IX. Graduate Programs
Rural Studies
PhD Program
Rural Studies core faculty are from within the School of Environmental Design & Rural Development (Capacity Development and Extension, Landscape Architecture, Rural Planning and Development), and draw associated faculty from units across the university, including Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics, Geography, Political Science, and Sociology and Anthropology.
The program focuses on two fields: sustainable rural communities and sustainable landscape systems. Sustainable rural communities are characterized by long-term well-being based on the integration of economic, social and environmental factors in their planning and activities. Four sectors of sustainable rural communities have been designated: environment and sustainability, social structure and processes, human resource development, and sustainable rural economic development. The sustainable landscape systems field examines structure, process, and change in the rural landscape through research on bio-physical and socio-cultural sectors. A number of different disciplines are represented and an interdisciplinary approach is taken to integrate across subject areas. Students may choose among fields and choose a sector within the field for relatively more-intensive study.
The objective of the PhD program in Rural Studies is to provide opportunities for advanced studies and research on the integration of socio-cultural and bio-physical components for capacity development, design, or planning of landscape systems and rural communities. Graduates are prepared to become leading specialists in addressing sustainable landscapes and rural communities issues. Interdisciplinary research is emphasized, building on the disciplines of capacity development and extension, landscape architecture, and rural planning and development within SEDRD.
Admission Requirements
To be considered for admission, an applicant must have a master's degree (or the equivalent) from a recognized university in a relevant discipline. Master's graduates in a range of humanities, social-science and applied-science disciplines are eligible for consideration for admission. As examples, master's graduates in geography, sociology, planning, landscape architecture, environmental science, capacity development and extension, and international development may be particularly suitable. Applicants who have not completed courses relevant to rural studies or gained experience in rural communities may be required to do so prior to admission or as part of initial phases of the PhD program.
The program's admission policy is governed by the availability of graduate advisors and other resources and by the need to admit applicants from a variety of disciplines and backgrounds. The interaction of students with diverse backgrounds will greatly enhance the multidisciplinary approaches in the program. The program also seeks to achieve the significant participation of women and aboriginal people from North America and international students. The co-ordinator of the program receives applications directly from prospective students or through prospective advisors and ensures that application files are complete for review by the admission committee. The committee then consults with prospective advisors and recommends applicants for admission to the Office of Graduate Studies. Applicants should consult the coordinator for the deadline for admission.
Degree Requirements
Advisory Committee
Each doctoral student has an advisory committee composed of faculty members from a range of disciplines pertinent to the field, specialization and research topic. Each committee consists of at least three members. Committees are broadly based with at least two major disciplines represented by its members. The advisor and the advisory committee provide guidance to allow for the student's intellectual growth in the program
The advisory committee assesses and approves the thesis-research proposal which is to be prepared by the student by the end of the second year, concurrent with preparation for the qualifying examination.
Course Requirements
The minimum course and credit requirements for the PhD in rural studies consist of a common 2.0 -credit core of two integrative 1.0 -credit courses (Sustainable Rural Systems, and Integrative Research Methods), a 0.25-credit research seminar, and one elective graduate 0.5-credit course or the RST*6500 Special Topics course. Additional courses may be required by the student's advisory committee. Make-up courses may be required prior to admission to the PhD program or early in the program. All courses will normally be completed prior to the qualifying examination. All or most of the courses should be taken in the first year of study.
To foster the interdisciplinary nature of the program, some courses are team taught. Attention is also paid to the sequencing of courses to promote interdisciplinarity.
Qualifying Examination
The qualifying examination for the PhD program in rural studies assesses the acceptability of the intellectual capability and research potential of students. The examination committee is constituted to represent a range of disciplines pertinent to the field.
The qualifying examination is used to determine if the student has an advanced level of knowledge and competence in the area(s) of specialization related to their research. The areas of specialization typically focus on one of the program fields, however, it is acceptable to have an area of specialization outside of these fields as long as it is agreed upon by the graduate student, Program Co-ordinator, and the Advisory Committee. The qualifying examination has both written and oral components. The written component is based on the common core subject area of the field and the student's selected sector. The oral examination is devoted to discussion of the written materials. The examination evaluates the student's ability to integrate disciplinary knowledge within the field and to undertake interdisciplinary research. The qualifying examination must be completed by the end of semester five.