Program Description for Prospective Applicants

Each graduate candidate's program is individually designed to meet the needs of the candidate and the thesis topic. Prospective applicants should note that a grade point average equivalent to 80% is the minimum required for entry to the CPS program.

Prior to their formal application to the program, prospective candidates are required to prepare a descriptive summary of their proposed topic of research which is presented to the Executive Director for discussion. The summary need not be more than a few pages in length but it should clearly present the thesis area(s) of study, the thesis problem statement, objectives of the thesis, and a brief literature rationale that substantiates the importance of the question(s) being addressed in the thesis. The summary must also explicitly identify its relevance to the Canadian Plains and the inter- or transdisciplinary features of the proposed research. A copy of the applicant's transcripts must also be provided.

If a prospective candidate is proposing research that appears to be largely based in a single discipline, the Executive Director may require that the appropriate disciplinary department review the proposed research to determine if it would be acceptable in that department. If it would be, then the proposal would not be pursued through CPS. Also, if a suitable description of the research cannot be generated, then no further action in developing an application is pursued through the CPS program. However, if a suitable description of an inter- or transdisciplinary research project can be generated, then prospective committee members, including a prospective supervisor, are approached and asked to review the descriptive material and the prospective candidate's academic record. Those prospective committee members are approached on the basis of their potential contribution to the major themes of the proposed research. For example, if the proposed research involves a strong methodological component in the behavioural sciences, then a specialist in that field would be approached to serve on the committee.

The Executive Director of CPRC administers the CPS program and serves on all CPS thesis committees, ex officio. In addition, a CPS graduate committee is normally composed of a supervisor and two or three committee members. If no one can be found to serve as supervisor, or if there are no appropriate or an insufficient number of faculty members to serve as committee members, then no further action is taken in developing the application. Once a prospective committee has been developed, appropriate courses are determined for the student. The student is required to take 15 credit hours of courses at the graduate level. One of those courses is CPS 801 (3 credit hours); the others are determined in discussion between the prospective candidate and committee members. Once a suitable description of the thesis research is developed, and a suitable committee is configured with a listing of appropriate courses, a document is prepared that summarizes that material.

The prospective candidate then completes a formal application form to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research (with accompanying transcripts, references) and the document outlining the proposed research, committee, and courses. In the case of an application for a Ph.D., that material goes for review to the University's Ph.D. Committee which makes a final decision on the acceptability of the application. If accepted, the candidate then formally enters the program. Normally, in the first two terms of study, the candidate is expected to complete the fifteen credit hours of courses, and prepare a full thesis proposal for review by the committee. Once that proposal is accepted by the committee, the candidate then has formal permission to proceed on the thesis topic. In the case of research involving human subjects, research instruments (e.g. questionnaires) must first be approved by the University's Research Ethics Committee. For a Ph.D. candidate, the candidate undergoes a comprehensive exam normally no later than during the second year. The exam is set by the candidates thesis committee. Failure to reach acceptable grades in the courses, or failure to develop an acceptable thesis proposal, or failure to pass the comprehensive exam (in the case of a Ph.D. candidate) are all grounds for dismissal from the program. Assuming the candidate passes all of those requirements, then the candidate will be expected to deliver a defensible thesis acceptable to the committee. CPRC offers Teaching Assistantships and Graduate Scholarships on a competitive basis among CPS graduate students. Study carrel space within the CPRC office may also be provided.

Current CPS Students and Topics

The following list of current CPS students and their supervisors indicates the strong interdisciplinary nature of the program and support from throughout the university.

Flor de Maria Alfaro (Ph.D. program)
Community and Institutional Infrastructures for Sustainable Development: Initiatives and Best Practices. This study focuses on rural institutional infrastructure, specifically on various development and environmental initiatives undertaken by the community of Bajo Lempa, El Salvador, and their social and environmental implications. The research also takes as a comparative analytical parameter the experience of sustainable initiatives in selected rural communities in the province of Saskatchewan. This comparative analysis will contribute to an assessment of new institutional tools for the implementation of sustainable development programmes and policies in El Salvador.
Dr. Harry P. Diaz (Sociology); Dr. David A. Gauthier (Geography)
* Recipient of CIDA International Internship Award to conduct research on Governance and Capacity Building in Rural El Salvador, from September through December 2005.

