Institute of Caribbean Studies, The University of West Indies at Mona

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Cultural Studies MPhil & PhD

Since 1998, the Institute of Caribbean Studies (ICS) has been administering programmes leading to the MPhil and PhD degrees in Cultural Studies . It is anticipated that, with additional human and material resources, the Institute will be able to offer a taught MA and a post-graduate Diploma.

Entry Requirements (M.Phil./Ph.D.)

The usual minimum entry requirement is an Upper Second Class Honours degree or its equivalent from a tertiary level institution. However, in exceptional cases, the Campus Committee may accept applicants without a degree, or its equivalent, who have acquired experiential knowledge and can demonstrate competencies in the field of Cultural Studies, broadly defined.

Programme Structure

The Cultural Studies programme engages with the global scholarship in the field while placing emphasis on Caribbean theories and praxis: for example, the various religious forms that suffuse Caribbean experience; Caribbean music, film and dance; cultural issues in education; Caribbean language patterns; Caribbean cultural theory and metatheory. Among the research projects being undertaken by students are:

Museums and Heritage
Edutainment
Philosophy of Rastafari
The Industrialization of Football in Jamaica
Caribbean Dance techniques
Revivalism
Female Sexuality
Gay Space
Jazz in the Caribbean
Book publishing in the Caribbean
Cultural Tourism

The current Cultural Studies programme is mainly research-based, but all MPhil/PhD candidates are required to take either one compulsory six (6) credit course or two compulsory three (3) credit courses offered by the Institute. In addition, one elective three (3) credit course can be chosen from graduate offerings in other departments, with the approval of the relevant Head. Admission of new students has been suspended for the 2006-2007 academic year in order to consolidate the programme. Applicants who met the admissions requirements have been accepted for the 2007-2008 academic year. As a consequence, the Institute will be offering only one course in the 2006-2007 academic year, a three (3) credit research methods course. It is highly recommended that those students who have not yet satisfied the three-credit elective coursework requirement take this specialist research course which has been designed from a multi-disciplinary, Cultural Studies perspective. It will be offered in Semester 1 only.

Programme Duration

The minimum period of enrolment for the award of the degree is two (2) years for the MPhil and three (3) years for the PhD for full-time students. Part-time students masquerading as full time are not likely to succeed within this time frame. All full-time MPhil candidates are required to submit their thesis for examination within three (3) years of their initial registration; and PhD candidates within five (5) years. In general, all students first register for the MPhil. If, in the informed opinion of the supervisor, the evolving research project seems to be assuming the scale of a PhD dissertation, the student may apply to have the MPhil registration upgraded to PhD.

Supervisory Committee

Students enrolled in the Cultural Studies programme normally work with a three-member advisory committee, one of whom is designated as the supervisor. The ICS does not accept students for whom it is unable to provide adequate supervision. ICS students are usually supervised by UWI faculty members recruited from a wide range of departments, such as History; Language, Linguistics and Philosophy; Literatures in English; Sociology, Psychology and Social Work; Management Studies; the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication; the Centre for Gender and Development Studies and the Department of Educational Studies. In exceptional circumstances, supervisors external to the University, are appointed to meet specialist needs.

Seminars

All ICS students are required to give two seminar presentations each academic year. Students who do not fulfil this requirement will not be awarded the degree.

Conferences

All graduate students are encouraged to present papers at local and international conferences. Full funding is usually available through the Mona Campus Committee for Research & Publications and Graduate Awards to support travel and accommodation.

Annual retreat

An annual retreat is held in the first semester of the academic year. The retreat provides a valuable opportunity for students and staff to interact outside the formal academic setting. Students are invited to reflect on their research projects and benefit from the critique of their academic work by their peers in a relaxed environment.

Academic Awards

The Institute offers two Departmental academic awards each year to full-time students, one in Cultural Studies, the other in Reggae Studies. The current value of the award is $263,900.00. In addition, since the award also includes a tuition waiver, its total value for the 2006-2007 academic year is, approximately, $400,000.00.