M.A. Project Degree Program

The M.A. Project-based degree requires students to take five courses plus ENG 802.3: Research Methods. Students are also required to complete a 25-30 page research paper, a potentially publishable article contributing in an original way to a scholarly conversation.

In addition to adding to the student’s curriculum vitae as a tangible outcome of the Master’s degree, the project paper prepares the graduate for doctoral work and illuminates areas of further research at the Ph.D. level. It may also pave the way for related work in the public or non-profit sector, as well as for the application of research and communication skills in a variety of career fields.

For questions about the M.A. Project Degree program, please contact the Department of English Graduate Chair, Dr. Ann Martin: ann.martin@usask.ca

Transferrable Skills

• Professional Communication Skills, Written and Oral
• Research in Multiple Textual Environments
• Analytical and Problem-Solving Capacities
• Project and Time Management Skills
• Interpersonal Relations and Community Building
• International and Intercultural Engagement

Our M.A. degree programs do not include a requirement to demonstrate proficiency in a language other than English. Study of an additional language is, however, highly recommended, particularly for those who plan to pursue a doctoral degree.

Year One

• Complete 15 credit units of electives (five 3cu 800-level courses)
• Complete ENG 802.3: Research Methods
• Complete GPS 960.0: Introduction to Ethics and Integrity
• Satisfy requirements of ENG 990.0: Professional Development
• 1 May: Submit completed Student-Supervisor Agreement to the Graduate Chair
• 31 May: Submit completed MA Project Paper Proposal and Project Paper Proposal Form—signed by the Supervisor or Co-Supervisors—to the Graduate Chair
• Carry out project research and writing over Spring/Summer term
• Complete the Project Paper in consultation with your Supervisor
  • Refer to CGPS formatting guidelines
• Provide a copy of the final formatted version of the Project Paper to the Graduate Chair for distribution to the second reader by:
• August 15 - to meet the deadline for Fall Convocation;
• November 30 - if requirements for Spring Convocation are to be met without paying Term 2 tuition;
• April 5 - to meet the deadline for Spring Convocation.
• Apply to graduate by 31 August for Fall Convocation (or by March 31st for Spring Convocation).
  • Consult the April and September deadlines listed in the Academic Calendar for more information.

NOTE: After implementing final revisions and securing the Supervisor’s final approval, the Project Paper should be submitted through the site for Electronic Theses and Dissertations along with a completed GPS 404: Final Thesis Confirmation Form . Please consult the CGPS page on thesis and dissertation submission.

All requirements for the Master’s degree must be completed within four years of the date of registration in the first course. However, we expect students to complete their M.A. Project program in one year.

All graduate students are expected to keep abreast of CGPS deadlines pertaining to time in program.

The University of Saskatchewan encourages students to spend time on campus interacting with faculty, researchers, and other students, and participating in the academic life of the university. The College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies has no minimum residency requirements. Individual graduate programs, however, are required to establish their own residency guidelines. The minimum residency for M.A. students in the Department of English is one year.

All incoming students are expected to have their course selections approved by the Graduate Chair before registering online in the July-August period. 

Non-credit courses

In addition to completing GPS 960.0: Introduction to Ethics and Integrity, M.A. Project students must enroll in ENG 992.0: Research – Project each term to indicate their registration in the Master’s Project program. They must also register for ENG 990.0: Professional Development each year of their degree.

Research-related coursework

M.A. Project students are required to take ENG 802.3: Research Methods, which meets every two weeks across the Fall and Winter terms. This pass / fail course is designed to support discipline-specific skills and non-coursework-related degree requirements.

Students in the M.A. Project program must also complete five elective courses, each worth three credit units, for a total of 15 credit units of elective coursework (15cu). Each 3cu elective course is offered over one 13-week term. During the regular session (Fall and Winter terms), these graduate seminars are held once a week for approximately three hours. During the intersession (Spring term), seminars meet several times each week.

At least 12cu of the total coursework for the degree must be taken at the University of Saskatchewan.

All graduate students are expected to achieve an average of 80% or more in their coursework, which is the threshold for funding. A failing grade for a Master’s student is a mark below 60%. Students must take another course to replace a failed course, but the marks in the failed course still count toward the student's average. Students who fail two courses will be required to withdraw from the program.

The Department of English offers the following elective graduate classes in rotation. These shell courses are adapted by instructors in any given year to reflect specific research and teaching interests:

• ENG 801.3 – Topics in Textual Scholarship
• ENG 803.3 - Topics in Literary and Cultural History
• ENG 805.3 - Topics in Individual Authors
• ENG 811.3 - Topics in National and Regional Literatures
• ENG 817.3 - Topics in Literary and Cultural Theory
• ENG 819.3 - Topics in Methods and Texts
• ENG 843.3 - Topics in Genres and Contexts
• ENG 898.3 - Special Topics
• ENG 899.6 - Special Topics

Each year, faculty propose particular versions of such courses. Thus, ENG 805.3: Topics in Individual Authors might one year be a course on Shakespeare, and the next a course on Emily Dickinson. Students may thus register for courses with the same course code more than once, so long as the course topic is different.

Graduate students in English may apply to the Graduate Committee to take a maximum of six credit units (6cu) per degree program outside the Department. Such an application must include a letter indicating the particular value and relevance of the course to the student's program, as well as a description (from the instructor of the course or the department in which it is taught) of readings and assignments to be undertaken to fulfil graduate-level requirements.

