- Master’s thesis proposal checklist
- Master’s thesis proposal defence
- SPHS policy on absent committee members for master’s proposal defences
- Master’s thesis proposal decisions
- Master’s thesis final defence
- SPHS policy on absent committee members for MSc thesis defence
- Decision categories for master’s thesis defences
Master’s thesis proposal checklist
Once you and your supervisor agree that the written proposal is ready for presentation, there are several steps to follow:
- Contact all members of the thesis committee to determine possible dates and times for the presentation.
- Book a room for a two-hour period (or book a remote videoconference if this option is available) and inform all committee members of the date, time and room booking. The Faculty of Health receptionist can assist with room bookings. The receptionist can also advise you on which rooms are typically booked for proposal presentations. Ultimately, you are responsible for confirming that the room contains all necessary AV equipment for your presentation. If not, then you must book this equipment in advance or change rooms. Please note, IT support is not normally available for remote videoconferencing.
- Complete the MSc Thesis Proposal Notification Form (available on LEARN in the SPHS Research Grad Community Group) and submit it to the graduate coordinator a minimum of three weeks in advance of the proposal. Note: the information provided in the MSc Thesis Proposal Notification Form will be used to draft a LEARN announcement and the thesis proposal paperwork.
- Provide each member of the committee, as well as the graduate coordinator, with a copy of the proposal at least three weeks in advance of the presentation. A PDF is recommended to retain your formatting, although individual committee members may request their copy in Word format.
The graduate coordinator will provide the supervisor with the decision form and a set of guidelines for conducting the defense at least one day before the scheduled defense date. The thesis supervisor chairs the thesis proposal defence, which consists of a 20 minute presentation, followed by two rounds of questions wherein each committee member has a maximum of 15 minutes to ask questions in the first round and a maximum of 10 minutes to ask questions in the second round. Between the first and second round of questions, the student may elect to take a brief break (five minutes maximum). After the question rounds are completed, the student leaves the room or videoconference, and the thesis committee deliberates to reach a decision. Following deliberations, the supervisor will share the decision with the student and indicate the committee’s decision to the graduate research coordinator immediately. If the decision is anything other than Accepted (see below), the supervisor must submit a list of required changes, or reasons for rejections as stipulated for each category above. The supervisor must re-submit the thesis proposal form to the research graduate coordinator once all the changes have been made. The coordinator does not process the form until all changes to the thesis have been made.
Master’s thesis proposal defence
The master's thesis proposal usually outlines the rationale for the research, including a brief review of relevant background, research questions and/or objectives and plans, and a description of the proposed research design, methods, and analysis. Supervisors may have specific content they wish their students to include in the proposals. Please see the LEARN site for the document entitled MSc and PhD Thesis Proposal Guidelines for further information on how the thesis proposal should be formatted. Please note that the page limit for the proposal itself, excluding title page, abstract, work plan, and references, is a maximum of 10 to 12 full pages (single spaced, size 12 font, normal margins). Double-spacing is permitted, in which case the page limit doubles to 20 to 24 full pages. You may add appendices with additional tables, figures, or details.
Both the thesis proposal and final thesis will be defended in oral examinations. The MSc thesis committee (sometimes called the advisory committee) consists of a minimum of three faculty members and includes the student's thesis supervisor and at least one other faculty member from the School of Public Health Sciences (SPHS), which includes faculty who are joint- or cross appointed to the school). One of the three committee members may be from outside the school. A fourth committee member may also be from outside the school if the thesis topic is highly specialized and no current faculty members in SPHS have the requisite expertise.
If a committee member does not have a regular appointment with the University of Waterloo, then they will need to have an adjunct appointment with SPHS to serve on a thesis committee. To obtain adjunct status, the supervisor must provide a written request to the school director, indicating the reason for requesting status, the contributions the adjunct candidate will make to the thesis committee composition/school, and append the adjunct candidate’s CV. These documents will be reviewed by the SPHS executive committee for approval. SPHS adjunct faculty are considered as school members for the purpose of determining the composition of MSc thesis committees.
Students with two supervisors (‘co-supervisors’) will have at least four faculty members on their thesis committees because co-supervisors count as one vote in thesis deliberations.
Master’s theses previously published by SPHS graduates are available online at UW Space.
SPHS policy on absent committee members for master’s proposal defences
The thesis supervisor will chair the proposal presentation, questioning period and deliberations.
