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The Master of Arts in Island Studies (MAIS) at the University of Prince Edward Island is a unique, interdisciplinary, and policy-driven graduate course that critiques islands on their own terms.

The program is open to students from around the world. They come out of undergraduate programs from diverse disciplinary backgrounds and diverse degrees, or with professional workplace experience in the public, private, or resource sectors, and they study a myriad of islands.

Faculty in the MAIS program come from a wide range of departments, ranging from Environmental and Political Studies to English, Education, and Economics.

Search "Master of Arts in Island Studies" to find out what some of our students and professors are doing.

Students are required to take six courses and write a thesis. The three Compulsory Courses, offered annually, are

* Themes & Perspectives in Island Studies I & II (Godfrey Baldacchino)
* Comparative Public Policy for Islands (Barry Bartmann)
* Research Methods & Research Design in Island Studies (Edward MacDonald & Godfrey Baldacchino)

Optional courses, which can change from year to year, have included the following courses delivered by UPEI faculty:

* International Relations of Small Island States (Barry Bartmann)
* Politics of Small Island Societies (Ron May)
* Gender & Identity in the South Pacific (Jean Mitchell)
* Post-colonial Effects on Small Islands
* Themes in Island Literature (Brent MacLaine)
* Entrepreneurship & Fisheries Management in Small Islands (Irene Novaczek)
* Ecology and Economic Development in Small Islands (Palanisamy Nagarajan)
* Identity and Sense of Place in Islands (Suzanne Thomas)
* Political Economy of Small Island Jurisdictions (David Milne)

Other optional courses, delivered by distinguished professors from overseas universities, have included:

* Nature-Society Interactions on Islands (Patrick Nunn, University of the South Pacific, Fiji)
* Political Ecology of Islands (Pete Hay, University of Tasmania, Australia)
* Themes in Island Tourism (Lee Jolliffe, University of New Brunswick)
* Environmental Issues in Islands (Cristian Suteanu, St. Mary’s University, Nova Scotia)

Visiting island scholars deliver guest lectures on specific themes. These have included Harvey Armstrong (UK), Denbeigh Armstrong (Tasmania), Stephen Royle (Ireland), Philip Hayward (Australia), Len Kooperman (American Samoa), Peter Billing (Bornholm), Rachel Chen (Taiwan/USA), Iain MacPherson (Isle of Skye), and Dr. John Gillis (Rutgers University).

Students may also pursue directed studies on topics of their choice. Special topic courses in economics, literature, health, history, and environment may occasionally be offered, based on student demand and instructor availability. Individual graduate courses may be open to qualified interested students.

For more information, see http://www.upei.ca/mais.