, as well as reasons for undertaking a program in the department, including a statement of preference for one or more faculty members whose research is best matched to the student’s research interests
- two letters of reference, preferably from university instructors with whom the applicant has studied or worked
- at least one sample of written work.
Program Requirements
- The EdD degree may be pursued on a full-time or part-time basis.
- 4.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs), of which at least 2.0 FCEs must be Humanities, Social Sciences and Social Justice Education (HSSSJE) courses.
- Students who are registered in a collaborative program may apply to have their HSSSJE course requirement reduced by 0.5 FCE. Students must consult with their faculty advisor before enrolling in any out-of-department course for which they wish to receive HSSSJE credit.
- EdD students may begin their studies on a parttime basis. However, they must register full-time for a minimum of two consecutive sessions, not including summer, of on-campus study and then maintain continuous registration full-time subsequently until all degree requirements, including the thesis, are completed.
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD
The PhD degree program is designed to provide opportunities for advanced study, original research, and theoretical analysis.
Minimum Admission Requirements
The department welcomes applicants with diverse but relevant backgrounds. Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. PhD students who are admitted without sufficient previous study in sociology or a cognate discipline may be required to take additional courses.
Applicants are required to submit the following documents as listed below. Incomplete applications may be subject to processing delays or rejection: a careful statement of intellectual interests relevant to HSSSJE, as well as reasons for undertaking a program in the department, including a statement of preference for one or more faculty members whose research is best matched to the student’s research interests two letters of reference, preferably from university instructors with whom the applicant has studied or worked at least one sample of written work in the social sciences
Flexible-Time PhD
Applicants to the flexible-time PhD option are accepted under the same admission requirements as applicants to the full-time PhD option. However, in addition, applicants to the flexible-time PhD should demonstrate that they are active professionals engaged in activities relevant to their proposed program of study.
Program Requirements
PhD students have the option of undertaking the program on a full-time or flexible-time basis. Full-time PhD students must maintain full-time status throughout their program of study. Students take 3.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs), though additional courses may be required, and some students may be required to take specified courses in research methods and/or theory. At least ¾ of students’ PhD coursework must be taken within HSSSJE. Students who are registered in a collaborative program may apply to have their HSSSJE course requirement reduced by 0.5 FCE. Students must consult with their faculty advisor before enrolling in any out-of-department course for which they wish to receive HSSSJE credit.
Flexible-time PhD students register full-time during the first four years and part-time during subsequent years of the program. The flexible-time PhD degree is designed to accommodate demand by practicing professionals for a PhD degree that permits continued employment in areas related to their fields of research. Degree requirements for the flexible-time PhD program are the same as for full-time PhD studies: at least 3.0 FCEs, of which at least 2.0 FCEs must be taken in HSSSJE, with the possibility to apply for a reduction of 0.5 FCE in the HSSSJE course requirement if the student is also registered in a collaborative program. Students would normally take at least one specialized research methods course.
- All PhD students must also successfully complete the non-credit Learning to Succeed in Graduate School course - HSJ3903.
- All PhD students must complete a comprehensive examination.
- All PhD students must submit a thesis and defend it at a doctoral Final Oral Examination. The thesis must embody the results of original investigation conducted by the student under the direction of a thesis committee under the direct supervision of an HSSSJE supervisor. The thesis must constitute a significant contribution to the knowledge of the field of study. The student must have an approved thesis topic, supervisor, and an approved thesis committee by the end of the third year of registration, and must have completed all other program requirements.