Graduate Program (MA, PhD)
The Wilfrid Laurier University History department, together with the departments of History at the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo, offers a joint program leading to MA and PhD degrees, known as the Tri-University Graduate Program in History: http://www.triuhistory.ca Students in the program register at one of the three universities but may complete course work and use faculty and library resources at all participating universities. The Tri-University program integrates the scholarship and experience of over sixty graduate faculty members, making it one of the biggest graduate history programs in the country. Some 150 History graduate students are currently enrolled in the program and each year we accept up to 20 new Doctoral students and 60 new Master’s students.
Important notice regarding the new Ontario Graduate Scholarship program:
Individuals applying for an Ontario Graduate Scholarship must now submit an application directly to the institution at which they hope to hold the award.
While an application for admission may be transferred between partner institutions in this joint program (that is, you apply to your preferred campus, but your candidacy will be considered for any of the 3 institutions), OGS applications are specific to the institution. Consequently, applicants for admission to the joint program in history (Guelph/Waterloo/Laurier) who wish to be considered for an OGS are required to follow each partner institution’s scholarship application requirements. Applicants whose decision about a preferred home campus is firm should still submit an OGS application to each institution, to ensure consideration for the scholarship at any of the potential home institutions.
See the graduate studies website for each partner institution for specific details on application process and deadlines.
Use the left-hand menu to see what the M.A. courses are being offered at the Laurier campus or consult the TriU website (here) for M.A. courses offered at the two other campuses (
For more information about both the M.A. and Ph.D. Program (including application requirements and forms), please connect to the Homepage of the Tri-University Programme maintained this year by the
JUST A FEW COMMENTS ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS
Laurier's minimum admission requirements (see also the WLU calendar descriptions for the MA and PhD programs): In order to be admitted to the master's or doctoral programs, a student must meet the general admission requirements of the university. In addition, a minimum admission average of B+ in the last two years of undergraduate study (or equivalent last 10 full-credits), exclusive of first year level courses in those two years, is required. For the PhD program, one's GPA in all Master's work must be at least a A-. Honours graduates in a program other than history or general degree graduates may be admitted if evidence justifying admission is offered; however, a program of appropriate preparatory studies (qualifying year) will be required of such applicants. Applicants to the PhD program are expected to already hold a MA in History. Students are expected to be proficient in the language or languages needed in their areas of research. Applicants will also be required to submit 2-3 letters of reference (2 for MA and 3 for PhD applicants), statement of research interests, cv, sample of written work, and a program preference form (see the TriU website for further details on the application process). Please note that acceptance into graduate school is a competitive process and meeting these minimum requirements alone is not a guarantee of an offer of admission.
A very helpful resource "intended to provide guidance and practical advice to graduate history students in Canadian universities and junior history professors employed in Canadian institutions" is Franca Ioacovetta's and Molly Ladd-Taylor's Becoming a Historian: A Canadian Manual (online or downloadable here: http://www.cha-shc.ca/becoming%20a%20historian/index.shtml). For those of you thinking of a MA or PhD program in history will be especially interested in the chapter on "Applying to Graduate School," found here: http://www.cha-shc.ca/becoming%20a%20historian/chaptertwo.shtmll
