Thesis Completion – Student Checklist - University of Calgary

Thesis Completion – Student Checklist 2012
Notice of Oral (prior to and post defense)
The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires the Notice of Oral (completed) at least 4 weeks prior to the
date of the examination. Please note that no changes can be made to the examining committee of an
approved Faculty of Graduate Studies examination without consent of the Dean of Graduate Studies.
The Faculty of Graduate Studies must be informed of changes in the scheduling of the examination.
Normally, final thesis oral examinations are open but only the examiners may question the student.
This information is published in compliance with the Handbook of Supervision and Examination in order to
schedule the examination, to ensure that program requirements have been met and Faculty of Graduate Studies
regulations followed, and to prepare convocation information. It will form part of the student record. Questions
may be directed to the FOIP Advisor, Faculty of Graduate Studies, (403) 220-4932.
Necessary Forms and Policies (prior to defense)
Notice of Master’s Thesis Oral Examination (created by the Graduate Program Administrator,
upon email notification from the Supervisor, see below)
o Signatures required: Student, Supervisor, Graduate Program Coordinator, Dean Faculty
of Graduate Studies
o Date, Location & Time are required on the form.
• Date and time are set by the student in consultation with the Supervisor and the
Examination Committee members. To book a room with EVDS, contact the
receptionist at (403) 220-6601. If you book a room in EVDS, it will have a data
projector and screen. If you are using other equipment for your defense, you
must contact Com. Media at (403) 220-3711 to book your equipment.
Examination Committee must be submitted (via email, see below) for approval prior to posting
for your defense.
Master’s Handbook of Supervision and Examination
Examination Committee
The thesis oral examination committee shall consist of:
The Supervisor
Two other examiners, one of which shall be external to the student’s home department or
program. (If there is a co-supervisor, but not a formal supervisory committee, 2 other
examiners are still required. If there is a formal supervisory committee only one additional
examiner, external to the program, is needed.) (see Handbook of Supervision and
Examination for information on criteria necessary for internal and external examiners)
Neutral Chair (appointed by the Graduate Coordinator)
The process for the creation of the Supervisory/Examination Committee Member form has changed
recently. The form will now be generated by the Graduate Program Administrator upon receipt of an
email from the Supervisor containing the following information:
Confirmation that all program requirements have been met (POS is up-to-date),
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MEDes (Thesis) Defense Checklist

Thesis Completion – Student Checklist 2012
Date, time and location (booked by the student through EVDS Reception),
Thesis title,
Names of examination committee (including CVs if not UofC or previously FGS approved),
Proposed Neutral Chairs (will be forwarded to the Graduate Coordinator for recommendation)
Once the Examination committee is entered in PeopleSoft, the Examination Committee form and the
Notice of Oral form will be created and saved as .pdf files, and either printed or emailed to the student.
It is the student’s responsibility to collect all necessary signatures, and to do so prior to submitting the
Notice of Oral for the Graduate Coordinator’s approval. Please remember that this form has to be
completed at least 4 weeks prior to submitting to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for approval. Make
sure you leave yourself enough time to obtain all necessary signatures prior to submission.
The student is also responsible for ensuring the distribution of the thesis to all examiners at least 3
weeks prior to examination date (as per pg. 8 of the Handbook of Supervision and Examination).
The Notice of Oral will be posted at least 2 weeks prior to your examination date in the Faculty of
Environmental Design and you will be notified via a copy of the approved Notice of Oral.
What to Bring to the Defense
A ‘working copy’ of your thesis – this is for your own reference should you need it throughout
the defense
Copies of your signature page (a sample can be found in the Thesis Guidelines document on the
Faculty of Graduate Studies website at
http://grad.ucalgary.ca/files/grad/RevisedThesisGuidelines_April-2012.pdf )
o Due to recent changes regarding FOIP, the approval page is no longer included in any
bound or unbound copy of the thesis. Only 1 signature page is required, which will be
submitted in a separate package with the unbound copy to FGS.
The Defense
Is a formal examination, not a discussion between the examiners and the candidate
No one other than an authorized examiner (as identified on the Notice of Thesis Oral
Examination form) is allowed to question the candidate
Should not exceed two hours (excluding deliberation time of Examination Committee)
Post Defense
Everyone except for the Examination Committee must leave the room, to allow the Committee
to deliberate
Student will be notified immediately following a decision on the outcome.
Final Report on Master’s Thesis Oral Examination form will be forwarded to the Graduate
Coordinator, within 1 working day (including any withheld signatures)
Recommendation for Thesis:
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Thesis Completion – Student Checklist 2012
o If the unanimous final decision is that the thesis conforms to the requirements of a
Master’s thesis, then all members of the Examination Committee sign the signature
page, except the Supervisor, who will sign after receiving any necessary minor revisions.
o If the Examination Committee determines that the underlying research is not
acceptable, then the Examination Committee recommends a failed thesis to the Dean of
Graduate Studies. Should the dean uphold this decision, the candidate will have a
second chance to present and defend an acceptable thesis.
o If the Examination Committee fails to arrive at a unanimous final recommendation the
Neutral Chair must adjourn the discussion, and inform the Dean of Graduate Studies
(that day). The final decision will be at the discretion of the Dean of Graduate Studies.
o In the case of a failed thesis only one re-submission will be permitted and a new defense
will be required.
