Thesis Defense

When the Thesis is complete, the candidate must defend it in an oral examination. The student informs the Advisor that they are ready to defend and provides the supervisor with an appropriately formatted PDF copy of the Thesis. The student is not permitted to make changes to the submitted document until after the Thesis oral defence has been completed.

A student who has successfully completed all program requirements has the right to submit and defend the Thesis, even if the Advisor recommends otherwise. Registration in the next academic term is required for any graduate student who does not submit and defend the completed Thesis by the end of the academic term.

Requesting the Thesis oral defence

Prior to the proposed scheduled defence, the Final Thesis Examination Request form is submitted through the SGS Portal for review and approval by either the Supervisor/Co-supervisor or student. Normally, the Final Thesis Examination Request is submitted by the Supervisor/Co-supervisor.

Components of the Final Thesis Examination Request

After the Final Thesis Examination Request form is submitted, students may not revise the Thesis until after the defence.

If an External Examiner will be included in the Thesis Examination Committee, the External Examiner Request form must be submitted through the SGS Portal at least six (6) weeks prior to the proposed examination date.

Scheduling the Thesis oral defence:

Masters-level programs

For master's-level programs, the Thesis oral defence should be scheduled at least five (5) weeks before the date of the defence.

Master’s degree program timeline for scheduling the Thesis oral defence

* Approved by Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in Education for Master of Education students. Approved by the Master of Nursing Program Committee for Master of Nursing students. Approved by the Dhillon School of Business Graduate Programs Committee.

** Master of Science (Management) is a minimum of two (2) weeks prior to submission of the Assessment of Readiness to Defend form and at least 72 hours before the scheduled Thesis oral defence.

For Master of Education students, the External Examiner reviews the Thesis and then completes and submits the External Examiner’s Thesis Evaluation Summary form at least two weeks prior to the date of defence. The Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in Education then notifies the supervisor of the External Examiner’s recommendations.

***For Master of Education students, the Assessment of Readiness to Defend forms are submitted to the relevant Graduate Program Office.

Normally, activities 2 and 3 occur within the same week.

Doctoral-level programs (excluding Education)

For doctoral students, the Thesis oral defence should be scheduled at least six (6) weeks before the date of the defence.

Components of the Final Thesis Examination Request 

Doctoral degree program timeline for scheduling the Thesis oral defence

Normally, activities 2 and 3 occur within the same week.

Doctor of Philosophy (Education)

For Doctor of Philosophy (Education) students, the Thesis oral defence should be scheduled a minimum of eight (8) weeks prior to the date of the defence.

Doctor of Philosophy (Education) degree programs timeline for scheduling the Thesis oral defence

Normally, activities 2 and 3 occur within the same week.

Table 10: Recommended dates to submit request for Thesis oral defence by program

Approving the Thesis oral defence and appointing the Chair

If the Request for Final Thesis Examination is not approved it is usually because the approver (e.g., Dean of Graduate Studies) feels that the External Examiner is not suitable. In cases where the External Examiner is not suitable, the approver will contact the Advisor and, if necessary, recommend an External Examiner.

If an External Examiner is required, the Advisor contacts the External Examiner to make tentative travel arrangements or video/audio conferencing arrangements, if applicable.

Notice of Thesis oral defence

Once the Request for Final Thesis Examination is approved, the relevant Graduate Program Office notifies the Thesis Examination Committee members and respective stakeholders, then the Faculty/School posts a copy of the Notice of Final Thesis Examination outside its main office.

The Advisor informs interested faculty and staff of the Thesis presentation and defence.

In assessing the Thesis, the Thesis Examination Committee must recognize that even an excellent Thesis is not necessarily perfect in all respects. Only some parts of the Thesis could be suitable for a publication or other public presentation. Taken as a whole, the Thesis must be a sound piece of scholarship and/or creative output.

Assessing the Thesis

The Thesis Examination Committee must assess if the student’s Thesis meets or exceeds the academic standards for a graduate thesis. This includes ensuring that the Thesis:

• Addresses related public literature
• Acknowledges contributing scholars
• Uses methodology that ensures the conclusions are valid and supported
• Has originality and substance
• Is written in a clear and intelligible manner
• Conforms to the thesis style and format regulations
• Shows significant knowledge and grasp of the field
• Is free from major errors
• Contributing to scholarship in the field (only in Master of Science (Management))

In assessing the Thesis, the Thesis Examination Committee must recognize that even an excellent Thesis is not necessarily perfect in all respects. Only some parts of the Thesis could be suitable for a publication or other public presentation. Taken as a whole, the Thesis must be a sound piece of scholarship and/or creative output.

