Master of Arts - Island Studies (Course-based)

Program Description 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. UPEI welcomes students from around the world with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors.

This 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

This is an interdisciplinary program that accepts students from all disciplinary backgrounds. All we ask is that students 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).