Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
Graduate studies began at the University of Waterloo in 1959 with a number of students doing graduate work in Mathematics; one MA and seven MSc degrees were awarded at the first Convocation in 1960. The rapid growth in graduate studies over the next several years led to the appointment of a committee to examine the structure of graduate studies, chaired by T.A. Brzustowski, which reported to Senate in April, 1968. The adoption of that report by Senate established the organization of graduate studies which exists to this day. Many changes have occurred however, since the 1968 report; some of these changes were approved by Senate, others by Senate Graduate and Research Council or by Graduate Operations Committee. It became necessary, therefore, to revise and update the documents pertaining to graduate studies. In early 1995 three subcommittees of Senate Graduate and Research Council were established to review the organization and regulations regarding graduate studies, and to produce guidelines relating to graduate student supervision. The content of the original report was divided into organization and regulations. The present report, which deals with the organization of graduate studies, follows a similar format to the 1968 report, with three additional sections: Graduate Officer, Graduate Operations Committee, and Graduate Student Association. Other sections have been updated and revised to reflect changes approved in the past two decades. In some cases, changes were recommended by the subcommittee following its review. The work of the academic administrators, students and staff who helped with the preparation of this document is greatly appreciated.
Council considers, reviews, and makes recommendations to the Senate on matters pertaining to graduate studies and research, including: (1) the government, direction and management of, or any changes in rules, regulations or policies; (2) financial; (3) new graduate programs, deletion of graduate programs, major changes to existing graduate programs; (4) new centres and institutes. On behalf of the Senate, Council considers and approves: all new graduate courses, deletion of graduate courses, and minor changes to existing graduate courses and programs; new graduate scholarships and awards; and renewals for centres and institutes. Council advises the Vice-President, Academic & Provost on matters relating to graduate studies and research. SGRC is co-chaired by the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs and the Vice-President, University Research.
For details on membership and terms of reference for Senate Graduate & Research Council, please review Senate Bylaw 2.
The Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs must provide the necessary leadership to enable the University to achieve the highest possible standards in graduate studies. The Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs is responsible for the successful operation of the Senate Graduate and Research Council and the various graduate programs of the University; for submission of Faculty recommendations of degree candidates to Senate who have satisfied the University minimum degree requirements; for the advocacy of graduate studies in the various administrative councils. The Associate Vice-President represents the University in various external agencies and jurisdictions affecting graduate study. The Deanship of Graduate Studies should be her/his major activity in the University, and the only administrative responsibility. However, the Associate Vice-President is expected to continue with graduate student supervision.
The terms of reference for the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs are provided in University of Waterloo Policy #44.
The appointment is for a five-year term on the recommendation of a nominating committee constituted by the Vice-President, Academic and Provost, with the possibility of reappointment for a further three-year term.
The Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs may, from time to time, delegate some or all of these responsibilities to an Associate Dean for Graduate Studies.
The Faculty Graduate Studies Committee has responsibility for the academic quality of graduate studies in each Faculty. It represents Faculty-wide concerns about graduate studies to Senate Graduate and Research Council, and provides advice to the Faculty and Senate Graduate and Research Council on issues related to graduate studies. The membership and terms of reference of the Faculty Graduate Studies Committee are specified below:
The Faculty Graduate Committee:
Each Faculty will appoint an Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research. In exceptional circumstances the responsibilities may be divided between two individuals.
The responsibilities for graduate studies and research are seen to be complementary, hence the joint position. The daily portfolio of the Associate Dean is dominated by the extensive list of activities (noted below) on behalf of graduate students, departments, and the Faculty. The Associate Dean is expected to provide leadership and ensure that the responsibilities for graduate studies in the Faculty are properly discharged. Further, the Associate Dean should communicate relevant items from the Graduate Operations Committee to the Faculty Graduate Studies Committee. In addition, the Associate Dean should work to harmonize the graduate interests within the various departments of the Faculty. From time to time the Associate Dean may work on other University-wide committees where there are overlapping interests. In view of the decentralization of graduate studies to the various Faculties, it is essential that the Associate Dean maintain a strong link with Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. The Associate Dean will represent her/his Faculty, even though there will be occasions (e.g., Senate Graduate and Research Council) when her/his perspective should embrace the entire University. Typical research responsibilities include representing her/his Faculty on the Senate Research Council and identifying candidates for SSHRC and NSERC committees. The Associate Dean will also help to facilitate opportunities for dialogue between successful research grant/contract applicants and junior faculty to provide them with assistance with research applications.
The tasks of the Associate Dean extend from routine daily administrative activities, through extensive committee work, to cyclical and occasional duties including those required by the Faculty and the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs. They may include:
The Graduate Officer/Associate Chair Graduate Studies (referred to hereafter as Graduate Officer) is expected to provide leadership and ensure that the responsibilities for graduate studies in the department/school (referred to hereafter as department) are properly discharged, including quality supervision. The Graduate Officer is a member of the Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty and works with the Associate Dean on department and Faculty graduate studies issues. In addition, the Graduate Officer should keep the Graduate Studies Committee of the department informed of relevant items from the Graduate Studies Committee of the Faculty. The Graduate Officer, on occasion, may have to work on inter-departmental committees of the Faculty to deal with special issues on graduate studies.
