The MA and PhD programs in Critical Studies in Improvisation investigate the dynamic relationships between improvised creative practices and broader social relations in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Coordinated by the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation at the University of Guelph, the programs offer a collaborative intellectual environment where scholars in the field of improvisation studies activate new social and creative configurations of power, new strategies for facilitating social justice, and new tactics to interpret and address the ever-changing world around us. Crucially, this work is enacted through students’ critical, practical, rigorous investigation of the processes and impacts of improvised creative practices.

The programs draw on faculty expertise at the University of Guelph, as we all five partner sites across Canada and the USA (UBC, Regina, McGill, Memorial, and University of California, Santa Barbara), and focuses on developing broad-level skills (e.g., collaboration across multiple institutions/organizations and disciplines; internships/community placements; partnership development opportunities; intercultural engagement) with an eye to forming and deploying the skills that lead to both academic and non-academic employment.

Administrative Staff

Chair
Andrew Bailey (0007 MacKinnon, Ext. 56637)
artsadr@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Coordinator
Adam Davies (326 Macdonald Stewart Hall, Ext. 52421)
adam.davies@uoguelph.ca
Graduate Program Assistant
imprgpa@uoguelph.ca

Graduate Faculty

This list may include Regular Graduate Faculty, Associated Graduate Faculty and/or Graduate Faculty from other universities.

MA Program

Admission Requirements

Applicants to the MA must hold a four-year Honours Bachelor’s degree or equivalent with a minimum GPA of 75%, in a field related to their proposed study. Applicants must provide two letters of reference and will be required to submit a portfolio with a representative sampling of their best and most relevant creative, professional, and/or research practice, in relationship to the field of Critical Studies and Improvisation and to their proposed area of research. Applicants will submit a 2 page research proposal outlining their critical orientation and proposed research activity for the program of study.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the MA in Critical Studies in Improvisation will:

1. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the field of Critical Studies in Improvisation across boundaries of discipline and domain, including historical, cultural, and global perspectives.
2. Create, implement, and critically reflect on community-engaged artistic practices.
3. Develop an awareness of and engage with multiple interdisciplinary perspectives across academic fields and the community.
4. Expand their own creative practice by integrating various disciplinary approaches and developing their own disciplinary approach.
5. Grow as scholars and researchers using a reflective, research-based approach to creative practice and community engagement.
6. Express and develop facilitative leadership skills in themselves and others through facilitating and networking at the institutional, national, and international levels.
7. Communicate with diverse audiences and in diverse modes their knowledge of the field and results of their research, including oral, written, and artistic modes with visual and technological literacy.
8. Collaborate ethically and professionally with diverse community partners, groups, and stakeholders, with integrity and respect for as well as sensitivity to others’ needs and interests.

Program Requirements

The interdisciplinary MA curriculum builds competencies in research and practice across the following areas: the critical historicisation of improvised art and practice; research methods and core concepts in Critical Studies in Improvisation; the development of ethical frameworks for collaborative, community-engaged initiatives; and the development and implementation of practice-based research projects.

Students must complete 3.5 credits.

PhD Program

Admission Requirements

Applicants must have achieved a grade average of at least 75% (B) in the Master’s degree program. Under exceptional circumstances admission directly to a PhD program with an appropriate Honours degree alone may be granted. Applicants must provide two letters of reference and will be required to submit a portfolio with a representative sampling of their best and most relevant creative, professional, and/or research practice, in relationship to the field of CSI and to their proposed area of research. Applicants will submit a 3 page research proposal outlining their critical orientation and proposed research activity for the program of study.

Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the PhD in Critical Studies in Improvisation will:

1. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the field of Critical Studies in Improvisation across boundaries of discipline and domain, including historical, cultural, and global perspectives.
2. Create, implement, and critically reflect on community-engaged artistic practices.
3. Develop an awareness of, negotiate, and synthesize multiple complex interdisciplinary perspectives across academic fields and the community.
4. Expand their own creative practice by integrating various disciplinary approaches and developing personal innovative approaches.
5. Develop as independent scholars and researchers using a reflective, research-based approach to creative practice and community engagement.
6. Express and develop facilitative leadership skills in themselves and others through teaching, facilitating, and networking at the institutional, national, and international levels.
7. Communicate with diverse audiences and in diverse modes their knowledge of the field and results of their research, including oral, written, and artistic modes with visual and technological literacy.
8. Collaborate ethically and professionally with diverse community partners, groups, and stakeholders, with integrity and respect for as well as sensitivity to others’ needs and interests.

Program Requirements

The interdisciplinary PhD curriculum enhances competencies in research, practice, and teaching across the following areas: the critical historicisation of improvised art and practice; research methods and core concepts in Critical Studies in Improvisation; the development of ethical frameworks for collaborative, community-engaged initiatives; and the development and implementation of practice-based research projects. Students are required to successfully complete two qualifying examinations and a research proposal before producing and orally defending a dissertation reflecting original research on a topic that has been approved by the advisory committee.

Students must complete 3.0 credits and successfully defend their thesis project.

Collaborative Specializations

International Development Studies

The PhD in Critical Studies in Improvisation participates in the collaborative specialization in International Development Studies (IDS). Consult the International Development Studies listing for a detailed description of the requirements of the collaborative specialization.

Courses