Assessment of readiness to defend

When the assessment of the Thesis is complete, each member of the Thesis Examination Committee, except the Chair, completes an Assessment of Readiness to Defend form and submits it to the Chair (these forms are submitted to the relevant Graduate Program Office for programs delivered by the Faculty of Education). This form is a recommendation on the student’s readiness to defend the Thesis.

The members of the Thesis Examination Committee recommend one (1) of the two (2) assessments on the form:

Table 11: Thesis assessment of readiness to defend options

* For Master of Education contact the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in Education.

♦ Note: Students have a right to defend the Thesis, regardless of assessment.

Preparing for the Thesis oral defence

Prior to the Thesis oral defence, the Advisor and the student ensure that:

• Seating, audio-visual equipment, and other necessary equipment are appropriate in the room where the defence is being held.
• The Thesis Examination Committee understands how the Thesis oral defence will be run.
• The School of Graduate Studies and the Thesis Examination Committee is aware of the date, time, and place of the Thesis oral defence and the public presentation.

Both the public presentation and the oral defence are open to other students, faculty members, and members of the community. A request for a closed Thesis oral defence may be made by the student or any member of the Supervisory Committee to the relevant Graduate Program Office under extraordinary circumstances. A request for a closed Thesis oral defence is normally made in conjunction with the request for defence.

♦ NOTE: The Thesis Examination Committee Chair will ask any disruptive attendees of the defence to leave immediately

The Thesis oral defence is scheduled for a period of two (2) hours, excluding the public presentation.The defence will be rescheduled if a required external examiner is unable to attend. The procedure to follow should another examination committee member be unable to attend (including an external examiner in those programs where the external examiner is optional) is outlined below.

The procedure for conducting the Thesis oral defence is as follows:

c) Introduction

The Thesis Examination Committee Chair:

1. Welcomes all in attendance
2. Introduces the student
3. Asks that attendees, except for the members of thesis Examination Committee and graduate student, turn off all electronic devices and no audio and/or video capture is permitted unless written authorization has already been obtained
4. States that this Thesis oral defence is a senior academic event in the School of Graduate Studies and is a formal examination before awarding the degree
5. Asks the Thesis Examination Committee members to introduce themselves in this order: the External Examiner (if applicable), the members of the Supervisory Committee, and the supervisor(s)
6. States that all members of the Thesis Examination Committee have read the Thesis and submitted an assessment report on the Thesis
7. Asks the supervisor/co-supervisors to reaffirm the accuracy of the content published in the Contributions of Authors subsection of the Preface in the student’s Thesis.
8. In disciplines where this has become the practice, asks the supervisor (or one of the co-supervisors) to introduce the student.
9. Invites the student to make their Thesis presentation.

d) Public presentation

The public presentation will be between 20 to 60 minutes in duration depending on the academic tradition of the area of study and is not part of the formal evaluation. For the Master of Science (Management) program, the public presentation will be a maximum of 30 minutes. The student summarizes the Thesis’ major objectives, content, results, and conclusions.

e) Audience questions

Immediately following the presentation, the Chair invites questions from the audience. A short questioning period is permitted at the end of the public presentation for the audience to ask questions related to the presentation. During this questioning period, the members of the Thesis Examination Committee are not permitted to ask questions.

f) Oral defence

♦ NOTE: The audience is not permitted to ask questions during the formal oral defence

In the event that the defence is closed, the Thesis Examination Chair requests that the audience leaves the examination room. Otherwise, the Chair reminds the audience that they are to be quiet spectators, and must remain in the room until the completion of the examination.

The Chair invites the Thesis Examination Committee to pose their questions. Before the questioning begins, the Chair outlines the procedure:

1. Each examiner will pose their questions in turn. Examiners should engage in questioning, and should not spend significant time commenting on the thesis.
2. The Chair invites questions from:
   1. The External Examiner, if applicable;
   2. The Internal Examiners; and
   3. The Advisor(s).
3. The Chair does not normally ask questions.
4. After one (1) initial round of questions, the examiners may ask additional questions in a second round, and so on, until either the examiners have no further questions or the maximum time has been reached. The Chair ensures that comments and discussion not directly related to the questions are saved for the post-defence meeting of the Thesis Examination Committee.
5. In the event that an examiner cannot attend, the Chair will pose a set of questions supplied by the missing examiner. Answers to these questions will be evaluated by the remaining examiners.

g) Making a decision

After questioning has finished, the Chair excuses the student, asking them and the audience to leave the room so that the Thesis Examination Committee can meet in private. When the student has left, both the oral and written (thesis) components of the Thesis oral defence are assessed:

The Chair outlines the two (2) options for the oral component of the Thesis oral defence for a decision: 1) Pass and 2) Fail: Retake at a later date; the student may retake one (1) time.

The Chair asks an examiner to make a motion that the decision for the Oral Examination be: Pass or Fail.

