Canadian MA Programs

[Account6567]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone had advice on the Canadian terminal MA programs, especially for the American history field. In particular, I am wondering a couple things:

1. If the top schools (Toronto, UBC, McGill) have enough of a reputation that I would be able to then get into to a top school in the U.S. for PhD

and 2. What these schools' admissions standards are like at the MA level- With a 3.7 GPA and some research experience in undergrad, would I need to apply to all 3, or would I feel fairly safe applying to only Toronto and UBC along with a much greater number of American schools at the MA/PhD level?

Thanks!

[VAZ]

 Welcome to Canada! In terms of the admission requirement, unlike the US schools, the GPA cut-off for MA and PhD is set and spelled out on the department website in Canada. Most schools ask for 3.3, and some for 3.5 (Alberta and UBC), for the last two or one year average (if you are currently in your Senior year, it could mean THIS YEAR). McGill needs a CGPA of 3.3 though. The actual people who get the offer may have higher (or lower, in some cases) GPAs, but the numbers at least give you a sense of where you are and help you decide if you should apply.

Generally speaking, admission wise, MA is way easier than PhD, and Canadian schools is easier than the US top universities. How safe it will be to get in a MA? I don't know, but not quite hard. If you are qualified for any top 30 PhD program in the US, you will be far more qualified for any Canadian MA. In your situation, if you did well in you Junior and Senior years and your Major classes, you would be fine. In fact, Toronto allows students with a 3.7 CGPA in their undergrad to apply directly to the PhD program. You may try that. 

Reputation wise, from my personal experiences, professors in the US schools look very high on the top 3 Canadian universities (though the East Coast knows more about McGill, and the West Coast is more fond of UBC). They belong to the first-tier in the US standard, and they will not hurt but boost your chance later. North American academia to my mind is one whole, and many Canadian professors got their PhDs from the US, and some US got theirs from Canada (especially from Toronto on Medieval History). Besides the three top schools, you may also look at Alberta, Queens and York, which are also very prestigious and well known in the academia. McMaster, UWO and Dalhousie also have great people and you can give a look. Nevertheless, it also depends on your specific field/time period/approach within American History and who you want to work with in these schools. A star supervisor is more important than a big-name university. What's your research interests? 

Edited December 3, 2017 by VAZ

[Account6567]

18 hours ago, VAZ said:

 Welcome to Canada! In terms of the admission requirement, unlike the US schools, the GPA cut-off for MA and PhD is set and spelled out on the department website in Canada. Most schools ask for 3.3, and some for 3.5 (Alberta and UBC), for the last two or one year average (if you are currently in your Senior year, it could mean THIS YEAR). McGill needs a CGPA of 3.3 though. The actual people who get the offer may have higher (or lower, in some cases) GPAs, but the numbers at least give you a sense of where you are and help you decide if you should apply.

Generally speaking, admission wise, MA is way easier than PhD, and Canadian schools is easier than the US top universities. How safe it will be to get in a MA? I don't know, but not quite hard. If you are qualified for any top 30 PhD program in the US, you will be far more qualified for any Canadian MA. In your situation, if you did well in you Junior and Senior years and your Major classes, you would be fine. In fact, Toronto allows students with a 3.7 CGPA in their undergrad to apply directly to the PhD program. You may try that. 

Reputation wise, from my personal experiences, professors in the US schools look very high on the top 3 Canadian universities (though the East Coast knows more about McGill, and the West Coast is more fond of UBC). They belong to the first-tier in the US standard, and they will not hurt but boost your chance later. North American academia to my mind is one whole, and many Canadian professors got their PhDs from the US, and some US got theirs from Canada (especially from Toronto on Medieval History). Besides the three top schools, you may also look at Alberta, Queens and York, which are also very prestigious and well known in the academia. McMaster, UWO and Dalhousie also have great people and you can give a look. Nevertheless, it also depends on your specific field/time period/approach within American History and who you want to work with in these schools. A star supervisor is more important than a big-name university. What's your research interests? 

Thank you! My interests are on American foreign relations with East Asia from 1900 onwards- Definitely good to know, I will be applying, but I'd like to stick to a small number since I'm applying to a lot of PhD programs in the U.S. I was thinking Toronto for sure and maybe UBC, unless I see that McGill or a different program is better for my field. But, if the admissions aren't too hard, then I think I'd stick to two programs and just hope that if my U.S. schools don't work out I'd get into at least one of them.

[VAZ]

U of T has a huge and renowned history program. You may want to work with Carol Chin or Ronald Pruessen depending on which exact period (before or after WWII) you are focusing on.

Given the Asianization of Vancouver, UBC has a great number of Asian Studies scholars, and literally one-third of the History faculty members specialize in some aspect of Asia. Maybe Jessica Wang best suits your purpose. Though she is an Americanist by training, she has written and supervised theses on the topic of US-Chinese/Asian relations.

If your interest is in the Cold War / Communist period, you cannot miss Lorenz Lüthi at McGill.

[Account6567]

1 hour ago, VAZ said:

U of T has a huge and renowned history program. You may want to work with Carol Chin or Ronald Pruessen depending on which exact period (before or after WWII) you are focusing on.

Given the Asianization of Vancouver, UBC has a great number of Asian Studies scholars, and literally one-third of the History faculty members specialize in some aspect of Asia. Maybe Jessica Wang best suits your purpose. Though she is an Americanist by training, she has written and supervised theses on the topic of US-Chinese/Asian relations.

If your interest is in the Cold War / Communist period, you cannot miss Lorenz Lüthi at McGill.

Thanks so much for the advice- Would it be alright if I messaged you this coming week with any more questions after I've had a chance to look into them?