The Master’s degree provides candidates with the opportunity to broaden their academic and research experience. The student’s background, the selection of the thesis topic, the approach to research and the program electives govern whether the Master of Art (MA) or Master of Science (MSc) degree program is pursued. A research investigation producing a scholarly contribution to the particular area of study is necessary. Normally, these programs will take two years to complete, including at least one year of residence.
Timeline for completion of an RES Master’s program.
RES Master’s degree course requirements (min. 30 credits):
- 12 credit thesis course (RES 599)
- 18 credit of coursework
Of the 18 credits of coursework:
- RES 502 is mandatory (3 cr)
- RES 507 is mandatory (3 cr)
- RES 510 is mandatory (3 cr)
- A methods course approved by your supervisor is mandatory (3 cr)
- At least 15 of the 18 course work credits must be in courses numbered 500 or above.
- At least 12 of the 18 course work credits must be selected from RES courses.
- The remaining 6 course work credits are open electives. Electives should be chosen in discussion with your supervisor.
- Only 3 course work credits may be taken in courses numbered between 300 and 499.
Important: courses numbered below 300 may be taken, but they will not count towards your total credit requirements. Any below-300 level courses are taken in addition to the completing the credit requirements above.
The student’s supervisor and committee must approve the chosen academic program. There is no option to complete the MA or MSc without a thesis. The goals of the program are to ensure that the student learns to do research and to write an integrative thesis. The RES master’s thesis is typically the equivalent of one published/publishable journal article, but the final decision on the composition of a thesis rests with students and their supervisory committee. Upon completion of the thesis, an external examiner (on or off campus) will be appointed to the examination committee for the thesis defense.
RES Master’s Program Requirements
| Course # | Course Name | Credits | Notes |
| RES 599 | Thesis Course | 12 | You must enrol in a thesis course for every term of your program, including summer terms. |
| RES 502 | Research Methods and Design | 3 | Required course. |
| RES 507 | Human-Technology Systems | 3 | Required course. |
| RES 510 | Social Ecological Systems | 3 | Required course. |
| Methods | Methods course | 3 | Required, must be approved by your supervisor. |
| Elective 1 | 3 | Selected in consultation with your supervisor | |
| Elective 2 | 3 | Selected in consultation with your supervisor | |
| Total Number of Credits | 30 | ||
Additional course options to consider:
- Under the Western Dean’s Agreement (WDA), graduate students of the member institutions may take courses at another member institution without having to pay the host university’s tuition fees. Students may be required to pay student, activity, application, or other ancillary fees to the host institution, according to general policies in effect at the host institution. Wherever possible, these fees will also be waived.
- Note: It is important for the RES Master’s student to confirm with G+PS if a non-UBC course credit will transfer to their total UBC course credit requirements.
- Note: It is important for the RES Master’s student to confirm with G+PS if a non-UBC course credit will transfer to their total UBC course credit requirements.
- Under the Graduate Exchange Agreement, graduate students in good standing at UBC, McGill University, University of Toronto and University of Montréal may take courses at another member institution without having to pay the host university’s tuition fees.
- Note: It is important for the RES Master’s student to confirm with G+PS if a non-UBC course credit will transfer to their total UBC course credit requirements.
- For a complete list of UBC course offerings please visit the UBC Student Services website.
The RMES/RES Thesis
The RES thesis is a fundamental and essential component of the program. It is the main evidence that is available to the academic community by which the candidate is assessed in his/her abilities to synthesize and integrate biophysical and socio-economic sciences into new paradigms or knowledge.
Although there is debate about ‘how’ research is done, the concept of the thesis research in RES is, in general, the same as in any graduate program. That is, there is:
- A statement of an issue
- A rationale of the significance of the issue
- A set of research questions (these may be presented as hypotheses, objectives, questions, propositions)
- A set of methods or tools from various disciplines that will be brought to bear to address the research questions
- A discussion of theoretical and analytical frameworks relevant to the issue
- Research tools selected
- Expected results
- A summary and/or conclusions of the research
- A discussion of how the research has contributed to the overall issue.
Specifics among the various sections will vary by the nature of the research topic, the graduate student and the supervisor/supervisory committee. It is important that discussion take place EARLY in a graduate student’s program on the issues of how to do the research and what will be expected from the dissertation. These discussions should be re-examined at formal meetings of the graduate student’s supervisory committee.
The following guidelines are from the Faculty of Graduate Studies and can be consulted in more detail by clicking here.