Graduate studies seminar overview

The graduate studies seminar milestone requires that all Pharmacy MSc and PhD students attend the School of Pharmacy Research Seminar Series continuously throughout their academic program as outlined in the MSc and PhD in Pharmacy Academic Calendar.  Faculty and other members of the research community are welcome and encouraged to attend as well.   

• Seminars are offered in the fall and winter terms. Regular attendance is expected in these terms.  An attendance sheet is circulated and students are responsible for signing to confirm their attendance. 
• Every effort is made by the seminar coordinating committee to accommodate the busy schedules of graduate students, recognizing the demands of the graduate program by by offering more seminars per term than required.
• Graduate Studies Seminars are posted on the Pharmacy Events page and on the Pharmacy Graduate Studies calendar in Outlook.  An calendar invitation is also sent; it is recommended that accept the invitations to add the dates to your own calendar, and so you can get any updates directly to your calendar. 
• Students are responsible for referring to the schedules and planning their attendance accordingly, to ensure their record of attendance remains in good standing throughout their program. Students are expected to attend continually until degree completion (i.e. until the final thesis has been accepted in UWSpace).
• Students who do not think they will meet the minimum requirement in a given term should contact the administrative coordinator for graduate studies as early in the term as possible.

Seminar dates are posted on the Pharmacy Events page and on the Pharmacy Graduate Studies Outlook calendar (gradpharm@uwaterloo.ca).

As part of this milestone, PhD students are required to present in the School's research seminar series prior to graduation. 

Student presentations are adjudicated by faculty reviewers and automatically considered for the Best Student Presentation in the Research Seminar Series Pharmacy Graduate Award. 

Ideally, students will give their PhD presentation one year before the intended degree completion date, to ensure this milestone is completed well in advance of their thesis defence and so they can receive their award before they graduate, if applicable.

Giving presentations at credible scientific venues is strongly encouraged in the graduate program and is supported through special awards like the Christine and David Edwards graduate studies travel award. However, for the purpose of this milestone,students should make every effort to present at the Pharmacy research seminar seriesas this venue provides students the opportunity for practice and exposure in delivering presentations that would meet industry and academic standards in a friendly and familiar environment; a 10-15 minute presentation at a major conference, while valuable in its own right, does not provide such an opportunity and does not meet the milestone requirement.