Master of Arts

Carleton University offers a co-ordinated approach to graduate work in Aboriginal Studies and the North as a special area of scholarship, leading to a degree of Master of Arts within the School of Canadian Studies.

Individual scholars at Carleton have carried out research in Northern and Aboriginal issues for several years, often in collaboration with the federal government, Aboriginal organizations, or private agencies. The interdisciplinary program area in Aboriginal Studies and the North brings these scholars together with students from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities and from Northern Canada. Specialists from various academic disciplines in the university and also from government and other agencies will direct research and supervise theses.

Among the fields which may interest students and in which advanced courses are offered at Carleton are:

• First Nations, Inuit, and Métis ethnohistory and anthropology
• Canadian law and the Aboriginal Peoples of Canada
• Aboriginal languages of Canada
• First Nations, Inuit, and Métis art
• First Nations literatures
• Political developments in Aboriginal and Northern regions
• The Northern economy
• The Ecology of arctic and subarctic regions
• The Geology and geography of resource development
• Environmental and social change in Canada’s North

Admission Requirements

Applicants normally must hold an Honours B.A. (or the equivalent), with at least high honours standing, in one of the disciplines represented in the School. Applicants wishing to be considered for financial assistance from Carleton University are advised to submit completed applications to the School by February 1, since enrolment in the School is limited.

Aboriginal Studies and the North are of particular interest and relevance to Aboriginal students and to those living in the North or among Aboriginal people. Special consideration for admission to the degree program is given to Aboriginal Peoples and/or Northerners who do not meet the above formal requirements but who have extensive knowledge of the North or of Aboriginal Peoples, and who have demonstrated ability to do university work at the graduate level.

In addition to English, a working knowledge of a second Canadian language is required (French or Aboriginal).

For further information regarding Aboriginal Studies and the North, please contact us at:

Telephone: 613 520-4034
Email: canadian_studies@carleton.ca