All committee members are expected to make every attempt to be present at the proposal presentation. ‘Being present’ for in-person defences is defined as being physically present or connecting via videoconference. The defence cannot take place unless at least two committee members, one of whom must be the supervisor or co-supervisor, are present. If one committee member (other than the supervisor) cannot attend and notice thereof is of a ‘last-minute’ nature, the defense may proceed. If this situation is known in advance, the supervisor must contact the absent member and obtain their written questions, expected responses, assessment of proposal acceptability, and suggestions for modifications. The supervisor is responsible for relaying this information during the defence. If a committee member is unable to submit questions in advance or fails to attend as planned due to unforeseen circumstances, the supervisor must obtain written feedback from the absent member prior to reaching a final decision concerning the acceptability of the proposal and permission for the student to proceed with the proposed research.
The supervisor must ensure that all committee members’ concerns (whether present at the proposal or not) are adequately addressed by the student prior to approval of the proposal and permission to proceed. As a means of documenting changes to the original proposal, particularly the methods, the candidate may be asked to develop a brief addendum that is circulated to all members of the committee (and to the graduate coordinator for the student’s file).
Note: If a committee member is unable to continue serving on a thesis committee, then the student and supervisor are responsible for finding a replacement.
Master’s thesis proposal decisions
- Accepted: The thesis proposal may require typographical or minor editorial corrections to be made to the satisfaction of the supervisor.
- Accepted conditionally: The thesis proposal requires more substantive changes but will be acceptable when these changes are made to the satisfaction of those members of the committee designated by the committee. The supervisor’s report will include a brief outline of the nature of the changes required, the maximum timeline of two months*, and the consequences (examination failure†) if the changes are not made satisfactorily. The supervisor must inform the graduate coordinator when the changes are complete. The thesis proposal acceptance form will not be processed until the graduate coordinator is so notified.
- Decision deferred: The thesis proposal requires modifications of a substantial nature that make the acceptability of the thesis questionable. The supervisor’s report will contain a brief outline of the modifications expected and the date by which the changes are to be completed. The revised thesis must be resubmitted for re-examination following the process described in Master’s thesis proposal checklist above. The re-examination will follow the same procedures as for the initial submission except that the display period may be reduced or eliminated at the discretion of the associate director, graduate studies. Typically, the same committee will serve. A decision to defer is open only once for each candidate.
*The associate director may approve an extension to the two-month deadline under extenuating circumstances, at the request of the student and supervisor. Back to text
†In the case of examination failure because of not making required revisions, the student will be Required to Withdraw from the program. Back to text
If the decision is for a conditional acceptance (category 2), the designated committee members must be satisfied that the changes requested of the student have been made to their satisfaction.
If the decision is deferred (category 3), the student will go to re-examination. When a candidate is re-examined, the outcomes are limited to:
- Passed;
- Rejected: the candidate will be deemed to have failed to satisfy the program’s proposal exam requirement. In this case, the student shall receive written communication identifying the deficiencies in the proposal that led to this outcome.
A student who is deemed to have failed to satisfy the proposal requirement (Rejected) may not continue in the current MSc program. The student’s will be Required to Withdraw.
The outcome of the exam is determined by the majority vote of the thesis committee. Those members of the thesis committee who are voting members shall be clearly communicated to the candidate.
Master’s thesis final defence
Once your committee decides you are ready to proceed to defence, please follow these steps.
- Contact all members of the committee re: available dates and times.
- Book a room for at least a two-hour period for the date and time agreed to by all committee members (or book a videoconference). Notify all committee members of room and time.
- Complete the Thesis Defence Notification Form (available on LEARN in SPHS Research Grad Community Group) and return this form to the graduate coordinator or research assistant a minimum of three weeks prior to the scheduled defence.
- Provide each member of the committee as well as the graduate coordinator with a copy of the thesis at least three weeks in advance of the defence date. The graduate coordinator will announce the upcoming thesis defence and place a copy of the thesis on public display via LEARN for at least two weeks prior to the scheduled defence.
Note: notwithstanding agreement between the student and thesis committee, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs (GSPA) strongly discourages holding thesis defences during holiday periods or close to the end of term.
The
supervisor
can
retrieve
a
set
of
guidelines
for
conducting
the
defense
from
LEARN.
Supervisors
are
to
familiarize
themselves
with
the
relevant
standard
operating
procedures
prior
to
the
defense.
The
thesis
supervisor
chairs
the
thesis
proposal
defence,
which
consists
of
a
20
minute
presentation,
followed
by
two
rounds
of
questions.
In
the
first
round,
each
committee
member
has
a
maximum
of
15
minutes
to
ask
questions.
In
the
second
round,
each
committee
member
has
a
maximum
of
10
minutes.
Between
the
first
and
second
round
of
questions,
the
student
may
elect
to
take
a
brief
break
(five
minutes
maximum).
