Program Regulations and Milestones

It is often easier to see the path over reading it.

Students are expected to attend the annual Graduate Student Orientation session held in September where they will be introduced to relevant departmental and institutional policies and procedures necessary to succeed in their program. They will also have an opportunity to meet fellow students, as well as staff and faculty who will guide them through their journey at uWaterloo. 

The Graduate AIM is an online course that all new graduate students are required to take through Waterloo LEARN. The Graduate AIM is not visible in LEARN until the first day of classes each term. Students must read the information about academic integrity and then receive a mark of at least 75% on an online quiz. The quiz must be successfully completed within the first 8 weeks of the term.

This is a milestone requirement for all full-time students. Part-time students are not required to complete this workshop. This is a mandatory workshop on academic integrity and intellectual property which will be offered to all new incoming graduate students within the Faculty of Science in Fall and Winter semester. Students must complete this workshop no later than the end of their second term. 

Note: students will be required to complete both the Academic Integrity Module as a required course along with the Academic Integrity Workshop milestone. The Module will appear on the student's transcript as a course. The Workshop will appear on the student's transcript as a milestone.

Starting Fall 2020 this workshop will be offered remotely. You will be contacted by the Faculty of Science Graduate Studies Office and invited to participate.

A student’s committee should be formed within the first six months of study and recorded on the Advisory Committee Appointment form.

The MSc Advisory Committee must consist of a supervisor and at least two other members, one of which must be a regular Physics and Astronomy faculty member (see form for details).

The PhD Advisory Committee must consist of at least four members including the supervisor (with ADDS status) who acts as the Committee Chair and convenes the meeting. One member must be a regular faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

This form must be filled out, signed and approved before the first committee meeting takes place.

The Graduate Degree Program form must be completed in consultation with the student’s advisory committee and submitted to the Physics Graduate Office before the start of second registered semester. It is advised that the student and the committee consult the Academic Graduate Calendar to ensure the student is meeting the degree requirements of their program.

It is required that the student formally meet with his/her committee within the first six months of registration (within first four months in the case of a coursework MSc).

• One meeting a year must be formal and reported on the Advisory Committee Report
• The other meeting(s) may be held informally and only the student, the supervisor, and at least one other member of the Committee must be present

The committee meeting should consist of a 20-30 minute presentation on academic and research progress followed by a 30 minute question and discussion period. The student should also include a clear research and academic plan for the next 6-8 months. 

1. A formal request must be initiated by the student, ideally not later than the end of the third semester. The application should be completed well in advance of the “count” date for the term, after which no change in status can be made. These dates are: Fall – Nov. 1st, Winter – Feb. 1st and Spring – June 30th.
2. Student should have at least 80% in at least two graduate level courses. Academic Integrity Module and Academic Integrity Workshop milestones must be completed at the time of request.
3. Student should have a committee meeting. The recommendation to transfer to the PhD program by the committee members should be noted in the comments section on the form.
4. Program Change Form must be signed by the student and supervisor and submitted to the Physics Graduate Office along with a copy of the unofficial transcript.
5. Supervisor must submit a letter recommending the transfer, to Associate Chair Graduate Studies. The committee's recommendation and the supervisor’s memo needs to address the potential of the student for the independent research necessary to complete a PhD, the scope for extension of the MSc work to the PhD level, and evidence of the ability to write at a level needed to co-author scientific publications.
6. The student needs to do a Report on research progress and future plans (5-10 pages) which demonstrates evidence of their ability to write at a level needed to co-author scientific publications. If the student has co-authored a manuscript, the report may be shortened to future plans and submitted with the manuscript.
7. Program Change Form, Student's Research Paper, Committee Meeting Form, and Memo to be submitted to Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. The forms will then be forwarded to the Associate Dean, Graduate Studies for approval.

All PhD students including those who transfer or fast-track are required to complete and pass their Comprehensive Exam, otherwise known as Qualifying Exam (QE) before the end of Term 6 of their studies. If the Comprehensive Exam is not completed by the end of the seventh term, the GSPA office may require the student to withdraw from the program. Completing this milestone is the responsibility of the student and the supervisor. Comprehensive Exam regulations are further outlined in the Academic Calendar.