The motion is discussed, and the Chair endeavours to facilitate consensus but does not vote. The Chair asks for a vote on the motion. Ideally the vote is unanimous, but the motion may pass by a simple majority vote provided the External Examiner does not cast a dissenting vote.

The Chair outlines the five (5) options for the thesis component for a decision:

1. Pass: The Thesis is passed as submitted (i.e., no changes needed)
2. Pass with Minor Revisions: The Thesis is passed on the condition that the student makes revisions to the satisfaction of the supervisor.
3. Pass with Major Revisions: The Thesis requires substantial revisions and is passed on the condition that the student makes revisions to the satisfaction of the entire Thesis Examination Committee.
4. Defer: The Thesis Examination Committee defers a decision until the student makes substantial changes to the Thesis. The student may be required to go through the Thesis oral defence process a second time.
5. Fail: The Thesis is failed, and the student may re-take the Thesis oral defence one (1) time.

Using the Assessment of Readiness to Defend forms as a guide, the Chair asks an examiner to make a motion that the decision for the written thesis component be: Pass, Pass with Minor Revisions, Pass with Major Revisions, Defer, or Fail.

Discussion occurs on a decision, and the Chair endeavours to facilitate consensus but does not vote. The Chair asks for a vote on the motion. Ideally the vote is unanimous, but the motion may pass by a simple majority vote provided the External Examiner does not cast a dissenting vote.

The Thesis Examination Committee is required to reach a majority decision. If the vote results in a tie, the Chair calls for further discussion and holds a second vote, and so on until a decision is reached.

When the decision has been made, the Thesis Examination Committee then discusses the nature of any required revisions to the Thesis and how the student will complete them.

In the event that the discussion suggests that the thesis is of high quality, the Chair will facilitate a discussion about the possibility of nominating the student for the appropriate Medal of Merit. These discussions are confidential and will not normally be disclosed to the student, regardless of the outcome.

If a failed Thesis oral defence represents the second attempt to defend the Thesis, the student must withdraw from the program, and the Thesis Examination Committee must provide a written justification for the decision to fail the Thesis oral defence.

Students have the right to appeal the decision (see the Graduate Studies Calendar and Course Catalogue for details).

After the Thesis Examination Committee has made their decision and finished their discussion, the Chair:

1. Invites the student back into the room;
2. Informs the student of the Thesis Examination Committee’s decision;
3. If necessary, tells the student of the Thesis revisions required and the plan for the student to complete them;
4. Reminds the student that the PDF copy of the Thesis must be submitted via the e-thesis submission system after the completed revisions have been approved by the supervisor (or Thesis Examination Committee members, if required);
5. If the student passes, congratulates the student, and thanks the Thesis Examination Committee members;
6. Adjourns the Thesis oral defence.

The Dean of Graduate Studies will consider all embargo requests (e.g., delay of publishing the Thesis manuscript) and may approve the publication delay for six (6) months when justifiable reasons are stipulated. Under special circumstances, the Dean of Graduate Studies may approve the delay in publishing the Thesis for a maximum of 12 months when substantive justification is provided.

1. Immediately following the Thesis oral defence, the Chair completes the Thesis/Project Examination Report form and submits this form via the SGS Portal.
2. The student completes any required revisions to the Thesis and informs the supervisor that the revised Thesis is ready for their review. Students are required to remain continuously enrolled in their programs until the thesis has received final approval from the Dean.
3. When the Advisor and Thesis Examination Committee (if necessary) are satisfied with the revisions made to the Thesis, the Advisor completes the Recommendation of the Award of the Degree form via the SGS Portal. This form goes to the Dean of Graduate Studies for final approval.
4. If requesting an embargo to delay the publication of the Thesis, refer to Embargo Policy on page 45.
5. When the relevant Graduate Program Office receives the signed copy of the Recommendation of the Award of the Degree form from the supervisor, an account notification email will be sent to the student’s University email account.
6. The student may then access their e-thesis account and submit their PDF copy of the Thesis. Instructions for submitting a PDF copy of the Thesis via the e-thesis system are available online.
7. The relevant Graduate Program Office completes a review of the PDF copy of the Thesis.
8. The Dean of Graduate Studies completes a review of the PDF copy of the Thesis, and if there are no further revisions required, approves the Recommendation of the Award of the Degree form.

If there are revisions required, the student will receive email notification via the e-thesis system. The student notifies the relevant Graduate Program Office after completing the revisions.

The student will receive an email confirming decanal approval of the submitted PDF copy of the Thesis. The student may proceed with thesis binding, if desired.

After receiving final approval of the Thesis

After receiving final approval of the Thesis by the Dean of Graduate Studies, the student may proceed with the elective binding of the Thesis if the student and/or supervisor wants bound copies.