Graduate

IMPORTANT NOTE: The program curriculum is currently under review and there will be changes to the methods compenent for the 2013 academic year. All course requirement changes will be posted here and in the Graduate Calendar as soon as they are approved.

The requirements for successful completion of the PhD program in Policy Studies are 6 one-semester courses (consisting of: 2 required core courses, 1 required foundation course in their chosen field of study and 3 elective courses), the PhD Seminar, the Comprehensive Exam, the Dissertation Proposal and the Doctoral Dissertation.

Curriculum:

Required Core:

• Policy Theories and Approaches

• Research Methods for Policy Studies

• Field foundation course in the student’s chosen field:
  - Public Policy and Administration
  - Immigration, Settlement and Diaspora Policies
  - Social Policy

Electives:

PhD candidates must also take three electives from the following:

i) other PhD field foundation courses;
ii) new PhD course electives (three new PhD courses will be phased in from 2010 to 2013);
iii) a selection from existing policy-related graduate courses (see table under courses link);
iv) a specialized readings course in a theoretical or methodological area related to dissertation research.

PhD Seminar

On completion of the course requirements, students take a non-credit seminar to help prepare them for the comprehensive exam and dissertation proposal.

Comprehensive Requirement

Doctoral candidates must demonstrate an overall command of theories and methods in policy studies by passing a written comprehensive examination. The examination will test the student's grasp of the history and state of knowledge in the field of policy studies, its central themes and major debates, and the key theoretical and methodological foundations and challenges. The comprehensive will be in the form of a written exam and will be based on core theory, methods and the student's chosen field. The successful completion of the examination indicates that the student is qualified to teach at the university level and has the level of knowledge in policy studies needed to begin work on the dissertation. Normally the comprehensive exam must be completed by end of the second year of registration.

Doctoral Dissertation

Prior to moving to the dissertation students are required to prepare and present a dissertation proposal. Dissertation proposals will be presented orally and formally approved as part of the degree requirements normally after approval of the written proposal by the PhD supervisory committee. Normally the proposal will be presented by the end of the second year in the program. Students and faculty in the program will be encouraged to attend the presentation of dissertation proposals.

The doctoral dissertation requires the candidate to produce a substantial piece of supervised work that is worthy of publication and that makes an original contribution to knowledge in a particular field. The length of the dissertation is typically in the range of 60-70,000 words or a maximum of 300 pages. The dissertation demonstrates:

• the candidate has a thorough grasp of the appropriate theories and methodological techniques and an awareness of the limitations of those theories and methods;

• a distinct and original contribution to knowledge in the field;
• an ability to communicate research findings effectively;
• the author has written a careful, rigorous and sustained piece of work;
• that research is complete and the author is admissible to the community of scholars with expertise in the policy field.

Interdisciplinary supervisory committees will also be another important element in the dissertation research and defense process and will be structured and function in accordance with SGS policies [see http://www.ryerson.ca/graduate/policies/documents/SGS_Thesis_Regulations_000].N