Admission to the MA program is normally limited to applicants with a minimum strong upper second-class standing in the upper years of their BA program. 

The MA program has two streams: a Course-based Master's (designed to be completed in 10 months) and a Thesis Master's (designed to be completed in two years). All students are initially accepted into the course-based stream. Interested and qualified students may apply to switch to the thesis stream after completing two courses. The requirements for each stream are as follows: 

Course-based MA: four one-term (3.0 unit) courses,* CUST 802 Cultural Studies Colloquium, and CUST 850 Capstone Project.

Thesis MA: four one-term (3.0 unit) courses*, CUST 802 Cultural Studies Colloquium, 20,000-25,000 word thesis or equivalent (CUST 899 Master's Thesis or Project). 

NOTE: MA students who have completed two terms, who have a strong record of excellence, and who show exceptional promise in their research may be considered for promotion to the CUST doctoral program without completion of the MA. 

*Cultural Studies offers a range courses every year (see Courses of Instruction section for descriptions). All students are required to complete CUST 803 Cultural Studies Past& Present plus one additional Cultural Studies course. Students choose the remaining two courses from available courses in Cultural Studies and other units.