MSc Defense: Examination Steps

  1. Ensure all mandatory course work has been completed. Be sure that you have registered for the session in which you will be defending and that your fees are up to date. Examinations cannot be set-up for students who are on withhold.
  2. Discuss who will be on your examination committee with your supervisor: this includes your supervisor, co-supervisor (if applicable) and at least two more examiners, one of whom must be external to the program.
  3. Your supervisor is responsible for getting your examination scheduled. Your supervisor will coordinate with the Graduate Science Centre regarding scheduling. When the “Notice of Final Thesis Oral Examination” form has been prepared, the Graduate Science Centre will ask you and your supervisor to sign it. The Graduate Science Centre will find a Neutral Chair for the examination.
  4. MSc thesis students are required to present a seminar as part of the Departmental requirements. Contact the Graduate Science Centre (email: sci.grad@ucalgary.ca) to schedule a time.
  5. Ensure that you have made an application to apply for graduation through your Student Centre.
  6. After you pass your defense, the Graduate Science Centre will give you a package of information about the steps you need to follow in order to be cleared for convocation by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.  Your final corrected thesis will be uploaded to the vault – please visit the Faculty of Graduate Studies website to find information about the vault and forms you need to fill out (one of which will need to be signed by the Graduate Director).  Graduate Studies is on the 10th Floor of Earth Science – room 1010.
  7. You also need to clean up your office/lab space and return your keys to the main office.

PhD Candidacy: Examination Steps

  1. Ensure all mandatory course work has been completed.  If you started your program prior to January 2011, you can choose to either submit a single-authored paper or take the written exam.  If you started the program on or after January 2011, you must submit a single authored paper.  Please view the CURRENT Regulations for the PhD Program for more details (see information under the heading "2. Computer Science Doctoral Candidacy Requirements", which lists the current regulations and a link to the old regulations as well).
  2. Normally, the Candidacy examination Committee consists of the Supervisory Committee (this committee should have been set-up within 3 months of starting the program) plus two additional members who shall have no conflict of interest with either the student or the Supervisory Committee.
  3. Your supervisor will inform the Graduate Science Centre and they will find a Neutral Chair. Submit your single-authored paper if applicable to the Graduate Science Centre by email at sci.grad@ucalgary.ca and please include your name and ID in the subject line of the email.

PhD Defense: Examination Steps

  1. Ensure all mandatory course work has been completed. Be sure that you have registered for the session in which you will be defending and that your fees are up to date. Examinations cannot be set-up for students who are on withhold. .
  2. Discuss who will be on your examination committee with your supervisor. This will be your Supervisory Committee and at least two more examiners, one of whom must be external to the program and the other external to the university. Note: that the external to the university examiner must be approved by Graduate Studies at least seven weeks prior to the exam. A CV is required. This examiner must not have collaborated with the supervisor in the last five years, worked with the candidate or been a supervisor in the candidate’s graduate program in the last three years.
  3. Your supervisor is responsible for getting your examination scheduled. Your supervisor will coordinate with the Graduate Science Centre regarding scheduling. When the “Notice of Final Thesis Oral Examination” form has been prepared, the Graduate Science Centre will ask you and your supervisor to sign it. The Graduate Science Centre will find a Neutral Chair for the examination..
  4. PhD thesis students are required to present a seminar as part of the Departmental requirements. Contact the Graduate Science Centre to schedule a time..
  5. Ensure that you have made an application to apply for graduation through your Student Centre.