Tina Beaudry-Mellor (Ph.D. program)
A Woman’s Place? Women and the Voluntary Sector in Saskatchewan. Two levels of inquiry will be undertaken in this research: Firstly, do women play a disproportionate role as stakeholders in voluntary sector organizations in the province? To what extent? And secondly, why do women dominate this sector and what is the impact of that dominance in Saskatchewan, particularly on the “health” of civil society.
Dr. Luc Theriault (Social Work); Dr. Joyce Green (Political Science); Dr. Darlene Juschka (Women’s Studies)

Lorena Cote (Master's program)
A Linguistic Analysis of the Dialect of the Cote Saulteaux First Nation through a Traditional Teaching Text. This thesis will provide practical information for Saulteaux language pedagogy through its linguistic analysis, and will also present cultural material (about the uses of herbal medicines) through the recorded voice of a Saulteaux elder.
Arok Wolvengrey (Indian Languages, Literature and Linguistics, First Nations University of Canada); Patrick Douaud (Education)

Merelda Fiddler (Master's program)
"Yearning to Belong": Fiddler's Map - The Struggle for Metis Identity. This study examines the role that physical place and family history play in the identity of the Metis people.
Dr. David Miller (First Nations University of Canada)

Ian McWilliams (Ph.D. program)
Early Saskatchewan Theatre Spaces: Place, Performance, and Community (pre-1940). Theatres housed various performative events such as plays, films, music, lectures, rallies, presentations, and civic meetings. By examining early Saskatchewan buildings used for performative events, the performances/events held within such buildings, and community reaction to such performances/events, this thesis will explore what role Saskatchewan theatre spaces played in Saskatchewan communities. What defining or constructive role did theatres play in young communities seeking self-definition – culturally, morally, and economically? To what extent did such structures contribute to the cultural, social, and economic hegemony of their communities?

Doreen Oakes (Master's program)
The Discource Function of Conjunct Mode Constructions in Plains Cree. This thesis will combine a linguistic investigation of the range of form and function of the Conjunct mode in Plains Cree with an investigation of current Cree and general language programming methodology and materials development. The goal is to apply the findings to Cree language education.
Arok Wolvengrey (Indian Languages, Literature and Linguistics, First Nations University of Canada); Patrick Douaud (Education)

Jeffrey Walters (Ph.D. program)
The Social Impact of Federal Agricultural Income Stabilization Programs on Rural Saskatchewan, 1991-2007. Two major questions are to be addressed: (1) precisely how and in what way the province's rural communities and farm families have been impacted by the programs, and (2) why exactly this has occurred. In the evaluation of these two questions the main objectives of this thesis are to: (a) explore the pre-1991 history of federal agriculture income stabilization programs and policies and their possible effect on social structures in Saskatchewan, (b) identify and outline the post-1991 programs and policies as a means of understanding why they may have the capacity for social change, (c) detail the actual social changes to the rural communities and farm families in the province since 1991, and (d) draw inferences between the policies and programs themselves and the social changes that have transpired in rural Saskatchewan since 1991 in order to determine their social impact. Ultimately a comparison of rural social change from other provinces where these programs are also administered with the experiences of the rural society and farm families of Saskatchewan may be required to differentiate between causal and correlative effects.

Jim Warren (Ph.D. program)
Water and Politics in Saskatchewan: In Search of a New Paradigm. Recent climate trends and historical climate research, which identifies patterns of severe and recurrent drought on the prairies, have underlined the importance of long-term planning and forecasting in the development of sustainable water management policies. This project will examine the ability of past and current water governance models to adequately deal with emerging challenges to water supply and delivery infrastructures in Saskatchewan. The project will assess the ability of policy development approaches based on various ideological perspectives to foster policies that are capable of meeting Saskatchewan's water needs today and in the future.

Click here for a list of students who have completed degrees through CPRC's Canadian Plains Studies Program.