Process for Comprehensive Exam:

The Comprehensive Exam committee must consist of at least three examiners who:

1. The committee should identify three exam topics and list them on the first Committee Meeting Form (this should be completed in the first 2 terms of study).
2. Once the committee is established, the student must fill out the “Request for Qualifying Examination” webform. The Physics Graduate Office will complete the “Appointment of Comprehensive Exam Committee form” and submit it for approval. This form must be approved before the exam takes place. The form must be submitted at least four weeks before the exam is set to take place. 
3. Committee members must meet the following criteria:
   • Hold a PhD or equivalent degree
   • Two of whom are not the student’s supervisor(s)
   • At least one of whom is a tenured or tenue-track member of the student’s Department
   • At least two of whom hold regular faculty appointments at University of Waterloo; plus
   • Chair (appointed by the Physics Graduate Office and not part of committee composition)
4. Each of the three expert members of the committee will, with the knowledge of the proposal and the designated areas, be asked to set 3 exam questions, each requiring approximately 10 minutes to answer.
5. The exam is intended to be approximately 90 minutes long but may run longer, if necessary. All questions need not be covered, although they should be available during the examination for use if desired.

The student will have access to the exam in the examination room for up to two hours (if the student so desires) prior to the start of the formal oral examination period. No books or other aids are permitted. The student may choose the first question for which he/she will present a solution; the exam will then proceed in the established question order. Solutions to questions will be presented to the examination committee one at a time without interruption. The examination committee will ask questions and/or provide feedback only after the student has completed his/her presentation. The student will be assessed separately on the presentation and discussion components of each question.

The report of the supervisor and the student's grades in graduate courses will be available to the committee for its deliberations after the examination is finished. Discussion of the candidate's responses to individual questions is expected before arriving at a final decision.

The committee will make one of the following decisions regarding the student’s success.

1. Recommend pass
2. Recommend pass but some remedial work is desired and should be checked by the advisory/supervisory committee by some reasonable specified time
3. Recommend re-appear
4. Recommend fail, required to withdraw

Option 3 will not be available to a student more than once. The director will communicate the result to the student in a timely manner.

Students in the Nanotechnology and Quantum Information specializations are required to complete seminars as part of their degree requirements.

Nanotechnology Seminar

• The Nanotechnology Seminar is a forum for student presentation of research results or proposals. Invited speakers from academia and industry will also present results of research from time to time. The range of topics that will be addressed in the seminar crosses all areas of research in the collaborative program. Each student is required to present at least one research seminar. To receive credit, students are required to attend at least eight seminars other than their own before completing their program.
• The seminar is graded on a Credit/Non-Credit basis.
• Student are required to complete the Seminar Requirement Form and hand into the Physics Graduate Office upon completion

PhD Quantum Information Seminar

• Students must successfully complete a Quantum Information seminar milestone consisting of one Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) seminar, and one seminar on a Quantum Information topic aimed at members of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
• Student are required to complete the Seminar Requirement Form and submit to Physics Graduate Office upon completion

1. Four weeks before the defense:

The student is responsible for filling out the Thesis Defense Request Form once the dates and times are confirmed with all of the committee members.

Once filled out, the Physics Graduate Office will fill out the “Appointment of MSc Thesis Defense Committee Form” and have the supervisor and Associate Chair, Graduate Studies or Graduate Officer sign the paperwork before sending to Faculty of Science Graduate Dissertation Coordinator.

The MSc Defense will consist of:

1. Supervisor
2. One regular committee member
3. One member of GSP who is not on the regular committee. The list of members is on the Waterloo-Guelph Physics Graduate Studies website.

NOTE: In addition to the supervisor, another faculty member from the Department of Physics and Astronomy must be on defence committee.

2. Three weeks before the defense:

MSc students are required to submit a soft copy of their thesis to the Faculty of Science Graduate Dissertation Coordinator (Krista Parsons, PHY 2013) by noon at least 15 business days prior to the chosen defence date. The soft copy can be emailed to science.dissertations@uwaterloo.ca. Earlier submission is preferred.

