The PhD Degree Program normally entails four years of study. The admission requirement is a completed MA, MSc, MFA or Master of Communication Management (MCM.) degree in a relevant field (e.g. Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, New Media, etc.). We also welcome applications from students with a Master’s degree in a related field (e.g. Music, Digital Humanities, Visual Culture, Visual and Fine Arts, Sociology, Anthropology, Women’s and Gender Studies, English, Philosophy, Interdisciplinary Studies, etc.) who have focused on research germane to the program and can demonstrate, in their letters of application, how their graduate work to date has prepared them for a PhD in Communication, New Media and Cultural Studies. While students must have expertise in at least one of New Media, Communication or Cultural Studies, the committee will look particularly favourably on students who have demonstrated fluency in two or more program areas. A successful applicant from an MA program with a coursework component will have grades of at least A- in two-thirds of their courses. Students whose training has not included graded coursework are encouraged to submit a dossier of work completed during their Master’s program.

For applicants who do not hold a post-secondary degree from a program whose language of instruction was English, you will be required to provide an official record of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. A TOEFL score of 600 on the paper-based test, 250 on the computerized test, and 100 on the Internet-based test is required. If you are submitting the IELTS test, a score of 7 is required.

The deadline for submission of completed applications (including supporting documentation) for September entry into the PhD program is January 14th. The online application system will open on November 15th for September admission. Application fees are not refundable.

Only completed applications (including supporting documentation) will be reviewed. Your application materials and supporting documents must be uploaded to the application system. Supporting documents can also be sent directly to the Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts via email to the Graduate Administrator at gradcnm@mcmaster.ca.  If sending supporting documentation directly to the Department, please send them as PDF files in one email per the instructions listed below with the subject line “Last Name, First Name: Supporting Documents” (your name should be listed as it appears in your online application).  Alternatively, you may mail your application materials to the following address (DO NOT USE STAPLES):

Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts

c/o Graduate Administrative Assistant

Togo Salmon Hall 332

McMaster University

1280 Main Street West

Hamilton, ON  L8S 4M2

Documents Required:

• A completed Online Application
• Application Fee (submitted during the online application process). This fee is non-refundable and must be paid in Canadian dollars by means of a credit or debit card payment.
• Two (2) academic recommendations from instructors most familiar with your work. Recommendations may be submitted directly via email from the referees to gradcnm@mcmaster.ca, or provided via the online application system. If submitting the references by postal mail or in person, please ensure that referees have signed across the seal of the envelope. NOTE: THE ONLINE APPLICATION SYSTEM WILL PROMPT YOUR REFEREES TO SUBMIT REFERENCES. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE YOUR REFERENCES ARE SUBMITTED BY THE APPLICATION DEADLINE, AND TO REQUEST THOSE LETTERS PERSONALLY, IN TIME FOR LETTERS TO BE SUBMITTED BY THE DEADLINE.  PLEASE REQUEST ALL LETTERS WELL BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION.
• One (1) official transcript of all academic work completed to date (including undergraduate and graduate if applicable). Upload a scan of your transcript to the application system, and arrange to have an official transcript sent directly to the Department of Communication Studies and Media Arts from the issuing institution.  If you have had the transcripts mailed to you, or you picked them up yourself from the issuing institution, they must come in a sealed envelope with the original university seal.  If the final transcript does not show that a completed degree has been conferred, an official copy of your diploma is also required. Please submit your official sealed transcripts by mail to the address listed above, or by secure e-transcript from the issuing institution to gradcnm@mcmaster.ca. 
• A 500-word (two pages, double-spaced) statement of interest. The statement of interest plays an important role in our assessment of your application.  It is an opportunity to outline the thesis you propose to undertake and to present your theoretical interests, areas of critical or creative engagement, and your particular fields of emerging expertise. Your statement of interest should include the following:
• The thesis model you propose to produce;
• A traditional thesis, which will normally be between 200 and 250 pages (not including bibliography);
• A research-creation or project-based thesis, which will consist of a body of work and written commentary on that work of between 100 and 150 pages; such a thesis may involve arts based research, or it may involve the creation of such things as tool kits, social interventions, learning platforms, databases, new media archives, documentary films or podcasts; or
• A sandwich thesis, which, in accordance with McMaster’s Thesis Preparation Guide, must consist of a minimum of three scholarly works on a unified theme, either previously published or exhibited, submitted for peer-review, or prepared for publication/exhibition but not yet submitted (in CNMCS, these works may include journal articles submitted for peer review, or art/media/performance pieces submitted for peer-adjudication); these works must be accompanied by substantial introductory and concluding chapters, addressing the methodologies, theories and approaches that unify and inform the research. If the sandwich thesis is used for a series of research creation projects, the student will present an explanatory narrative that connects the projects and argues for their significance. The typical length of a sandwich thesis will be about 200 pages, plus bibliography.
• The objectives of your critical or creative research, including the question, problem, or issue you are interested in addressing;
• The critical debates, theoretical frameworks, creative models, artistic concepts, primary works and/or methodological approaches that will inform your thesis;
• One or more faculty members who you think might be suitable supervisors for your thesis;
• A brief reflection upon activities or experiences relevant to your research and to contributing to an engaged and engaging PhD program (i.e. community engagement activities, knowledge mobilization activities, previous experience as a research assistant or teaching assistant);
• Your motivations to pursue this program.
• Important: please list the names of your two referees and their email addresses at the end of your statement. Please submit your statement of interest to the online application system. You may also send your statement of interest as a PDF file via email to gradcnm@mcmaster.ca.
• A sample of your academic writing. You should submit a copy of an academic essay that you’ve written for a graduate course; the essay should demonstrate your writing abilities and your ideas. Ideally, it should be no longer than 20 pages double-spaced. Please submit your sample of writing to the online application system. You may also submit your sample of writing as a PDF file via email to gradcnm@mcmaster.ca.
• A sample (or samples) of your multimedia work (if applicable). Students with a Media Arts background are strongly encouraged to submit a sample of their creative work. Please upload your sample or work or links to your sample of work to the application system. You may also submit links to your samples of work in one PDF file to gradcnm@mcmaster.ca. 
• A current Curriculum Vitae (CV), preferably no longer than 2 pages.
• Evidence of competency in English: Applicants whose native language is not English will be required to provide an official record of the Test of English as a Foreign Language. A TOEFL score of 600 on the paper-based test, 250 on the computerized test, and 100 on the Internet-based test is required. If you are submitting the IELTS test, a score of 7.0 is required. Please upload your unofficial result to the application system and arrange to have your official score report sent by mail to the address listed above.

