Calendar - General Information & Regulations

Completion of PhD Degree Requirements

The requirements for the degree must be completed within the time periods stipulated by the Senate of the University. A maximum of 18 terms (6 years) from an Honours Bachelor's degree or its equivalent, 12 terms (4 years) from a Master's degree or its equivalent, 15 terms (5 years) from a Master's degree or its equivalent for the PhD in Clinical Psychology, 21 terms (7 years) from an Honours Bachelor's degree or its equivalent for PhD programs in which students are proceeding to a degree totally on a part-time basis, 18 terms (6 years) from a Master's degree or its equivalent for PhD programs in which students are proceeding to a degree totally on a part-time basis is allowed for the completion of all requirements. Students must petition the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies to continue their enrolment beyond these limits. Progress of students who have been granted extensions will be reviewed every term. For more information on Time Limits see Academic Regulations - Time Limits.

Students whose work does not measure up to the standards of their program may be required to withdraw from the program. Such students may be readmitted although there will be a limit on the time-span in which readmission may occur.

Candidates must remain continuously enrolled at the University to the end of the term in which they complete the degree requirements. See also Academic Regulations - Continuous Enrolment.

For further information the minimum degree requirements specified by each Faculty should be consulted.

The PhD degree is granted by the University to candidates who have demonstrated both achievement in independent research in a particular field and a broad knowledge of that field.

The first requirement is satisfied when candidates have demonstrated a broad knowledge of their field to the satisfaction of the Faculty, normally by the successful completion of an assigned program of courses and the passing of a comprehensive examination, as determined by the department in which they are enrolled.

The second requirement is satisfied when candidates have presented and defended a thesis embodying the results of their own original research on an approved topic.

Comprehensive Examination

The departmental Graduate Officer will establish a Comprehensive Examination Committee (and advise the student of the membership of the Committee), which will submit an examination to the Graduate Officer or Graduate Committee for approval, where there are written or oral examinations. In certain departments the comprehensive requirement is met by a series of examinations or other special assignments rather than by a single examination. In both cases, such procedures must begin within four academic terms of the student's first enrolment in the PhD program and completed within at least seven academic terms from initial enrolment. Candidates who fail to pass the comprehensive the first time or who are required to complete additional requirements must satisfy the comprehensive requirement of their department within one calendar year after the unsuccessful attempt, provided the decision made at the time of the comprehensive allows for another opportunity. Students who fail to meet these conditions will be required to withdraw.

Language Requirement

When a department considers that a candidate must have some level of competence in a particular foreign language or languages, the successful demonstration of this competence becomes a requirement for the degree.

Program of Study and Supervision

Candidates shall have their program of study and research approved by the department (or delegated committee) in which they are enrolled. In certain Faculties, a candidate will be responsible, upon entry to the program, to a supervisor who will be approved by the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty. In other Faculties, the candidate will be responsible to a provisional supervisor to be approved by the departmental Graduate Studies Committee.

Advisory Committee

When a department wishes to appoint a supervisor (at the latest a month after the comprehensive), the departmental Graduate Officer shall consult with the candidate about an Advisory Committee and shall recommend to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty the composition of that three to five person Committee. In certain Faculties the Advisory Committee is appointed upon the passing of the comprehensive examination. This Committee must consist of the supervisor(s) and at least one other faculty member from the department. The supervisor must be a regular member of the University faculty; or, when a supervisor has adjunct status, another on-campus professor must serve as co-supervisor. The Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty has the authority to waive the co-supervision requirement on the recommendation of the department / school. Two other faculty members, one of whom may be external to the department or Faculty, may also participate in this Committee. In any event, the Advisory Committee must have a minimum of the supervisor and two other faculty members or a maximum of two supervisors and three other faculty members.

PhD Thesis Examination

The PhD thesis examination is the culmination of the candidate's research program. It exposes the candidate's work to scholarly criticism by members of the University and gives him or her the opportunity to defend it.

When candidates give notice of readiness to submit the thesis, they must deposit a copy of it in the office of the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of their Faculty. They should be prepared to defend this thesis within 4 - 6 weeks of depositing it. When they are ready to submit it, the Graduate Studies Committee of the department in which they are enrolled recommends to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty a PhD Thesis Examining Committee consisting of five members.

PhD Thesis Examining Committee

The Examining Committee consists of a minimum of five members: an external examiner, either the supervisor and three other members of the university, or the co-supervisors and two other members of the university. At least one of the non-supervising members must be from the home department, and at least one must be external to the home department (referred to as the internal-external). Normally, University of Waterloo members of the Examining Committee will be drawn from the student's Advisory Committee. 

