Know this grad program?

April 22, 2008 7:36 PM

Has anyone had any experience, first- or second-hand, with the Communication and Culture MA program jointly offered by York and Ryerson Universities? I'm also interested in graduate study experiences at both schools in general.

I'm interested in doing a program that combines theory and practice - and not necessarily interested in a long-term career in academe. But having looked at this thread I sort of get the impression an MA at Ryerson would not be a wise use of resources (financial or otherwise)? Or not?

posted by scribbler to education (6 comments total)

Ryerson was a college/polytechnical institute for a long time. It became a university in the mid-90s (Ryerson students are quick to point this out). Its reputation for engineering (the AskMe you linked to) is nowhere near the equal of U of T. I am reasonably certain that engineering doesn't get you an MA. In my experience it is unfair to judge a university's arts program by its engineering program (and vice versa)

I'm not sure if Ryerson's engineering reputation (or lack thereof with respect to UofT) holds for other programs or not. I have heard good things about the journalism program, second-hand from friends.

Disclaimer: I go to school for engineering at the University of Waterloo. I am not trying to trash-talk other engineering schools (i.e. Ryerson).
posted by KevCed at 7:46 PM on April 22

So I have nothing against either York or Ryerson. But I have nothing for them either.

First off, no one will go "Wow! Ryerson!" except maybe if you go to their Journalism school. But it's a perfectly good school anyway. Both York and Ryerson have a rep as "commuter" schools as opposed to magnet schools like U of T. But both schools are more than this reputation.

Second, from that page: "Through this partnership, you are able to capitalize on courses, facilities, and other resources available at both campuses." This is not a good thing - they campuses are far apart and York has awful public transportation access. Trying to get to both campuses on the same day via the TTC would be an ordeal. I would look more deeply into how you would use resources at both schools.

Having said that, I know nothing about the content of the program but I guess it would indeed be unique as both York and Ryerson are aggressive in trying position themselves in new academic niches. They both have plenty of competent faculty members and it could be a very innovative program (going on the basis that they're reasonably well-run schools that would not put out a lame new program).

Forgive me if you know Toronto well and if this is old news to you as it's not very specific.

If this MA a good use of money? With all the tact of a true engineering graduate I will say that it's no more a waste of money than any MA degree. I doubt a Ryerson MA is any worse than a U of T MA especially if you do not want to go into academia.
posted by GuyZero at 7:55 PM on April 22

Oh - let me disclaim that the program could suck balls academically. I really do not know. Caveat emptor.
posted by GuyZero at 7:56 PM on April 22

I'm interested in doing a program that combines theory and practice - and not necessarily interested in a long-term career in academe.

While this does not directly answer your question, I'd recommend you also have a look at Concordia's MA in Media Studies. The program is awesome for combining theory and practice, be it for art practices, or else if you're into cultural studies. Also, there is not that "oh you must become an academic" feel to the program. Lots of people are doing it with their particular project in mind rather than to simply move on to Ph.D.

Also, (though it's even more important for Ph.D. level) I'd make sure that there are faculty members in your field of interest--choose the people over the program, and choose the dept. over the university; this can make a huge difference in your graduate experience. My two cents.
posted by ddaavviidd at 8:05 PM on April 22 [1 favorite]

I don't know that program specifically, but I know some of the names of the faculty and I know that the Cultural Studies program at York used to have a pretty good reputation and had some high-quality academics in the faculty and in the department. My sense was that it was considered quirky (as Cultural Studies programs are across the board) but good.

I wouldn't give a single thought to Ryerson's reputation in Engineering while making such a choice, though, so that earlier AskMe isn't really something to worry about.

What I would consider - and it's pretty tough to do this if you're not in this particular field at the moment - is whether there is someone on faculty that you would like to work with in particular. Study the faculty and their interests, try and figure out (ask them) who's teaching what, when. Make sure at least that your concentration or interests are going to be taught while you plan on being there.

You also have to consider your goals - new programs like this one that are outside the mainstream of humanities programs can be totally wonderful for someone who wants to create his or her own course of study while still covering the fundamentals rigorously. Whether that is a good thing or not depends on what you want from it - but as someone who doesn't necessarily want to be an academic by profession, the freedom and openness that I would imagine you'd find (compared to a straight political science or sociology program) would be very fun and worthwhile.
posted by mikel at 8:54 PM on April 22

Hi Scribbler - I just sent you a MeFi Mail -- if you give me your contact info I'll get you in touch with someone currently in the program.
posted by girlpublisher at 4:37 AM on April 23