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Graduate

Defence Procedures

Scheduling an M.Sc. Defense

  1. When your thesis is complete and ready for defense your supervisor must form an MSc defense committee consisting of:
    • your supervisor,
    • an internal examiner (from the School of Computing) and
    • an internal-external examiner (from outside the School, but within Queen's).
    After approval of the committee by the Graduate Coordinator, the supervisor will schedule an examination date and time with the committee. The supervisor must tell the Graduate Program Administrator of this at least 15 working days before the scheduled dateand indicate if the defense will be remote or in-person. The Graduate Program Administrator will then find a Chair for the defense.
  2. The student will share the thesis via email with all committee members, including the Graduate Program Administrator and the chair at least* 15 working days in advance. No changes to the thesis can be made after submission.

* Less than 15 working days requires approval.

Scheduling a Ph.D. Defense

  1. When a student is ready to defend their thesis, the supervisor will propose an examining committee, consisting of:
    • their supervisor,
    • an internal examiner (from the School of Computing),
    • an internal-external examiner (from outside the School, but within Queen's) and
    • an external examiner (from outside of Queen's).
    The supervisor then sends the names of the proposed committee, along with the thesis title, to the Graduate Chair for approval.
  2. After approval of the committee by the Graduate Chair, the Supervisor will schedule an examination date and time with the committee. The Supervisor must tell the Graduate Program Administrator of this at least 30 working days before the scheduled date. The Graduate Program Administrator will then find a Head's Representative and the Chair for the defense.
  3. The student will share the thesis via email with all committee members, including the Graduate Program Administrator, the Head's Representative and the Chair at least 30 working days in advance. No changes to the thesis can be made after submission.
  4. The Graduate Administrator will start the paperwork. They will submit all necessary paperwork and the thesis to the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs at least 25 working days prior to the scheduled date.

Important notes regarding the PhD Defence Committee

  • All committee members except the external examiner and possibly the additional examiner have an academic appointment in the SGSPA.
  • The supervisor is arms-length from the external examiner (i.e., does not hold a current grant with nor has published with the external examiner within the past five years)
  • No member of the examining committee is in a conflict of interest with the candidate. Conflict of interest is defined as a personal or family relationship with the candidate and/or vested interest in the thesis or research for personal or financial gain.
  • The Chair, External Examiner, and at least one other examiner must be ‘arms-length’ to the candidate (e.g., must not have a prior supervisory relationship, must not have co-authored with or co-presented with the candidate).

Faculty members can find more information about the doctoral oral thesis examination on the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (SGSPA) website.

Important Information for All Defenses

Please review the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs' information on completing your degree, including preparing for your oral examination.

Requirements are considered complete when one electronic copy of the thesis, in PDF format, revised as recommended by the Thesis Examining Committee and finally approved by the supervisor/committee, is submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs through the E-Thesis Submission process in QSPACE. (This usually means that your supervisor has to send an email certifying final approval as well.)

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