Master of Arts in Island Studies, Specialization in International Relations (Island Studies) and Island Public Policy (Course-Based)

at University of Prince Edward Island Canada

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. We welcome students from around the world with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors.

Our 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

Sustainable Island Communities
Islands are special environments that are both resilient and vulnerable to changes in climate, economy and culture. A specialization in Sustainable Island Communities combines concepts of community development with practices of sustainability on islands to create a cutting-edge post-graduate degree. This focus area is ideal for students interested in the interdependence of physical, ecological, economic, political, cultural and social issues and who want to strengthen their abilities to become effective agents of community change. Students learn to take concepts, skills, solutions and strategies learnt in the classroom and test them against real-world situations on islands throughout the world.  Almost all public and private organizations are now incorporating some aspects of sustainability planning –including climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies - into their practices.

Employment opportunities for graduates of this specialization include community economic development, natural resources management, sustainable agriculture, rural and land-use planning, renewable and alternative energy management, environmental consulting, sustainability director positions, and posts with international organizations such as the United Nations, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, World Watch, Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund. Local, regional and federal government departments of sustainability and environmental management on islands would be natural employers for graduates from this focus area. Students will benefit from opportunities accorded them from UPEI’s Institute of Island Studies and the UNESCO Chair in Island Studies and Sustainability based at UPEI.

Financial Mathematics is the application of mathematical models to finance, usually to analyze markets and pricing. Financial Mathematics uses techniques from mathematics, statistics, business, finance, and economics.

The Bachelor of Science in Financial Mathematics provides a solid foundation in Financial Mathematics, leading either to a career in the financial sector or to further training in advanced Financial Mathematics. Financial Mathematicians are in demand as professionals who develop solutions for complex financial issues and they have excellent career opportunities following graduation as well as excellent co-op work opportunities during their studies.

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. We welcome students from around the world with diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors.

Our 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

International Relations (Island Studies) and Island Public Policy
The MA Island Studies program at UPEI has an established strength in policy and international relations aspects of island studies. Islands, including small island states and subnational island jurisdictions, are often at the forefront of domestic, marine and international policy discussions, ranging from resource development, environmental regulation and strategic and territorial claims. Island studies teaching and research is proving to be significant and original in relation to diplomacy and coalition-building. Non-sovereign islands especially are using the spaces in domestic and international politics to bring about change. Graduates from this focus area will be able to provide leadership in addressing the complex issues facing modern governments and policy-making organizations. Students will gain the skills and knowledge to start or advance a career within local, provincial/state, federal and international governments or non-profit agencies that interact with government. Private companies that have extensive interactions with island governments will also benefit from the graduates’ skills and understanding of island policy issues.

The Applied Communication, Leadership and Culture program explicitly connects the communication skills and leadership training of a Liberal Arts education to successful post- graduation employment. This program is defined by its focus on the transferability of the written, oral and visual communication skills, the critical thinking, and the cultural awareness acquired during a Liberal Arts education to the world beyond academia. Technical skills, work-integrated learning (internships, cooperatives, workplace-generated projects), and career-related mentoring are key components of its design.

Today, Spanish is said to be the fastest growing language in the world. Over 360 million people speak Spanish. In the U.S., it has been the second language, and in Canada, it is becoming increasingly important and popular as NAFTA and other commercial links are established with Latin America. This creates a need for translators, interpreters and teachers, as Spanish speaking persons are needed in tourism, management, corporations, etc.

As Spanish is not presently taught in P.E.I.'s high schools, UPEI presents the only opportunity for learning this language. This means that students wishing to study Spanish start with 1010 which demands no prior background in the language. Those who have had some contact with the language either through exchanges, family background, or travel may enter at a higher level (1020, 2010, 2020, etc.).

Courses designated 1001-1020 or 2010-2020 are basically language courses, while courses above these levels focus mainly on cultural studies. Students may do a so-called minor in Spanish (7 courses) and even a major. In the latter case, however, two of the 14 semester courses must be taken elsewhere, preferably abroad.

The Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Music is a four-year program (120 semester hours) designed for those who wish to study music in a more general Arts curriculum.  As a general program, it will not prepare students for teaching music, but will prepare them for further study toward careers such as music librarian, musicology, music publishing, communications media, and sound recording.

• Music (Bachelor of Music)
• Music Education

The MSc degree of the University of Prince Edward Island requires the demonstration of a reasonable mastery of a concentrated field of study. The latter is attested by the achieving of satisfactory standings in the minimum number of graduate courses required by the respective Faculty, the completion of a research project, and the writing of a thesis based upon the research. There will be considerable interaction and co-operation among the departments/faculties to provide courses and research facilities to meet the needs of individual students and their research projects.

Are you interested in sport, physical activity, and wellness? Would you like to work with children, adults and seniors and help them become and remain physically active? If so, a degree in kinesiology may be an appropriate undertaking for you. Kinesiology explores human development and movement from a number of lenses. For example, the physical, psychological, and social experiences of sport and physical activity are investigated to provide students with a holistic view of how they affect human development.

Within the kinesiology degree, students take courses in areas including (but not limited to) sport psychology, exercise physiology, biomechanics of sport and physical activity, motor learning and control, human development, and research methods. Students interested in international study opportunities should contact their faculty advisor and check potential exchange opportunities well ahead of time.

Upon degree completion, students will have the ability to apply their knowledge to a number of fields or have can continue their studies in fields such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and education. In addition, graduate studies in any of the sub-disciplines of kinesiology are possible for interested students.

Students interested in the program directly out of high school are required to register in the Faculty of Science and complete a list of pre-kinesiology courses. Students having completed the qualifying courses need to apply to the Kinesiology program by March 31 of the current year. 

"My experience in the Kinesiology program here at UPEI has been amazing up to this point. Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of meeting a number of wonderful people and learning from some of the most knowledgeable professors I have ever met. I find that they do a fantastic job of connecting with us students and being on our level, which leads to strong student-teacher relationships.

The field in which we study is one with many applications. I love that what I learn in the classroom does not simply just stay in the classroom, but can be applied to situations that I encounter in everyday life. I find this really opens students eyes to the number of opportunities we have upon graduating from the program, whether it be in health, sport, management, research, the list goes on.

Analytics is situated at the confluence of statistics, computer science and mathematics all centered on finding, interpreting and presenting meaningful patterns in data. We offer a Bachelor of Science in Analytics with specialization in either Data Analytics or Business Analytics, with co-operative education options available in both specializations. As data increasingly pervades our lives, graduates in Analytics are in high demand across a broad spectrum of fields including government, business and technology.

Philosophy is for the intellectually curious. We like to analyse the concepts that underpin our world views. For example: What is justice, morality, love, knowledge, nature, freedom, identity? To help you explore these questions, we offer courses in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, logic, political philosophy, environmental philosophy, the philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy, among others. Our goal is to provide a nurturing, respectful, and engaging environment to help you craft well-articulated, well-defended, autonomous thought.