Global Governance (Faculty of Arts)

The Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Global Governance is a joint program between the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University.

Applicants to this program apply to either the University of Waterloo or Wilfrid Laurier University, but admissions decisions to the program are made jointly by the Inter-University Program Committee. Successful applicants are assigned a “home” university at which they enrol.

Admission Requirements

Admissions requirements are the following:

• Successful candidates must hold a master’s degree with a minimum A- (80%) average or equivalent in political science, history, economics, international development studies, international peace studies, globalization studies, environmental studies, or a related field.
• Applicants whose native language is not English must demonstrate command of the English language with a minimum TOEFL score of 600, or the equivalent on a comparable test. Comparable tests include: CanTEST 4.5, CAEL 70, IELTS 7.0, MELAB 85. See the graduate calendars for Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Waterloo for further details.
• Demonstration of sufficient academic and/or practical experience and personal suitability as evidenced by 3 letters of reference (at least two from academic referees), academic transcripts, a writing sample, and a Supplementary Information Form. Experienced professionals in the private or public sectors will be considered for admission, but additional course work may be required.

Application Deadlines

Deadline for applications to the PhD program is January 31.

Degree Requirements

The PhD in Global Governance requires the completion of 6 courses (0.50 unit weight) and the following program milestones: 2 comprehensive examinations, research and doctoral seminars, dissertation proposal, dissertation/dissertation defence. The expected time to completion is four years.

Typical progress through the program is as follows:  

Course Requirements

All students must complete six courses, including the following three mandatory courses: the “core” course, the “economics” component, and the “history” component. Students are required to maintain an overall average of 83% in the course phase.

Core Course component (must be completed in the first term of registration in the program).

One of the following courses:

• PSCI 710 Globalization and Global Governance
• GV 710 (at Wilfrid Laurier University)

Economics Component

• ECON 637 Economic Analysis and Global Governance

History Component 

• HIST 605 Global Governance in Historical Perspective
• GV720 (at Wilfrid Laurier University) The History of Global Governance

Specializing

Students must choose to specialize in one of the five fields of the program. To prepare for the comprehensive exam in that field, they must select at least two courses from their chosen field. Of these two, at least one course must be a course identified as “core” for that field (marked with an asterisk in the lists below). The sixth course is an elective course.

Not all courses are offered each year and more courses may be available. Consult the respective departments at both institutions for information on available courses in any given year. Consult the respective graduate calendars for full course descriptions.

If selecting the field of Global Political Economy , students must choose at least two courses from among the following offerings at the partner universities:

If selecting the field of Global Environment , students must choose at least two courses from among the following offerings at the partner universities:

If selecting the field of Conflict and Security , students must choose at least two courses from among the following offerings at the partner universities:

If selecting the field of Global Justice and Human Rights , students must choose at least two courses from among the following offerings at the partner universities:

If selecting the field of Multilateral Institutions and Diplomacy , students must choose at least two courses from among the following offerings at the partner universities:

Degree Requirements for Student Entering the PhD from the University of Waterloo's MA in Global Governance

Students entering the PhD program from the University of Waterloo’s MA program in Global Governance will have already completed PSCI 610, ECON 637, HIST 605 as well as three other courses from the above lists.

To meet formal course requirements for the PhD degree, these students must complete six new term courses that meet the following requirements. 

1. In preparation for their comprehensive exam in Global Governance, three of these courses must be chosen from the following list of key courses. 
   

   University of Waterloo	Wilfrid Laurier University
   ERS/PSCI 604 ERS/PSCI 606 PSCI 657 PSCI 658 PSCI 659 PSCI 684 PSCI 688	IP 622 GG 673 GV 750 GV 760

2. Students must include courses from at least two disciplines.
3. Students must choose to specialize in one of the five fields of the program. To prepare for the comprehensive exam in that field, they must select at least two of their six courses from their chosen field. (Courses taken to fulfil requirement #1 above can be counted towards this requirement). Of these two, at least one course must be a course identified as “core” for that field. The courses for each field, and the “core” courses, are listed above. The core course requirements can be waived only if students have already taken all of the core courses for their chosen field during their M.A. studies. 
4. After students have met these various requirements, any additional courses required to meet the total of six new courses are elective options that can be selected from any of the programme’s courses.

Degree Requirements for Student Entering the PhD from Wilfrid Laurier's MA in International Public Policy Program (MIPP)

Students entering the PhD program from Laurier’s MIPP programme can count the following parts of the MIPP program toward their course requirements in the PhD:

• If a MIPP graduate has done the Global Governance field, s/he will be exempt from the program’s core course.
• If a MIPP graduate has done the International Economic Relations field, s/he will be exempt from the Economics core component.
• If a MIPP graduate has completed equivalent courses, s/he will be exempt from some PhD program requirements, as decided in consultation with the Programme Director. To meet their formal course requirements for the PhD degree, these students must complete six new term courses that meet the following requirements.

