Faculty and Staff Resources

If your PhD student began their program after September 2015 or if your Master's student transferred to the PhD after that date, they will fall under the new CSM Candidacy Process. 

The GSE Office holds regular Supervisor Candidacy workshops each year

We will be providing training for those with supervisory privileges in the MDCH program. Supervisors are encouraged to attend all session either in-person, via Adobe Connect or watching recordings of the session. If you have specific questions, please contact chsgrad@ucalgary.ca

*Please note - the information in these sessions is targeted towards the MDCH program only.

Supervisory Workshop (August 30, 2017) | Recorded Session (TBA) |

Supervisors are to submit two forms to chsgrad@ucalgary.ca  by December 1^st for the following Fall intake.

• Supervisor Support form 
• Confirmation of Funding form

ii’taa’poh’to’p, the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy, seeks to ensure that policies, practices, and procedures are supportive and respectful of Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, connecting, and being.

Indigenous graduate students and those who are working with Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers are encouraged to incorporate Indigenous ceremonies and/or traditions into their exams.

If you would like to incorporate a ceremony and/or tradition into your Field of Study meeting, please indicate this on your Field of Study Set Up form and your GPA will be in touch with next steps. 

Exam/Evaluation Set up is the responsibility of the Supervisor in consultation with the student and committee.

Note that the process outlined below does not apply to MDCH students. Please see the tab for Community Health Sciences Candidacy procedures below.

Exams may be held in person, remotely, or in a hybrid format. 

All PhD students are required to complete their Candidacy process within 24 months of admission. For students transferring from MSc to PhD, the Candidacy process must be completed within 28 months. 

The following components are required as part of this process: 

• Completion of Course Work (prior to Field of Study exam)
• Attendance at Research Integrity Day (to be completed within first 12 months)
• Sex & Gender Module(s) (to be completed within first 12 months)
• Thesis Proposal Evaluation Meeting (please see the tab below)
• Field of Study Oral Exam (please see the tab below)

For information on the timelines for completing these requirements and associated forms, please see the Candidacy Timeline. 

Below are the policy documents and forms related to the Candidacy process for Graduate Science Education Programs: 

GSE Candidacy Policy (all programs except MDCH) 
Field of Study Prep Form (Topics - due 3 months before estimated Field of Study Exam date) 
Thesis Proposal Evaluation Meeting Set Up Form ( due 3 weeks before Evaluation Meeting date) 
Field of Study Set Up Form ( due 4 weeks before Field of Study Exam date)

* All forms should be submitted to your Graduate Program Administrator. 

GSE Student Candidacy Workshop Powerpoint Presentation (Oct 21, 2016)

Evaluation Set up is the responsibility of the Supervisor in consultation with the student and committee.

Thesis Proposal Evaluation Meeting Set Up Form ( due 3 weeks before Evaluation Meeting date) 

Proposal Evaluation 

The Proposal Evaluation should proceed in a similar manner to a regular committee meeting with the following additions:

• The student will do a short presentation (max 15 min) on their proposal at the beginning of the meeting.
• Evaluation Meeting members should have the opportunity to discuss the proposal and question the student, focusing on the hypothesis and experimental plan. The student should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the background for the project, concepts, and methods employed as well as experimental interpretation and potential pitfalls. The Supervisor(s) should refrain from answering questions directed to the student. (Max 90 mins)
• Once the discussion is finished, the student must leave the room. The committee will then evaluate both the written document and the student’s ability to defend their proposal and answer questions. The Supervisor(s) may participate in the discussion.
• The committee will decide whether the proposal can be accepted as submitted. This will be indicated on the Final Report on Thesis Proposal Evaluation. The Supervisor(s) does not vote.

 The Evaluation Committee must come to a unanimous decision on both the written and oral portions.

 An acceptable written proposal should include the following. More information on format and length may be found in the policy document:

1)      Relevant background knowledge to support the rationale of the proposed research project

2)      Preliminary data that demonstrates experimental competency

3)      Clear Hypothesis and Specific Aims of a body of work appropriate for a PhD project

4)      Detailed experimental plan with expectations, pitfalls and alternative approaches

5)      Significance of the proposed work within the research field.

An acceptable oral evaluation will indicate that the student:

1)      Understands the relevant background information

2)      Can interpret and understand preliminary data

3)      Can defend the hypothesis, specific aims and experimental plan 

Exam Set up is the responsibility of the Supervisor in consultation with the student and committee.

