The recent federal announcement increasing doctoral and post-doctoral stipends is welcome. But money alone will not solve the challenges of graduate education in Canada. This is particularly true for social science and humanities (arts) graduate education.
The link between arts graduate degrees and careers is weak. Many arts PhDs aspire to become professors but Canada produces far more doctorates than available academic jobs. Although professional (course-based) masters degrees are typically very career-focused, many graduates of research Master of Arts (MA) degrees report struggling to launch a career.
In our new book For the Public Good: Reimagining Arts Graduate Programs in Canadian Universities, we put forward a vision of arts graduate degrees that links them to Canada’s public good challenges — such as political polarization, income inequality and Indigenous reconciliation.