Please take into consideration if a university holiday is during this time – one extra day will be required. Submissions received later than 3 weeks prior to the arranged defence date will require the defence to be rescheduled. The Dissertation Coordinator will distribute a soft (electronic) copy of the thesis to all members of the examining committee.

Thesis should be single-sided and in the final format, which includes the title page and abstract page - no double sided printing, no fancy title pages, etc. If the thesis is not submitted properly this will cause problems when uploading to UWSpace.

Please see instructions from the GSPA on preperation of the thesis: https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-studies-postdoctoral-affairs/current-students/thesis-preparation.

Please note the Science Thesis Blackout dates are:

• April 27 - May 1
• August 17 - September 4
• December 16 - January 6

There will be no MSc or PhD thesis defences during this period unless special arrangements have been made in advance with the Science Dissertations Coordinator. See Thesis Defense instructions on Science website for further details. 

Once the defense date has been set, it cannot be changed.

1. Four Months before the defense:

The supervisor is responsible for filling out the Nomination of External Examiner form and forwarding it to physicsgradoffice@uwaterloo.ca along with the current and complete CV of the External Examiner.

The External Examiner should meet the following criteria:

• Holds a PhD
• Provides evidence for successful supervision at the PhD level
• Holds relevant expertise in the relevant subject areas
• Must be at arm’s length from the candidate’s thesis, candidate and supervisor’s and additionally must not be in a potential conflict of interest with regards to the outcome of the examination.  Such conflicts are outlined in the PhD Regulations
• Nominee must provide a full (up to date) CV with publications covering at least the past 6 years

PLEASE NOTE: The student cannot have any contact with the external regarding the thesis or defence, as this is a conflict of interest.

2. Seven weeks before the defense:

The student is responsible for filling out the Thesis Defense Request Form once the dates and times are confirmed with all of the committee members.

Once filled out, the Physics Graduate Office will fill out the “Appointment of PhD Thesis Defense Committee Form” and have the supervisor and Associate Chair, Graduate Studies or Graduate Officer sign the paperwork before sending to Faculty of Science Graduate Dissertation Coordinator.

The PhD Defence Committee consists of a minimum of five voting members:

1. Supervisor*
2. Committee Member (from home department)
3. Committee Member
4. Internal/External (external to home department
5. External Examiner

* Please note a supervisor and co-supervisor only count as one. 

3. Six weeks before the defense:

PhD students are required to submit a soft copy of their thesis to the Faculty of Science Graduate Dissertation Coordinator (Krista Parsons, PHY 2013) by noon at least 30 business days prior to the chosen defence date. The soft copy can be emailed to science.dissertations@uwaterloo.ca Earlier submission is preferred.

Please take into consideration if a university holiday is during this time – one extra day will be required. Submissions received later than 6 weeks prior to the arranged defence date will require the defence to be rescheduled. The Dissertation Coordinator will distribute a soft (electronic) copy of the thesis to all members of the examining committee.

Before submitting the thesis please make sure it is single-sided and in the final format, which includes the title page and abstract page - no double sided printing, no fancy title pages, etc. If the thesis is not submitted properly this will cause problems when uploading to UWSpace. PhD students need to include an additional page after their title page that lists their thesis examining committee. There is a template provided on the GSPA’s ‘Preparation of the thesis’ site.

Please note the Science Thesis Blackout dates are:

• April 27 - May 1
• August 17 - September 4
• December 16 - January 6

There will be no MSc or PhD thesis defences during this period unless special arrangements have been made in advance with the Science Dissertations Coordinator. See Thesis Defense instructions on Science website for further details. 

Once the defense date has been set, it cannot be changed.

Once the supervisor informs Krista Parsons at Science Dissertations science.dissertations@uwaterloo.ca that thesis revisions have been completed and that the thesis title has not changed, students are required to submit their thesis online to UWSpace.

The student is then required to apply to graduate on Quest and Physics Graduate Office will confirm the student has completed all of the degree requirements. 

Go to: My Academics, Graduation, and select Apply for Graduation for the next convocation.

Please check that the home address on Quest is up-to-date. Diplomas for students who do not attend convocation will be mailed to their home, (not mailing) address.

If you require documentation confirming that you have completed your degree requirements, you can order official transcripts and program completion letters from The Centre.