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Degree
The expected time to completion is four years. Course work and two comprehensive examinations are to be completed within the first sixteen months of the program. In the subsequent time, students will conduct research and complete their doctoral dissertation. In addition to the course, comprehensive examination, and dissertation requirements described below, students are expected to participate in the Doctoral seminar to foster their intellectual and professional development.
Typical progress through the program is as follows:
Year 1: Six term courses, Doctoral Seminar, and Two Comprehensive Exams at the end of the year
Year 2: Dissertation Proposal and Defence; Internship
Year 3: Dissertation Work
Year 4: Dissertation Work and Thesis Defence
Course Requirements
Students are required to complete six courses during their first year in the program: four core courses plus two courses from the student's chosen field. Students are required to maintain an overall average of 83% in the course phase. Normally, students would take three courses per term to fulfill these requirements. Because of the distribution of specific courses in different terms, however, students may choose to take four courses in one term and two in the other. In addition, student must attend the Doctoral seminar.
Please note that there are special course requirements for students entering the Ph.D. program from either the University of Waterloo's MA in Global Governance or Wilfrid Laurier University's MA in International Public Policy Program. Please consult each university's Graduate Calendar for details.
Four Core Courses
All students must complete four mandatory core courses: the core Global Governance course, the economics component, the history component, and the research methods course.
Field Course and Elective Course
Students must choose to specialize in one of the five fields of the program: Global Political Economy, Global Environment, Conflict and Security, Global Justice and Human Rights, Multilateral Institutions and Diplomacy. To prepare for the comprehensive exam in that field, they must select at least two courses from their chosen field. Of these two, at least one course must be a course identified as "core" for that field (marked with an asterisk in the lists below). The courses for the five fields can be found on the courses link on the above menu.
Doctoral and Research Seminars
Research Methods Course
The research methods course exposes students to methodological debates and approaches in order to help them develop the ability to professionally assess academic work as well as to help them prepare for their own dissertation research. The course typically includes topics which fall outside or transcend the appropriate scope of topics within the three core component courses and, secondly, are necessary for all students in the program either as producers or consumers of scholarly knowledge. The PhD Research Methods course will consist of 12 seminars on such topics as statistical methods for the social sciences, issues in methods and methodology, case selection, critical assessment, and proposal writing. In seminar discussions, the course will draw heavily on arguments and analysis presented in the Doctoral Seminar (described below) as examples. While students formally register in GV701/PSCI711 in the Winter term, approximately 4 of the 12 seminars will be held in the fall term with the remaining seminars being offered in the winter.
Doctoral Seminar
Students must participate in the Doctoral Seminar during their first year. Attendance at the Doctoral Seminar is required, but grades will be assigned on a credit/non-credit (or pass/fail) basis.
The Doctoral Seminar requires year long attendance at designated colloquia, seminars and related presentations including public lectures at The Centre for International Governance Innovation as well as the International Governance Seminar Series (CIGI) and the PolicyNet Virtual Seminar Series. The Seminar is designed to provide opportunities for meaningful interaction among students, with faculty and with outside researchers and policymakers, as well as to expose incoming PhD students to the range of opportunities for learning in the area of global governance within the Waterloo community.
Internship
Students may complete a four-to-eight month internship working on global governance issues in the public or private sector, at a research institute, or for a non-governmental organization. The “work-term,” for which no formal credit will be offered, would normally take place during the student’s second year in the PhD program.
Language Requirement
Prior to completion of the third year, students whose doctoral dissertation is concerned with a non-English speaking country or region will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the language of that country. To fulfill the requirement, students will need to demonstrate proficiency in the second language, and may do so by completing designated language courses at either the University of Waterloo or Wilfrid Laurier University. Where there are no courses available, the Program Director will determine the time and method of language assessment, in consultation with the student. The language requirement must be met before the doctoral candidate proceeds to the thesis stage.
Comprehensive Examinations
Candidates must write comprehensive examinations in two areas within 16 months of starting the program. Normally, students will write comprehensive exams at the end of their first year. The first examination will be on Global Governance and will test the breadth and depth of a student's comprehension of the leading literature. For their second area, students will choose to write a comprehensive examination in one of the five fields of the program. Students can only write an examination in a field if they have completed two courses in that field, one of which must be a "core" course for that field.
Dissertation Proposal
Successful completion of comprehensive examinations allows students to progress to the dissertation proposal stage. The student will normally prepare and present a dissertation proposal to a supervisor before the end of the second year. Normally, students will defend their dissertation proposal before a formal dissertation supervisory committee at the start of the third year or earlier. This defence can take place no later than 24 months after a student's entry into the programme. A dissertation supervisory committee, normally composed of a supervisor and two core faculty of the Global Governance program, will be formed by the student with the agreement of the Program Director. The candidate will be required to submit a dissertation proposal to the committee. The committee will meet with the student to discuss the proposal. The student will also be required to present the dissertation proposals to the Doctoral Seminar. Upon formal approval, the candidate proceeds to the research and writing of the dissertation. Candidates who fail to satisfy this requirement within the established time frame may be asked to leave the program.
Dissertation/Dissertation Defence
Normally, students should complete and defend the dissertation within four years of starting the program. When a dissertation is completed to the satisfaction of the supervisor, the thesis will be referred to the other members of the supervisory committee. After all committee members are satisfied with the dissertation, including completion of revisions recommended by the committee, an oral defence will be scheduled.
The regulations and procedures at the university where the student is registered will govern both the dissertation and the examination formats and the composition of the dissertation examining committee.
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