1. At least three of the six courses must be from the following list:
   

   University of Waterloo	Wilfrid Laurier University
   ERS/PSCI 604 ERS/PSCI 606 PSCI 657 PSCI 658 PSCI 659 PSCI 684 PSCI 688	IP 622 GG 673 GV 750 GV 760

2. Students must include courses from at least two disciplines. 
3. Students must choose to specialize in one of the five fields of the programme. To prepare for the comprehensive exam in that field, they must select at least two of their six courses from their chosen field. (Courses taken to fulfil requirement #1 above can be counted towards this requirement). Of these two, at least one course must be a course identified as “core” for that field. The courses for each field, and the “core” courses, are listed above. The core course requirements can be waived only if students have already taken all of the core courses for their chosen field during their M.A. studies. 
4. After students have met these various requirements, any additional courses required to meet the total of six new courses are elective options that can be selected from any of the programme’s courses.

Research and Doctoral Seminars

In addition to the six courses described above, students must also participate in both the Research and Doctoral Seminars during their first year.

PhD Research Seminar: Advanced study in global governance requires numerate and non-numerate research skills. This seminar will consist of a number of special seminars, colloquia and other presentations focussing on archival research, interview techniques, presentation and communication skills, statistical methods for the social sciences, ethnography, interviewing skills, and related issues in methods and methodology. The course will be team taught involving faculty from the units involved in the program at both universities and will be marked on a credit/non-credit basis. This course will be held during the first two terms of the program (fall and winter).

Doctoral Seminar: The Doctoral Seminar requires attendance year long at departmental colloquia, seminars and related presentations, including public lectures at The Centre for International Governance Innovation, The Academic Council on the United Nations System, and area universities. Credit for the Doctoral Seminar will be assigned by the Program Director on a credit/non-credit basis. The Seminar is designed to provide structured opportunities for meaningful interaction among students, with faculty and with outside researchers and policymakers, as well as to expose incoming PhD students to the range of opportunities for learning in the area of global governance within the Waterloo community.

Internship

Students may complete a four-to-eight month internship working on global governance issues in the public or private sector, at a research institute, or for a non-governmental organization. The “work-term,” for which no formal credit will be offered, would normally take place during the student’s second year in the PhD program.

Language Requirement

Prior to completion of the third year, students whose doctoral dissertation is concerned with a non-English speaking country or region will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the language of that country. To fulfill the requirement, students will need to demonstrate proficiency in the second language, and may do so by completing designated language courses at either the University of Waterloo or Wilfrid Laurier University. Where there are no courses available, the Program Director will determine the time and method of language assessment, in consultation with the student. The language requirement must be met before the doctoral candidate proceeds to the thesis stage.

Comprehensive Examinations

Candidates must write comprehensive examinations in two areas within 16 months of starting the program. Normally, students will write comprehensive exams at the end of their first year. The first examination will be on Global Governance and will test the breadth and depth of a student’s comprehension of the leading literature. The Program Director will appoint three core faculty members to set the exam questions and mark this first comprehensive exam. The faculty teaching the program core course during that particular year must be included among these three faculty members. For their second area, students will choose to write a comprehensive examination in one of the five fields of the program. The Program Director, in consultation with the student and the faculty teaching the field core courses, will strike a committee of three faculty members to set the exam questions and to mark the second comprehensive exam. Students can only write an examination in a field if they have completed two courses in that field, one of which must be a “core” course for that field.

Dissertation Proposal Milestone

Successful completion of comprehensive examinations allows students to progress to the dissertation proposal stage. The student will normally prepare and present a dissertation proposal to a supervisor before the end of the second year. Normally, students will defend their dissertation proposal before a formal dissertation supervisory committee at the start of the third year or earlier. This defence can take place no later than 30 months after a student’s entry into the programme. A dissertation supervisory committee, normally composed of a supervisor and two core faculty of the Global Governance program, will be formed by the student with the agreement of the Program Director. The candidate will be required to submit a dissertation proposal to the committee. The committee will meet with the student to discuss the proposal. The student will also be required to present the dissertation proposals to the Doctoral Seminar. Upon formal approval, the candidate proceeds to the research and writing of the dissertation. Candidates who fail to satisfy this requirement within the established time frame may be asked to leave the program.

Dissertation/Dissertation Defence

Normally, students should complete and defend the dissertation within four years of starting the program. When a dissertation is completed to the satisfaction of the supervisor, the thesis will be referred to the other members of the supervisory committee. After all committee members are satisfied with the dissertation, including completion of revisions recommended by the committee, an oral defence will be scheduled.

The regulations and procedures at the university where the student is registered will govern both the dissertation and the examination formats and the composition of the dissertation examining committee. (See University of Waterloo Graduate Studies Calendar for UW PhD Minimum Degree Requirements)