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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. Electronic copies of the thesis are to be distributed by the student to the committee and one to the Graduate Program Administrator for the chair, as soon as the date has been set (no less than 15 working days*) or the defense will not proceed. The student is responsible to ask if the examiners would like a hard copy of the thesis. No changes to the thesis can be made after this time. (Please note that copying and binding are the responsibility of the student.)
  3. The student must send the Graduate Program Administrator their abstract.

* 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 Coordinator for approval.
  2. 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 30 working days before the scheduled date. The Graduate Program Administrator will then find a Head's Representative for the defense; the Graduate School will find a Chair.
  3. At this time, one hard copy of the thesis is delivered to the Graduate Program Administrator for the chair and electronic copies are delivered to the committee, unless a hard copy is requested. All e-copies need to be sent at once, and no changes can be made after this time.
  4. Confirmation emails will be sent. At this time the Supervisor's and Director's signature are required on the exam form to verify all conditions have been met. The student will send the Graduate Program Administrator their abstract.
  5. The thesis is then submitted to Graduate School. This date must be no less than 25 working days before the defense date or the defense will not proceed.

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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