The Master of Arts in Island Studies can be pursued part-time or full-time and requires completion of six taught courses (three compulsory and three elective; three hours per week for twelve weeks) and a 50,000-word research-based, supervised thesis on a comparative topic (spread over three academic terms).

See course descriptions

The three Compulsory Courses, offered annually, are

• Themes & Perspectives in Island Studies I & II (Dr. Stephen Royle)
• Comparative Public Policy for Islands (Dr. Barry Bartmann)
• Research Methods & Research Design in Island Studies (Geoffrey Bertram)

Optional courses will change from year to year. For 2010-11, we will deliver:
 

• International Relations of Small Island States (Dr. Barry Bartmann-fall 2010)
• Archeology of Islands: Acadians of PEI (Richard Forsyth-fall 2010)
• Themes in Island Literature (Dr. Brent MacLaine-winter 2011)
• Strategies for Economic Development in Small Islands (Dr. Palanisamy Nagarajan-fall 2010)
• The Island as Archive and Display (Pan Wendt, spring 2011 )

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

• Land Use and COmmunity PLanning for Islands (Dr. Mark Lapping, University of Southern Maine)
• Nature-Society Interactions on Islands (Dr. Patrick Nunn, University of the South Pacific, Fiji)
• Political Ecology of Islands (Dr. Pete Hay, University of Tasmania, Australia)

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), Mark Lapping (Univeristy Southern Maine) 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.