In some specialized fields, identifying an internal-external who is able to make a meaningful contribution to the examination is problematic. In such circumstances, the requirement that at least one of the University of Waterloo members of the Examining Committee be external to the department may be waived by the Faculty Associate Dean (Graduate Studies). Holding an adjunct or cross appointment in the home department does not preclude serving as an internal-external.

The external examiner must hold a doctorate and be knowledgeable in the field of the candidate’s research. In addition, to ensure fairness and impartiality, the external examiner must be at arm's length from the candidate’s thesis, candidate and supervisor(s), and must not be in a potential conflict of interest with regards to the outcome of the thesis examination. There is a conflict of interest when:

• A proposed external examiner is, or was in the last six years, from the same university, organization or department, or belongs or belonged, in the last six years, to the same research unit as the supervisor(s) or candidate; or
• There is an administrative or family link between the proposed external examiner and the supervisor(s) or candidate (e.g., head of the department, dean of the faculty, etc.); or
• A proposed external examiner is an industrial or government representative or professional who is or was in the last six years directly involved in collaborative activities with the supervisor(s) or candidate; or
• A proposed external examiner is a former research supervisor or graduate student of the supervisor(s) or candidate; or
• A proposed external examiner has collaborated or published with the supervisor(s) or candidate within the past six years; or
• A proposed external examiner is a planned future research supervisor or employer of the candidate or plans to collaborate or publish with the candidate in the foreseeable future; or
• The proposed external examiner is uncomfortable with reviewing the proposal due to previous conflicts or any other reason (e.g., past student or supervisor, even if more than six years ago, or personal conflict); or
• The Faculty Associate Dean, Graduate Studies, has reason to believe that a specific proposed external examiner should not be involved in the review.
• In cases where the candidate’s thesis research has involved collaborations with other local members of the examining committee beyond the supervisor(s) within the past six years, the external examiner must be free of potential conflict of interest under the guidelines above with those members as well.

Recommendation of an individual to serve as external examiner is made by the supervisor(s) or graduate officer/associate chair, graduate studies, as appropriate. Recommendations to the Faculty Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) concerning external examiners must be accompanied by a curriculum vitae covering the past six years and a conflict-of-interest statement, as well as full disclosure of any past affiliations involving the candidate and supervisor(s) to assist in confirming an arm's-length relationship. The Faculty Associate Dean is responsible for determining whether the external examiner proposed is at arm's length and the contact for the external examiner up to the time of the defence. 

Thesis Submission for Examination

Six copies of the thesis are submitted to the Office of the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty. Five are distributed to members of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee and the sixth is held in the Faculty Graduate Office where it is available for at least four weeks, for examination by any member of the University. The Daily Bulletin announces the submission of the thesis and the date and location of its defence. Major criticisms of the thesis by members of the University other than those on the PhD Thesis Examining Committee must be submitted in writing to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty concerned no later than one week before the thesis defence and conveyed to the Chair of the Committee.

Guidelines for Thesis Examination without Public Disclosure

When seeking the protection of intellectual property by filing a patent application, the student and supervisor(s) may request a closed thesis examination and a restriction on the circulation of the thesis.

Any request for a closed thesis examination must be forthcoming, at the latest, one week prior to the submission of the thesis to the Faculty Associate Dean for Graduate Studies for the examination committee, by completing a Request to Restrict Circulation of Thesis Form. Theses are withheld by the Graduate Studies Office for a maximum of one year. Requests for extensions must be sent in writing to the Graduate Studies Office writing at least two months before the date of release.

Committee members, including the external examiner will be asked by the University of Waterloo to sign a Confidential Information Thesis Non-Disclosure Agreement Form regarding the contents of the thesis before examining the thesis.

The requirements for non-disclosure by the committee members as requested by the University of Waterloo and the restriction on the circulation of the thesis will expire after one year from the date of the original thesis submission date, unless the graduate student and supervisor(s) have obtained the consent of all non-disclosing parties to extend the term of the agreement.

The complete guidelines and forms are available in the Guidelines For Thesis Examination Without Public Disclosure section of this calendar.

External Examiner Report

The external examiner must provide the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) with a written assessment of the thesis at least one week before the scheduled defence. Whether the assessment is positive or negative, the Associate Dean will copy the report of the external examiner to the supervisor, who will inform the candidate of any major criticisms of the thesis, so that the student can respond to these, but the evaluation must not be shown to the candidate. The candidate may be shown the evaluation after the defence, with the permission of the external examiner. Should the assessment be negative, the Associate Dean may wish to advise that the candidate withdraw the dissertation and defend with the same external examiner at a later date. (A candidate may withdraw the thesis only once.) Despite a negative assessment, a candidate has the right to proceed to a defence.

