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Student-Guide-to-the-PhD-Defence-Process_Jan-20201.pptx
- 2. mcmaster.ca | Agenda What to Expect: o Before You Initiate o Initiating the Defence o Thesis Defence Timeline • Standard (Traditional) • Accelerated o Preparing for the Defence o The Day of the Defence o Becoming Cleared to Graduate 2 February 19, 2023
- 3. mcmaster.ca | February 19, 2023 3 • Does your Supervisory Committee agree that you are ready to defend? o Circulate dissertation • Work backward from a proposed defence date to target your initiation date o Decide if you are targeting a particular convocation o Sessional dates: https://graduate.mcmaster.ca/sites /default/files/images/sessional_dat es_-_clean_copy.pdf • Attend other defences • Know your subject matter Before You Initiate Are You Ready?
- 4. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Process is initiated online in the Mosaic. Log into Student Centre and under ‘Academics’ select ‘other academics’: 4 February 19, 2023
- 5. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Select Thesis Intent -> Defend my Thesis: 5 February 19, 2023
- 6. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Select Degree and Program before selecting “Next” button: 6 February 19, 2023
- 7. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Review your Supervisory Committee (names, roles, emails). If incorrect or incomplete, please contact your program Graduate Administrator. If correct, select “Next”: 7 February 19, 2023
- 8. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Enter the intended date for submission of your pre-defence thesis to SGS (via gthesis@mcmaster.ca). You must select a date no less than 2 weeks away from the date of initiation. Enter your thesis title as well abstract (optional) before selecting “Submit”: 8 February 19, 2023
- 9. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Mosaic will prompt you to review your entered details to ensure accuracy before selecting “Submit” one final time: 9 February 19, 2023
- 10. mcmaster.ca | Initiating the Thesis Defense Process Once you have initiated the defence online: 10 February 19, 2023 • 3 Emails are sent: o One to you to confirm the initiation o One to your Supervisor for their input o One to your Grad Admin to check your committee in Mosaic • Your Supervisor will have to select either: o Standard (Traditional) Stream o Accelerated Stream
- 11. mcmaster.ca | Thesis Defence Timelines Standard Stream • After initiation, Supervisor nominates Externals, to be approved by Committee and Dept. Chair • SGS reaches out to approved Externals (randomly selected) • Student proposes date and time as well as uploads thesis • Committee approves date • SGS selects External, sends thesis with corresponding report • SGS finds a room and a Chair for the defence • After initiation, Supervisor nominates External, to be approved by Committee and Dept. Chair • Once approved, Supervisor selects External, identifies the date, time, room, Chair for the defence and uploads thesis • Committee approves date • External is sent thesis with corresponding report 11 February 19, 2023 Accelerated Stream
- 12. mcmaster.ca | Standard Thesis Defence Timeline 12 February 19, 2023
- 13. mcmaster.ca | Standard Thesis Defence Timeline 13 February 19, 2023 • Selecting the date:
- 14. mcmaster.ca | Preparing for the Defence In order for the defence to proceed, it needs to have the following: • A positive report from the External a week in advance • A Chair for the defence o A faculty member who has supervised a student to completion • A minimum of 3 members from the Supervisory Committee o Supervisor and 2 Committee Members • The External Examiner o Can be represented by an Internal Examiner if they are unable to attend 14 February 19, 2023
- 15. mcmaster.ca | The Day of the Defence It has finally come! • You will receive a set of instructions from SGS to set expectations for the defence along side the announcement o We will confirm External participation and remote connection (if applicable) • You begin with a brief statement, typically 15-20 mins o Stress the main points of your contribution and any difficulties you overcame • This will be followed by rounds of questions by the Committee and External o The Chair will moderate • You, and any audience members, will be asked to leave the room so that they can discuss and complete the Report of the Examining Committee • You will be welcomed back to hear the results and sign any necessary paperwork 15 February 19, 2023
- 16. mcmaster.ca | Becoming Cleared to Graduate The final steps to be completed: 16 February 19, 2023 • Complete your Final Thesis Submission Sheet o Decide whether or not you need to Embargo your thesis o Get sign off on the completion of changes (if required) o Hand it in to your Grad Admin so they can submit a Service Request • Upload your thesis to MacSphere https://macsphere.mcmaster.ca/ o You cannot make changes after it has been uploaded o The date of your upload will be used as your cleared to graduate date • Verify that all of your program’s milestones have been met by running your advisement report o Your final thesis will be added as a milestone
- 17. mcmaster.ca | Resources To help with your preparations: 17 February 19, 2023 • School of Graduate Studies website: https://gs.mcmaster.ca/doctoral-degree • Guide for the Preparation of Master’s and Doctoral Theses: https://gs.mcmaster.ca/sites/default/files/resources/guide_for _the_preparation_of_masters_and_doctoral_theses- _december_2016.pdf • Graduate Calendar - Section 4.3 Thesis: https://academiccalendars.romcmaster.ca/content.php?catoi d=39&navoid=8156#4-3_thesis_ • Thesis Completion Boot Camps: https://gs.mcmaster.ca/thesis-completion-boot-camps
- 18. mcmaster.ca | Deb Randall-Baldry Academic Services Officer School of Graduate Studies gthesis@mcmaster.ca GOOD LUCK! 18 February 19, 2023
Editor's Notes
- A committee member can halt the process if they say ‘No’ We will work through the possible timelines in the coming slides but the key is to work backward from the deadlines of a particular convocation or proposed defence date that works with your committee Learn more about the defence itself by watching your colleagues or other PhD candidates defend their thesis When earning a PhD, the course material, comprehensive exam and other key milestones tests your breadth of knowledge and the thesis is where you are tested on the depth of your knowledge, it is expected that you are a subject matter expert in your research topic
- Primary difference is who is doing the initial leg work In Accelerated, the expectation is that the External has agreed to participate as well as read the thesis
- 1) This is a visual of the Standard Thesis Defence to illustrate where time is shaved off in the Accelerated Stream
- 1) If you do follow the Standard Stream, this is how it will appear when selecting the date
- Negative reports are rare If we receive the report with less than a week before the defence date, SGS will reach out to confirm you want to proceed The Supervisory Committee will receive the report and the expectation is that the Supervisor shares the comments to help you prepare for the defence The Chair can be from any department, the importance is that they understand the process and can represent the students interests impartially
- We send an announcement to all of the participants and also loop in your Grad Admin We work with the External and Supervisor to confirm if the External will participate Remote participation is allowed but ask for a back-up phone There are contingencies should there be issues with the connection You shouldn’t be aiming to simply summarize but rather draw attention to key attributes of your thesis
- An delay of publication or Embargo is often used when you are awaiting publication, the typical duration is one year The Supervisor is signing to confirm if changes have been made Please make sure you are uploading the correct version and have checked formatting, references and tables Review the policies of your publishers in advances so there are no surprises ACTUAL LANGUAGE ON FORM: Once you have submitted both your final thesis on mac sphere and this form to sgs you will be cleared to graduate, provided all other program requirements are complete. From that date on, you are no longer considered an active graduate student and the tuition for the balance of the month remaining in the academic year will be refunded.
- An delay of publication or Embargo is often used when you are awaiting publication, the typical duration is one year The Supervisor is signing to confirm if changes have been made, if major changes are recommended, the entire committee signs Please make sure you are uploading the correct version and have checked formatting, references and tables Review the policies of your publishers in advances so there are no surprises Seriously consider buddying up with others going through this at a Boot Camp