The purpose of the proposal is demonstrate that PhD students
• have the appropriate academic background – a foundation and breadth of knowledge in the field of study – to be successful in their PhD program;
• have the capacity to engage in scholarly communications – both oral and written – necessary to be successful in their PhD studies;
• have developed a novel research topic to be evaluated during their PhD studies.
The format of the proposal will be a 25 to 30 minute presentation followed by two rounds of questioning from the examination committee. If the presentation goes beyond the 30-minute mark, the proposal chair may ask the student to finish and give some short concluding remarks. The question period is conducted in an interview format. One committee member at a time will ask questions with minimal interruption from other committee members. Each committee member will have 15 minutes for questions in the first round and 10 minutes in the second round. Finally, questions will be allowed from any other members of the university community who may be present.
After the question period is over, the examination committee will meet and discuss the outcome. On a candidate’s first attempt at the comprehensive exam, the outcome shall be one of passed, passed conditionally, re-examination or failed. The outcome of the exam is determined by the majority vote of the examining committee. If the student is co-supervised, the co-supervisors’ votes shall count as 0.5 each. If two outcomes receive an equal number of votes, then the decision shall be for the less positive outcome.
For further details please review Section 7.4.3 minimum requirements for PhD degree: Comprehensive examination in the graduate calendar.