The experience of intellectual exchange provided by seminars is vital to graduate study. In graduate degrees in English, coursework is intended to give students an opportunity to study a range of literature and a variety of approaches, and should not focus exclusively on one area of specialization. However, in exceptional cases, where a student's completion of the program would be jeopardized without studies in a particular area—studies that cannot be pursued through the courses offered in the English Department or elsewhere—a student may propose a reading course, arranged between the student and a faculty member, in consultation with the Chair of the Graduate Committee. The Graduate Committee will evaluate the need for the proposed course and will decide whether to recommend its approval to the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Reading courses are approved only under these exceptional circumstances. Students may take a maximum of 6cu of reading courses.

ENG 990.0: Professional Development Seminar

All graduate students are required to attend this series of seminars and workshops related to professionalization and career planning. Addressing academic but also academic-adjacent and non-academic careers, sessions will feature guest speakers and involve University of Saskatchewan resources, including supports offered through Career Services and Professional Development. Central to ENG 990.0 will be the identification and enunciation of transferrable professional skills and the ongoing creation of an Independent Development Plan.

All graduate students are required to attend the Ph.D. “Works in Progress” presentations that are part of ENG 990.0. Students are also expected to attend talks and events identified by the Graduate Chair.

The Master’s Project Paper represents an article-quality essay that makes a contribution to a scholarly field or discussion. Guided by a proposal (see below), the paper should address clearly enunciated research questions according to a well-organized and persuasive argumentative line. Detailed analyses should be informed by effective literary and/or textual studies practices, by a clear methodological and critical framework, and by high-level research.

M.A. Project students will typically choose an essay from one of their graduate courses as the basis for a paper that will be further researched and revised. The finished project will be a 25- to 30-page article-quality paper prepared for submission to a reputable refereed journal in the discipline of English (such as English Studies in Canada) or a related discipline. A project paper may also be developed out of a research project related to work as a Research Assistant for a faculty member or out of a student’s own research, such as that funded by SSHRC.

The finished paper must conform to the requirements of the current editions of either the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style. Please consult the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and especially their formatting guidelines for theses and dissertations.

To view completed Project Papers submitted by M.A. students of English at the University of Saskatchewan, students are encouraged to search HARVEST, the university’s Repository for Research, Scholarship, and Artistic Work.

Often the Supervisor of an M.A. Project Paper will be the instructor of the course in which the essay that is its basis was written. If students have not established their topic and Supervisor by the beginning of April of the first year of their program, they should consult with the Graduate Chair.

By 1 May of the first year of their program, students will submit a completed Student-Supervisor Agreement to the Graduate Chair.

By 31 May of the first year of their program, M.A. Project program students must submit a M.A. Project Paper Proposal and signed M.A. Project Proposal Form to the Graduate Chair.

The Proposal should be approximately 2 pages in length with a 1-2 page Bibliography indicating substantial research in the area under consideration. It should outline the texts, topics, and scholarly conversation to which the paper contributes. It should also indicate the research questions and the critical or analytical framework and/or the methodologies that will be used to engage with the issues. An argumentative line or structure should also be provided, as well as a sense of how the course essay will be revised and refined towards a publishable paper.

The principal role of the Supervisor or Co-Supervisors is to help students achieve their scholarly potential. In doing so, the Supervisor is a committed, accessible, stimulating, respectful guide but also a consistent and rigorous judge. After all, the student's work must meet the standards of the university and the discipline. It is unusual, though not impossible, for a student to change Supervisors part way through a project. Should a situation arise which may require a change in supervision, either the student or the Supervisor, or both, should consult the Chair of the Graduate Committee.

What can a student expect of a project Supervisor?

• to advise the student about relevant scholarly materials;
• to help them set and maintain a schedule of work;
• to be available for consultation with the student; and
• to respond expeditiously, thoroughly, and constructively to the student's drafts.

What can a Supervisor expect of a student?

• to show commitment in learning what is needed to design and carry out the project;
• to develop a plan for completion of all stages of the project, and to adhere to that plan;
• to consider seriously and respond to advice and criticism;
• to meet the requirements of the University, the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, and the Department of English;
• to recognize that the Supervisor has other teaching, research, and administrative obligations which may take precedence over consultation on the project; and
• to be scrupulous in acknowledging sources of assistance or information.

The project paper will be evaluated by two readers, normally the M.A. Project Supervisor and a faculty member from within the Department of English who is a specialist in the field.

The project will be marked Pass or Fail and each examiner will submit a signed report to the Graduate Chair in the form of an e-mail memo. These reports will be forwarded to the student and the Supervisor. If any revisions are required, the readers must specify their requirements in their written reports. The project Supervisor is responsible for seeing that the candidate carries out the changes, but the reader or readers have the right to ask for final approval of revisions. Any required recommended revisions are to be completed and confirmed by the Supervisor before the project paper is considered complete.

The finished document must conform to the requirements of the current editions of either the MLA Handbook or the Chicago Manual of Style. It will also meet the specifications of the College of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies formatting guidelines for theses and dissertations, including an abstract and a “Permission to Use” statement.

Students will submit a copy of the finalized project paper to the Chair of the Graduate Committee as well as to the submission site for Electronic Theses and Dissertations along with a completed GPS 404: Final Thesis Confirmation Form. Please consult the CGPS page on thesis and dissertation submission for more information.