After
the
question
rounds
are
completed,
the
student
leaves
the
room
or
videoconference,
and
the
thesis
committee
deliberates
to
reach
a
decision.
Following
deliberations,
the
supervisor
will
share
the
decision
with
the
student
and
indicate
the
committee’s
decision
to
the
graduate
research
coordinator
immediately.
The
coordinator
will
collect
the
necessary
signatures
from
the
committee.
If
the
decision
is
anything
other
than
Accepted
(see
below),
the
supervisor
must
submit
a
list
of
required
changes,
or
reasons
for
rejections
as
stipulated
for
each
category
above.
The
supervisor
must
re-submit
a
proposal
decision
once
the
necessary
conditions
have
been
met.
The
coordinator
does
not
process
any
administrative
documents
until
all
changes
to
the
thesis
have
been
made.
SPHS policy on absent committee members for MSc thesis defence
The policy of SPHS is that no more than one committee member, and not the thesis supervisor, may be absent for the MSc thesis defence to take place. The absent member must be contacted in advance by the thesis supervisor and submit the following to the thesis supervisor and associate director, graduate studies at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled defence: a list of questions, expected responses, a final recommendation (refer to decision categories below), and a list of required revisions (if necessary). Questions from an absent committee member will be read by the supervisor (and shall be submitted via email). Note: the supervisor should email a description of the decision categories to the absent member. In contrast to the proposal defence, feedback from an absent committee member cannot be submitted after the defence has taken place. If the above stipulations cannot be met, the defence will have to be cancelled and rescheduled. If the defense is being held in person, then a committee member may attend remotely via videoconference and be considered ‘present’ for the purpose of this requirement.
If a committee member fails to attend as scheduled, allow at least 30 minutes to pass and have someone attempt to contact the individual. If 30 minutes have elapsed and no contact has been made, then the chair/supervisor should consult the associate director, graduate studies or the associate dean, graduate studies. In most cases, the defence will have to be rescheduled.
Decision categories for master’s thesis defences
- Accepted: The thesis may require typographical or minor editorial corrections to be made to the satisfaction of the supervisor.
- Accepted conditionally: The thesis requires more substantive changes but will be acceptable when these changes are made to the satisfaction of those members of the committee designated by the committee. The supervisor’s report will include a brief outline of the nature of the changes required, the maximum timeline of two months**, and the consequences (examination failure††) if the changes are not made satisfactorily. The supervisor must inform the graduate coordinator when the changes are complete. The thesis acceptance form will not be processed until the graduate coordinator is so notified.
- Decision deferred: The thesis requires modifications of a substantial nature which makes the acceptability of the thesis questionable. The supervisor’s report will contain a brief outline of the modifications expected, the date by which the changes are to be completed, and the consequences if the changes are not made satisfactorily. The re-examination will follow the same procedures as for the initial submission except that the display period may be reduced or eliminated at the discretion of the associate director, graduate studies. Typically, the same committee will serve. A decision to defer is open only once for each candidate.
- Rejected: The thesis is rejected.
**The associate director, graduate studies may approve an extension to the two-month deadline under extenuating circumstances, at the request of the student and supervisor. Back to text
††In the case of examination failure because of not making required revisions, the student will be Required to Withdraw from the program. Back to text
The chair may retrieve a copy of the thesis defense prior to the defence. Following deliberations of the examining committee, and upon reaching a decision on the thesis (as described above), the chair will communicate the committee’s decision to the graduate coordinator. All committee members present the day of the defence will sign the examination report form electronically. If the decision is other than Accepted, the chair must also submit a list of required changes, or reasons for rejections as stipulated for each category above.
If the decision is for a conditional acceptance (category 2), the designated committee members must be satisfied that the changes requested of the student have been made to their satisfaction. The supervisor will then sign on behalf of the committee to indicate that the thesis is now considered accepted. Then the associate director, graduate studies and associate dean, graduate studies will give their approval. The student can then apply to graduate in Quest.
If the decision is deferred, the student will go to re-examination. When a candidate is re-examined, the outcomes are limited to:
- Passed;
- Rejected: the candidate will be deemed to have failed to satisfy the MSc thesis milestone and they will receive written communication from the supervisor identifying the deficiencies in the proposal that led to this outcome. The student’s status will change to Required to Withdraw.
The outcome of the exam is determined by the majority vote of the thesis committee. Those members of the thesis committee who are voting members shall be clearly communicated to the candidate.
The supervisor and chair must clearly communicate to the graduate research coordinator if an embargo is to be placed on a student thesis.