Field of Study Prep Form (Topics - due 3 months before estimated Field of Study Exam date) 

Field of Study Set Up Form (due 4 weeks before Field of Study Exam date)

The Field of Study examination is a formal oral exam. The exam will be comprehensive, covering a broad range of topics in the student’s core field of research. The student is expected to have an in-depth understanding of the topics related to their core field of research, as well as a strong foundational knowledge in their field. These areas, as well as a detailed reading list will be provided to the student prior to the examination.

Exam/Evaluation Set up is the responsibility of the Supervisor in consultation with the student and committee.

As per the Candidacy section in the Graduate Calendar and subject to any extension allowances, doctoral students must complete all candidacy requirements  within 28 months  of first registration in the doctoral program. Those students who have transferred from a master’s program must complete all candidacy requirements within 36 months of the first registration in that master’s program.

Review the policy for Candidacy effective September 2018 and take a look at the CHS Candidacy Timeline for an overview of the process. 

All doctoral students in MDCH must successfully complete the following components prior to being admitted to candidacy:

1. All course requirements (to be completed before the Field of Study Exam);
2. Have applied for research ethics approval-if needed; 
3. Research Integrity Day (to be completed within first year);
4. Written Thesis Proposal; 
5. Concept Map and Reading List;
6. Written Field of Study (FoS) Examination; and
7. Oral Field of Study (FoS) Examination.

Forms 

1. Proposal Approval Meeting Set up form  - due to GPA no later than 4 weeks before the meeting

2. Reading List and Concept Map form- (includes concept map and reading list) - This information is to be sent by the supervisor to the GPA no later than 25 months in program (33 months for MSc-PhD transfer students)

3. Questions and Exam set up form - due to GPA directly from Supervisor no later than 8 weeks before the Field of Study exam

The Permission to Write form is no longer required, and has been replaced by the *NEW* Supervisory Committee Meeting Progress Report Form. Discussions about your thesis research requirements should be ongoing with your supervisor and committee, and these discussions should include agreement on a reasonable endpoint for your experimental work and/or data collection. It is important to begin drafting components of your thesis document early in your degree to position yourself to produce a strong final version for your defense. 

For instructions on preparing your thesis and submitting it, refer to the Thesis Section on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website. Thesis templates can also be found there. 

CHS Guidelines for Manuscript Based Thesis

GI/IM/MID Guidelines for Manuscript Based Thesis

Defense Set up is the responsibility of the Supervisor in consultation with the student and committee.

Please note that, as of September 1, 2021, exams may be held in person, remotely, or in a hybrid format. 

The oral defense of your thesis is an FGS requirement.  Please review the Examinations section on the FGS website for full details on the policy and rules for examinations. You will need to ensure that your thesis is ready to send to your examiners at least 3 weeks in advance of the exam date.

To set up your thesis defense the following need to be completed:

MSc:

• Research Integrity Day
• Sex and Gender Module completion (students who started Summer 2020 to present)
• Courses required for degree completed meeting the minimum 3.0 gpa requirement
• Supervisor/Committee indication that thesis is ready to defend
• Submission by the Supervisor of Request to Set Up MSc Thesis Defense Form (minimum of six weeks prior to proposed defense date)

If any of the above are not complete you will not be approved to move forward to defense.
Note: The six-week deadline to submit the set up package is a firm deadline.

PhD:

• Research Integrity Day
• Sex and Gender Module completion (students who started Summer 2020 to present)
• Courses required for degree completed meeting the minimum 3.0 gpa requirement
• Candidacy Examination Successfully Completed
• Supervisor/Committee indication that thesis is ready to defend
• Submission by the Supervisor of Request to Set Up PhD Thesis Defense Form (minimum of eight weeks prior to proposed defense date)

If any of the above are not complete you will not be approved to move forward to defense.
Note: The eight-week deadline to submit the set up package is a firm deadline.

ii’taa’poh’to’p, the University of Calgary’s Indigenous Strategy, seeks to ensure that policies, practices, and procedures are supportive and respectful of Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, connecting, and being.

Indigenous graduate students and those who are working with Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers are encouraged to incorporate Indigenous ceremonies and/or traditions into their exams.

If you would like to incorporate a ceremony and/or tradition into your defense meeting, please indicate this on your Defense Set Up form and your GPA will be in touch with next steps. 

Students must apply for convocation prior to their Oral Defense.  Typically the application is due at the beginning of the term in which the Convocation Ceremony will occur and can be submitted through your MyUofC Student Centre.  Review the criteria to be cleared for convocation to make sure you don’t miss the deadlines.