• The second oral examination must be held no sooner than six months and no
later than twelve months from the date of the first examination.
• The second oral examination normally will be conducted by the same
Examination Committee.
Recommendation for the Oral Defense
o If the unanimous final decision is ‘acceptable’, the recommendation regarding the Oral
Defense is a ‘pass’.
o If the unanimous final decision is ‘unacceptable’, the recommendation regarding the
Oral Defense is a ‘fail’.
o If a unanimous decision cannot be reached, the Neutral Chair reports this outcome (that
day) to the Dean of Graduate Studies, who will make the final decision.
Submitting your Thesis and Final Documents
If you submit your thesis after the fee payment deadline you will be responsible for all fees owing that
session.
Before submitting your thesis, there are several useful resources that can be found on the Faculty of
Graduate Studies’ website, for example:
• Policies and Procedures (http://grad.ucalgary.ca/policies):
o Handbook of Supervision and Examination
o Thesis guidelines
o Checklist before you submit your thesis
o List of binderies
o How to apply for graduation
o Copyright FAQ
• Forms (http://grad.ucalgary.ca/forms):
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Thesis Completion – Student Checklist 2012
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Notice of Oral – generated by the Graduate Program Administrator from information
provided by Supervisor, via email (if GPA is not available, complete hard copy of Notice
of Oral, and submit completed form to GPA for processing)
Request for Approval of External Examiner (to be completed in advance of posting your
Notice of Oral)
Departmental Recommendation for Convocation Clearance of Thesis Students
University of Calgary Partial Copyright License
National Library of Canada: What you should know
National Library of Canada: Non-exclusive License to Reproduce Thesis
Thesis Distribution Form
Thesis Withhold
UMI Classification Form
Submission Requirements
Environmental Design
ONE bound copy (containing the EVDS rainbow logo, bound in standard orange, cloth covered
bearing author’s name, title and date on spine) for the EVDS library (WITHOUT APPROVALS
SIGNATURE PAGE) (Please note: It will take at least 3 weeks to receive your bound copy from
the printers).
ONE digital (.pdf) copy on CD for the EVDS Archives
(optional) D-Space Authorization form (http://dspace.ucalgary.ca/ )
Email final abstract (.pdf) to the Graduate Program Administrator, spbeierl@ucalgary.ca
Faculty of Graduate Studies
ONE unbound copy for the University of Calgary Archives (WITHOUT APPROVALS SIGNATURE
PAGE)
(With the following forms, submitted in a separate package):
o Signed Approval Page (sample found in Thesis Guidelines)
o University of Calgary Thesis Distribution
o University of Calgary Partial Copyright License
o University of Calgary Departmental Recommendation for Convocation Clearance
o If applicable: copy of Ethics or Animal Protocol approval Letter as stated on page 2,
section D, of thesis guidelines
(optional) One unbound or .pdf copy of your thesis for the National Library (WITHOUT
APPROVALS SIGNATURE PAGE). Also, the following forms are required if submitting to the
National Library:
o UMI Classification Form (do not add any classifications to the form, try to choose the
best fit provided)
o National Library Theses Non-Exclusive License
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Thesis Completion – Student Checklist 2012
NOTE: All forms should be printed from the Faculty of Graduate Studies website at
www.ucalgary.ca/grad (as these will be the most current)
Binding Companies who have the EVDS Logo:
Imagine Printing (recommended) Andrusky & Son Book Binders Ltd. Octavia Book Bindery
Bsmt, EDT, Rm 03 Northmount Plaza B100, 1107 17 Ave. SW
University of Calgary #208, 3400, 14 St. NW Calgary AB
Imagine.print@ucalgary.ca Calgary AB T2M 1J2 octaviapress@hotmail.com
403-2203891 403-282-5595 www.octaviapress.com
Preparing for Convocation
Complete your Application for Graduation (through your student centre at
http://my.ucalgary.ca) (it is recommended that you apply even if you are not sure that you will
defend and submit by September 30 th . Your application will be denied by FGS if they don’t have
all of the documents and you can re-apply for the next convocation)
Submit all above documents by fee payment deadline of Sept 30, 2011 for November
convocation (or February 1 for June convocation)
Pay any outstanding fees or charges (EVDS Reception, Library, Parking, Graduation)
Check your email or your Student Centre (http://my.ucalgary.ca) for Convocation information
and dates
Remove all personal items from assigned EVDS space
Back-up files from the EVDS server
Return shop card and keys to EVDS Reception
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MEDes (Thesis) Defense Checklist