Starting this fall, graduate students at York can complete and defend a major paper, project, thesis or dissertation in French or in the language of Aboriginal people in North America. Interested students must first receive confirmation from the director of the graduate program concerned that relevant supervision and sufficient support can be provided. 

The change in the Faculty of Graduate Studies regulation on language was approved by the Committee on Curriculum & Academic Standards of the Senate of York University and reported to Senate this past spring. 

Proposed initially by the graduate program in York’s Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES), the successful amendment to the language requirement follows years of discussion and research by FES Dean Barbara Rahder and Anders Sandberg, associate dean and professor of environmental studies, among others. 

"Several years ago, I was approached by two graduate students who wanted to write their graduate theses in their native language [Míkmawísimk]," said Rahder. “They were both passionate about the importance of Aboriginal languages and wanted to create a path for future students to follow.”

Rahder discussed the topic with interested students and faculty members and determined that there would be considerable support for the initiative. She also surveyed the academic scene to determine if precedents had been set by universities in North America for Aboriginal languages.

While Trent University in Peterborough, Ont. and St. Mary’s University in Halifax, NS, had limited provisions for undergraduate and master’s level study, Rahder found there were no formal precedents in Canada.

Rahder and Sandberg developed a mechanism for appointing a supervisor for master’s level students interested in completing their work in French or a First Nations language. They also considered the conundrum of the PhD dissertation and the requirement for a doctoral candidate to defend their work before a panel of expert examiners appointed by the University.

“How could we create that same environment in a dissertation defense where there would be provisions for speakers and non-speakers that would allow people to ask questions in either language,” Rahder said.

There are 50 languages spoken by Canada’s First Nations peoples that belong to 11 major families. A survey completed for the most recent Atlas of Canada map published in 1996 shows that many of these languages are in danger of extinction. The map illustrates that while some languages are strong and viable, others are small and vulnerable to extinction.

The three largest families represent 93 per cent of people with an Aboriginal mother tongue and include the Algonquin, Inuktitut and Athapaskan languages.

“The Faculty of Environmental Studies thought it was very important to create a way for people to work in their language,” Rahder said. “I surveyed other scholars in Canada and it sparked an interesting debate on how we could retain the academic integrity of graduate studies.”

Once the proposal was approved by the Faculty of Environmental Studies’ Council, it was expanded to include all graduate studies programs at York. Members of the council noted that the proposal had implications for York students studying American Sign Language, and that scholars who graduate after accessing the language option could then become facilitators, supervisors and committee members.

For Rahder, the formal adoption of the motion marks a new era in graduate studies at York University.  “There are many living languages, cultures and knowledge that are on the brink of extinction,” said Rahder. “This is one way of helping preserve that knowledge.”

York University is the leading interdisciplinary research and teaching university in Canada. York offers a modern, academic experience at the undergraduate and graduate level in Toronto, Canada’s most international city. The third largest university in the country, York is host to a dynamic academic community of 50,000 students and 7,000 faculty and staff, as well as more than 200,000 alumni worldwide. York’s 11 faculties and 24 research centres conduct ambitious, groundbreaking research that is interdisciplinary, cutting across traditional academic boundaries. This distinctive and collaborative approach is preparing students for the future and bringing fresh insights and solutions to real-world challenges. York University is an autonomous, not-for-profit corporation.

-30-

Media contact:

Killeen Kelly, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22938 / killeenk@yorku.ca