The Graduate Officer must:
The tasks of the Graduate Officer include routine daily administrative activities through some committee work to cyclical and occasional duties. These may include:
The Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status is governed by a series of regulations governing how faculty members gain the privilege of sole-supervising PhD students. As such, they are regulations whose authority is vested in the Senate, and any changes to them are to be discussed at Faculty Relations Committee, Graduate Student Relations Committee and the Faculties, and then approved by Senate Graduate and Research Council and by Senate.
These regulations set out the qualifications necessary for faculty members to supervise PhD students. Faculty members who demonstrate the qualifications set out in these regulations will receive Approved Doctoral Dissertation Supervisor (ADDS) status, and only they will be:
Faculty members who qualify for ADDS status must:
The above criteria are meant to ensure that faculty members have acquired the appropriate knowledge to facilitate becoming excellent PhD supervisors at Waterloo. For new faculty, ADDS status is to be awarded on potential excellence since building a proven track record of successful graduate supervision requires many years, numerous students and, depending on the discipline, can extend beyond the granting of tenure.
The process of acquiring ADDS status for a faculty member in the tenure-stream at the University of Waterloo is defined as follows:
Those faculty members who are supervising doctoral students when they retire may continue to sole-supervise these students until these students complete their degrees.
Co-supervision with a regular faculty member with ADDS status is normally a requirement for Adjunct Faculty and Research Professors. The Faculty Associate Deans, Graduate Studies, have the authority to waive the co-supervision requirement for a specific student, on the recommendation of the Department/School.
When circumstances appear to warrant the revocation of ADDS status of a faculty member; the process for doing so is as follows:
The Graduate Operations Committee is concerned with the development and implementation of operating procedures for graduate studies. The Committee is convened by the Associate Vice- President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs to facilitate discussions among the various Faculties and the Director of Graduate Studies Services. The Committee will consider both University and Faculty-specific issues relating to the operation of graduate studies. Normally the Committee operates by consensus or by majority vote in those instances where consensus cannot be reached.
The Graduate Operations Committee serves two major functions: First, it provides the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, the Associate Deans and the Director of Graduate Studies Services with an opportunity to disseminate information about current operating procedures and seek advice or report experiences with graduate operations. The Graduate Operations Committee (which may meet in extraordinary session for this purpose) provides an opportunity for Associate Deans to seek the advice of their colleagues in a confidential forum. Second, the Graduate Operations Committee provides an opportunity for the Associate Vice President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs, the Associate Deans, or the Director of Graduate Studies Services to initiate discussion or respond to proposals from the Faculties or from Senate Graduate and Research Council with respect to graduate studies at the University of Waterloo. These discussions normally are limited to operating and/or implementation procedures. Graduate operating procedures have previously been interpreted broadly to include, for example, admission policies, standards and procedures; thesis examination procedures; regulations with respect to ADDS; scholarships, teaching assistant and research assistant rules, procedures and functions; and discussions on student discipline matters. The agenda for the Graduate Operations Committee is set by the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.with the advice of the Associate Deans and the Director of Graduate Studies Services. Occasionally, topics are brought to Graduate Operations for information only. Any proposals for changes to current policies must be taken by the Associate Deans to their Faculty Graduate Studies Committees or to specific Faculty departments, as appropriate, for further discussion at the Faculty level. Following such discussions, the proposals and Faculty responses will be revisited by the Graduate Operations Committee and Associate Deans will be given an opportunity to report on Faculty responses. Proposals to change policies will be taken by the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs to the Senate Graduate and Research Council for further discussion and a vote.
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) serves two major functions: First, it provides academic support for the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs including secretariat responsibilities for the Graduate Operations Committee and graduate program appraisals. Second, GSPA is responsible for registrarial support including the administrative services and activities related to the provision and maintenance of graduate student records (e.g., applications, admissions, grade reporting, registration, recruitment, awards, theses, convocation, course scheduling, ADDS/Ph.D. Examination Committee Chairs, Graduate Studies Calendar and other publications). GSPA is the central administrative unit working in co-operation with Faculties and departments to administer graduate programs, prepare data for internal groups, and submit data to various government and external agencies. The Director of Graduate Studies Services manages the activities of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs on behalf of the Associate Vice-President, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs.
Specific activities of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs include:
The Graduate Student Association (GSA) of the University of Waterloo was founded in 1964 and is the official group representing graduate students on campus.
Broadly defined, the three major roles of the GSA are:
Approved by Senate in April 1996. Revisions approved by Senate in February 1997, February 1999, June 2010, June 2015, November 2018, March 2021.
Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA)
Needles Hall, second floor, room 2201
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within our Office of Indigenous Relations.