Temerty Faculty of Medicine
Search this site
Menu

Terminal Committee Meeting

M.Sc. Students

After an M.Sc. student has completed all the course requirements and they Supervisory Committee has read and approved the thesis, they may proceed to the a M.Sc. oral defense. An M.Sc. student should conduct a thesis defense 2 to 2.5 years after first registration (see Time Limit for Writing the M.Sc. Thesis below). The M.Sc. oral examination is a formal defense of a thesis based on original scientific research in the Department as well as a test of the student's general scientific knowledge and abilities.

M.Sc. Terminal Committee Meeting

The student will receive permission to write an M.Sc. thesis at a terminal supervisory committee meeting upon completion of the M.Sc. Terminal Committee Meeting Report.  At this terminal committee meeting, a detailed outline of the proposed thesis (generally in point form and typically longer than a page) is presented. The detailed outline should also be included in the student’s committee meeting progress report that is distributed to supervisory committee members at least seven days before the terminal committee meeting.  After the "M.Sc. Terminal Committee Meeting Report" has been signed by all relevant parties, the student should devote full time to writing their thesis and should not conduct additional experiments until the Request to set up an M. Sc. Oral Examination form has been completed by all relevant parties. The Graduate Program Administrator will record the recommendation of the supervisory committee that the student begin writing the thesis. Please see the “Commitments that Conflict with the Completion of a Student’s Degree” section elsewhere in the handbook.

Time Limit For Writing The M.Sc. Thesis

Students must defend within four months of receiving permission to write. 

  • Within this timeframe, students are allowed three months to write and obtain approval for the thesis draft from the Supervisor and Supervisory Committee. The M.Sc. Oral Exam Request must be signed within three months of the signing of the M.Sc. Terminal Committee Meeting Report.
  • The three months include time for the Supervisor and Committee Members to critique the thesis, which should take no more than four weeks in total (two weeks for the Supervisor and two weeks for Committee Members). Students must also allow enough time to make the required changes after the supervisor has critiqued the thesis and then again after the supervisory committee members have critiqued the thesis. This means students have two months to write and make changes.
  • The M.Sc. Oral Exam Request form must be submitted at least three weeks prior to the agreed-upon date of the examination.

Ph.D. Students

After a Ph.D. student has completed all the course requirements and their supervisory committee has read and approved the thesis, they may proceed to the Ph.D. thesis defense exam. The Department expects that the typical Ph.D. student will take about 5.5 years after first registration to complete the Ph.D.-related research, course work and thesis writing (see Time Limits for Writing the Ph.D. Thesis below for more details). The Ph.D. thesis exam is a formal defense of a thesis based on original scientific research as well as a test of the student's general scientific knowledge and abilities.

Ph.D. Terminal Committee Meeting

The student will receive permission to write a Ph.D. thesis at a terminal supervisory committee meeting upon completion of the Ph.D. Terminal Committee Meeting Report. At this terminal committee meeting, a detailed outline of the proposed thesis (generally in point form and typically longer than a page) is presented. The detailed outline should also be included in the student’s committee meeting progress report that is distributed to supervisory committee members at least one week before the terminal committee meeting.  After the Ph.D. Terminal Committee Meeting Report has been signed by all relevant parties, the student should devote full time to writing their thesis and should not conduct additional experiments until the Ph.D. Oral Exam Request  has been submitted. The Graduate Program Administrator will record the recommendation of the supervisory committee that the student begin writing the thesis. Please see the Commitments that Conflict with the Completion of a Student’s Degree section elsewhere in the handbook.

Time Limits For Writing The Ph.D. Thesis

Students must defend within six months of receiving permission to write. 

  • Within this timeframe, they are allowed 4.5 months to write and obtain approval of the thesis draft from the Supervisor and Supervisory Committee. The Ph.D. Oral Exam Request must be signed within three months of the signing of the Ph.D. Terminal Committee Meeting Report.
  • The 4.5 months include time for the Supervisor and Committee Members to critique the thesis, which should take no more than six weeks in total (three weeks for the Supervisor and three weeks for Committee Members). Students must also allow enough time to make the required changes after the supervisor has critiqued the thesis and then again after the supervisory committee members have critiqued the thesis. This means students have three months for writing and making changes.
  • The Ph.D. Oral Exam Request form must be submitted at least eight weeks prior to the agreed-upon date of the examination.