For any additional information about the application process, contact us at gradcnm@mcmaster.ca.

Coursework

Students of the program must complete 18 units of approved coursework by the end of the second year, including: 4 courses, for a total of 12 units, to be completed in year 1; and two 3-unit doctoral seminars, taken in year 1 and year 2. As part of the 4 courses to be completed in year 1, students must take at least one of either CULTR ST 732 or CMST&MM 700 (unless they have taken either course or a direct equivalent during a previous degree program). With the permission of the CNMCS Ph.D. Advisory Committee, students may take 3 units of electives from graduate courses offered by programs other than CNMCS.

Comprehensive Examination

Students in the program will be required to take the Comprehensive Examination in the area of their intended thesis research. This will involve writing two papers, a Field Survey and a Topic Paper, and defending both in an oral examination. The Field Survey should show broad expertise in the wider field of knowledge the candidate’s research will engage, i.e. one or more of the fields of Communication Studies, Cultural Studies or New Media/Media Arts. The Topic Paper describes how the candidate’s thesis intervenes in the chosen field(s) and the particular contribution it will make. Both papers are to be researched and written concurrently by the candidate, are to be between 25 and 30 double-spaced pages in length, and are due in February of the second year of study. The Oral Examination of both papers will follow within 10 days of submission. The candidate’s mark in the Comprehensive Examination will be calculated on the average of the grades for the Field Survey, the Topic Paper and the Oral Examination.

Qualifying Dossier

Over the course of their graduate study, students in the program will develop a qualifying dossier in consultation with their supervisory committee. Possible components of the qualifying dossier, of which the student will complete at least six, include:

• a grant application;
• presentation of a conference paper or artist talk;
• a revision and submission of an article or artistic piece for peer-reviewed publication or juried exhibition;
• a research ethics proposal;
• a syllabus and a teaching philosophy statement;
• an op-ed or other knowledge translation project (e.g., a blog, performance, artwork, website, new media project, etc.)
• Education 751 (offered by McMaster’s MacPherson Institute for Leadership, Innovation and Excellence in Teaching)
• participation in four professionalization workshops (academic or non-academic), offered by ECS, CSMA, or the Faculty of Humanities
• a published book review/exhibition review in a scholarly journal
• a community-engagement project
• a guest lecture
• participation in conference organizing

Work completed as part of course requirements may be included in the dossier at the discretion of the supervisory committee.

Thesis

The candidate will complete a thesis in one of the following forms:

• A traditional thesis, which will normally be between 200 and 250 pages (not including bibliography).
• A research-creation or project-based thesis, which will consist of a body of work and written commentary on that work of between 100 and 150 pages; such a thesis may involve arts-based research, or it may involve the creation of such things as tool kits, social interventions, learning platforms, databases, new media archives, documentary films, or podcasts;
• A sandwich thesis, which, in accordance with McMaster’s Thesis Preparation Guide, must consist of a minimum of three scholarly works on a unified theme, either previously published or exhibited, submitted for peer-review, or prepared for publication/exhibition but not yet submitted (in CNMCS, these works may include journal articles submitted for peer review, or art/media/performance pieces submitted for peer-adjudication); these works must be accompanied by substantial introductory and concluding chapters, addressing the methodologies, theories and approaches that unify and inform the research. If the sandwich thesis is used for a series of research creation projects, the student will present an explanatory narrative that connects the projects and argues for their significance. The typical length of a sandwich thesis will be about 200 pages, plus bibliography.
• By March 1 of year 1 of the program, students will submit a short proposal (1000 words plus bibliography) for the thesis, identifying the area of their intended thesis research, for the approval of the Admissions and Review Committee. 
• With the guidance of their supervisory committee and their peers in the year 2 doctoral seminar, students will develop a long proposal (10-15 pages plus bibliography), to be submitted for approval by August 31 of year 2. 
• Years 3 and 4 of the degree will be dedicated to the completion of the thesis, which must be defended in an oral examination.

Visit Graduate Studies to learn more about tuition, supplementary fees and everything you need to know about being paid as a Teaching or Research Assistant. Tuition fees are assessed on a term by term basis, depending on the number of courses a student takes or if they are paying by term.

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