program

Rural Studies core faculty are from within the School of Environmental Design & Rural Development (Capacity Development and Extension, Landscape Architecture, Rural Planning and Development), and draw associated faculty from units across the university, including Food, Agriculture and Resource Economics, Geography, Political Science, and Sociology and Anthropology. Advanced studies and research on the integration of socio-cultural and bio-physical components for capacity development, design, or planning of landscape systems and rural communities are conducted through the following degree requirements.

Degree Requirements

Advisory Committee (see forms)

Each doctoral student has an advisory committee composed of faculty members from a range of disciplines pertinent to the field, specialization, and research topic. Each committee consists of at least three members. At least one of the committee members must be in a department other than that in which the student is registered. Committees are broadly-based with at least two major disciplines represented by its members. The advisor and the advisory committee provide guidance to allow for the student’s intellectual growth in the program.

The advisory committee assesses and approves the thesis-research proposal which is to be prepared by the student by the end of the second year, concurrent with preparation for the qualifying exam.

Advisory Committee Appointment form submitted to Graduate Program Services not later than the mid-point of the student's second registered semester.

Course Requirements

The minimum course and credit requirements for the PhD in Rural Studies consist of a common 2.0-credit core of two integrative 1.0-credit courses (Sustainable Rural Systems and Integrative Research Methods), a 0.25-credit research seminar, and one elective graduate 0.5-credit course or the RST*6500 Special Topics course. Additional courses may be required by the student’s advisory committee. Make-up courses may be required prior to admission to the PhD program or early in the program. All courses will normally be completed prior to the qualifying examination. All or most of the courses should be taken in the first year of study.

To foster the interdisciplinary nature of the program, some courses are team taught. Attention is also paid to the sequencing of courses to promote interdisciplinarity.

Qualifying Examination (see forms)

The qualifying examination for the PhD program in Rural Studies assesses the acceptability of the intellectual capability and research potential of students. The examination committee is constituted to represent a range of disciplines pertinent to the field.

The qualifying examination is used to determine if the student has an advanced level of knowledge and competence in the area(s) of specialization related to their research. The areas of specialization typically focus on one of the program fields, however, it is acceptable to have an area of specialization outside of these fields as long as it is agreed upon by the graduate student, Program Co-ordinator, and the Advisory Committee. The qualifying examination has both written and oral components. The written component is based on the common core subject area of the related field and the student’s selected sector. The oral examination is devoted to discussion of the written materials. The examination evaluates the student’s ability to integrate disciplinary knowledge within the field and to undertake interdisciplinary research. The qualifying examination must be completed by the end of semester five.

Courses

(See Graduate Calendar)

Common Core Courses

RST*6000 Sustainable Rural Systems F-W [1.00]
Sustainable development theory in a rural communities and landscape systems context.

RST*6100 Integrative Research Methods F-W [1.00]
Research design and evaluation with a focus on measures of sustainability and on interdisciplinary applications.

RST*6300 Research Seminar W [0.25]

Sector Core Courses

RST*6500 Special Topics U [0.50]
RPD*6170 Rural Research Methods
CDE*6260 Research Design
LARC*6380 Research Seminar W [0.25]