Master of Arts in Island Studies, Specialization in International Relations (Island Studies) and Island Public Policy (Course-Based)

at University of Prince Edward Island Canada

History is our collective memory. History shapes our identity, informing who we are as individuals, communities and nations. In our modern complex and diverse world, the study of history has never been more relevant. Understanding the origins and developments of institutions and ideas, tensions and conflicts, societies and civilizations improves our social awareness and provides insight into the perspectives of others, allowing us to make informed decisions about future courses of action.

Studying history provides students with a tool box of transferable skills that will serve them well in today’s evolving job market. History students are trained to be excellent researchers, tracking down information and communicating their analysis with clarity and confidence. A History degree at UPEI will hone students’ abilities to weigh and assess evidence and expert opinion, to evaluate causes and consequences, and provide them with a foundation from which to develop practical solutions to contemporary problems. Our History graduates are pursuing successful careers in heritage and conservation, law, journalism, education, medicine, social services, policy analysis, business, communications, and digital information management.

Economics belongs to the branch of knowledge known as the "Social Sciences." The social sciences deal with both intergenerational and intra-generational interactions between human beings in a society.

Human activities can, of course, be studied from many different perspectives. We could look at humans as political, psychological, historical, or economic beings. A political scientist, for example, would analyze the political activities of the people while an economist would examine activities related to their livelihood. Human beings, in order to fulfil their innate desire for food and shelter, engage in activities that lead them to the production of goods such as food, clothing, and housing, as well as services. These acts of production and consumption to satisfy human wants form the very basis of the subject matter of Economics. Perhaps observing people engaged in this pursuit, Alfred Marshall defined economics as "a study of mankind in the ordinary business of life."

Since the ordinary business of life involves the use of limited natural and human-made resources (capital), people have always been interested in making the best possible use of these resources. This efficient use of resources has been the underlying theme in economics. Hence, the most succinct definition of economics would be that economics deals with the efficient utilization of scarce resources to satisfy human wants. Scarcity gives legitimacy to economics. If there is no scarcity, there is no economic problem.

The discipline of Economics is built upon two strands of theory: Microeconomic Theory and Macroeconomic Theory. Microeconomic deals with the study of individual units in an economy, such as consumers, producers, and the interaction of these units in a given market structure. Macroeconomic theory, on the other hand, deals with the economy as a whole. Here we analyze the problems related to unemployment, growth, inflation, and the balance of payments. Most of the other courses in Economics are applied courses which use the concepts of Microeconomic Theory and/ or Macroeconomic Theory. An understanding of the relationship between these two theory courses and other fields in economics is usually helpful in planning your selection of courses.

The School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences (SMCS) is built on a strong foundation of core Mathematics and Computer Science programs that have existed at UPEI for many years. The SMCS is unique in Atlantic Canada for offering a comprehensive suite of majors in the quantitative disciplines.

Mathematical and computational sciences are experiencing a “boom”, as many industries and sectors need people with the skills to manage, analyze, and extract useful information from data. This is what mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists are trained to do. Analytics (sometimes called “data science”) is at the intersection of mathematics, statistics, and computer science, and is the hottest area of job growth right now.

The Bachelor of Music Program is a four-year program (120 semester hours) designed to provide students with sufficient flexibility to reflect their interests. The first two years are common to the Bachelor of Music Education Program. During years three and four, students may focus on Theory, History, or Applied Music. Upon graduation, students may wish to continue studies at the graduate level in Theory and Composition, Music History, or Performance. Graduation with a Bachelor of Music will not qualify a student for music teacher certification on Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island was the first province in Canada to adopt baccalaureate education as the exclusive entry to nursing practice. This decision placed us at the forefront in the initiative across Canada to locate nursing education at the university level.

The Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program is intended for applicants with a university degree who wish to become professional nurses. Students in the Accelerated Program are required to take the same courses and have the same number of clinical hours as students in the four-year BScN program.

Central to most fields of science, chemistry helps us to understand a range of topics including environmental issues, drugs and medicine, production of plastics and other materials, and nutrition. A fundamental understanding of chemistry is also important and interesting for its own sake. There is a great demand for chemists in many industries and government agencies. In fact, the chemical industry in Charlottetown and the rest of Canada is a booming business.

At UPEI we focus on providing truly excellent undergraduate and graduate programs while carrying out innovative chemical research. Our four-year BSc Honours, Majors, Minors, and Master’s degrees are accredited through the Canadian Society for Chemistry. There is a tremendous sense of excitement in both teaching and research in Chemistry at UPEI.

The MSc degree of the University of Prince Edward Island requires the demonstration of a reasonable mastery of a concentrated field of study. The latter is attested by the achieving of satisfactory standings in the minimum number of graduate courses required by the respective Faculty, the completion of a research project, and the writing of a thesis based upon the research.

There will be considerable interaction and co-operation among the departments/faculties to provide courses and research facilities to meet the needs of individual students and their research projects.

There are a number of reasons why you should choose to major or minor in political science at UPEI. The department is characterized by diverse course offerings by expert and engaging faculty with active research interests. The small and collegial atmosphere in the department provides a unique opportunity to build mentor relationships with faculty and upper year students. The small class sizes and upper year seminar classes provide an excellent opportunity to hone research, writing, and presentation skills.

The Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) at the University of Prince Edward Island is a unique, interdisciplinary, and policy-driven graduate program that critiques islands on their own terms. We welcome students from around the world with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors.

Our program offers a challenging opportunity for students with:

• A special interest in researching islands: their societies, economies, histories, cultures, governments, geographies, and environments
• An interest in public policy and administration
• Career aspirations within local, regional, national, and international governmental and non-governmental organizations
• Career aspirations in the private and resource sectors
• A desire for the challenge of graduate education

Thesis Stream
This is an interdisciplinary program that accepts students from all disciplinary backgrounds. All we ask is that you have a passion for islands. Thesis stream students may adopt a comparative approach to study islands or explore a topic or issue that is crucial to one island. Either way, the program will prepare students with the practical research skills and knowledge they need to succeed in a world increasingly defined by interconnections and interactions among peoples and regions.

Students will:

• Study in small classes at the world’s top island studies university, hosting an Institute of Island Studies, a UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability, and the internationally peer-reviewed Island Studies Journal—all located in one of North America’s most picturesque island jurisdictions
• Benefit from grants and research assistantships made available to students by faculty
• Be considered for many scholarships and awards, including entrance scholarships and donor-based awards
• Participate in a challenging scholarly and interdisciplinary environment, with expert professors based at UPEI or visiting from other parts of the world

The thesis version of the program involves six courses (three hours per week for twelve weeks) taken in the first year and a thesis researched and written under the supervision of faculty mentors at UPEI and abroad (spread over a second year).

The specialization augments the Mathematics major with Engineering courses offered through UPEI’s School of Sustainable Design Engineering. The Bachelor of Science in Mathematics with Engineering provides a foundational Engineering program combined with more advanced mathematical training than is received in an Engineering Degree program.