Thesis Defence

The thesis defence is an oral examination of the student by the student's PhD Thesis Examining Committee, chaired by an impartial faculty member with ADDs status from outside the candidate's department. Any member of the university is free to attend. Candidates first present their thesis orally with whatever aids are required to make an effective presentation. This presentation should be limited to no more than thirty minutes with the focus being on the main contributions and conclusions of the work. They are then questioned on the thesis. The chair will give priority to questions from members of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee and any member of the university who has submitted written questions in advance.

Any member of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee who cannot attend the defence (or who is to participate through electronic media; see below) must submit a written report on the thesis to the Faculty Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) at least one week before the defence. The Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) will then appoint a delegate who cannot be an existing member of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee. The delegate will receive the report and serve on behalf of the absent member. No more than two members may be absent from the defence and the supervisor must attend the defence.

Participation through electronic media will be limited to one member of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee. Any member of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee, including the external examiner, participating by telephone/electronic connection must make allowances for the possibility of a failed connection by submitting a written report to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty at least one week before the examination clearly identifying one of the four categories pertaining to acceptability of the thesis. If the connection fails during or before the examination, the report will be read by the Chair and the right of the member participating through telephone/electronic connection to vote will be nullified.

The oral examination should be structured in such a way that a period is set aside at the end of the examination for questions from non-Committee members. If the chair of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee is unsure of the appropriateness or relevance of a question, he or she should ask the members of the Committee whether any of them wishes to have the candidate answer the question, thus in effect making the question posed one which would be authorized by a member of the Committee.

It is the responsibility of the chair of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee to ensure that all of the questions of an absentee member are adequately addressed. In addition, the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty concerned must provide copies of all questions from absentee members of the Committee to the other members of the Committee in advance of the defence.

In the event exceptional circumstances necessitate one or more of the above requirements to be waived, doing so is at the approval of the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies. 

The decision of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee is based both on the thesis and on the candidate's ability to defend it.

Four decisions are open to the PhD Thesis Examining Committee:

A. Accepted
Thesis may require typographical and/or minor editorial corrections to be made to the satisfaction of the supervisor normally within one month.

B. Accepted Conditionally
Thesis is acceptable but requires content changes that do not require re-examination. The PhD Thesis Examining Committee's report must include a brief outline of the nature of the changes required and must indicate the time by which the changes are to be completed. In any case, changes must be completed to the Committee's satisfaction within four months of the date of the defence or the student must withdraw from the program.

C. Decision Deferred
Thesis requires modifications of a substantial nature, the need for which makes the acceptability of the thesis questionable. The PhD Thesis Examining Committee's report must contain a brief outline of the modifications expected and should indicate the time by which the changes are to be completed. The revised thesis must be re-submitted to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty for re-examination. Normally, the re-examination will follow the same procedures as for the initial submission except that the display period may be reduced or eliminated at the discretion of the Associate Dean. Normally, the same PhD Thesis Examining Committee will serve. A decision to defer is open only once for each candidate.

D. Rejected
Thesis is rejected. The PhD Thesis Examining Committee shall report the reasons for rejection. A student whose doctoral thesis has been rejected will be required to withdraw from the PhD program. The departmental Graduate Officer/Associate Chair will confirm in writing the decision of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee to the student and the requirement to withdraw within one week of the date of the examination.

If the PhD Thesis Examining Committee is not prepared to reach a decision concerning the thesis at the time of the thesis defence, it is the responsibility of the Chair to determine what additional information is required by the Committee to reach a decision, to arrange to obtain this information for the Committee, and to call another meeting of the Committee as soon as the required information is in his or her hands. It is also the responsibility of the Chair to inform the candidate that the decision is pending. Candidates should not normally be required to present themselves before the PhD Thesis Examining Committee at the second meeting.

If all but one member of the Committee agree on a decision, the decision shall be that of the majority, except when the one dissenting vote is that of the External Examiner and the External Examiner is present. In this case, the occurrence must be reported to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty concerned who will inform the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies. The Associate Provost will seek the advice of the Associate Deans (Graduate Studies) and come to a decision, which will be reported back to the PhD candidate and the Chair of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee. In very exceptional cases, the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies may wish to take the matter before the Senate Graduate and Research Council, which is specifically given authority to make such decisions.

If two or more dissenting votes are recorded, the case must be referred to the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty who will ascertain what is needed to reach a consensus.

Recommendation Re: Awarding of the Degree

On the basis of the PhD Thesis Examining Committee's report and its own records of candidates' progress in their assigned program of study, the Associate Dean (Graduate Studies) of the Faculty, or a committee specifically appointed by a faculty for this purpose, decides whether candidates have fulfilled the requirements for the PhD degree. If the decision is that they have, he or she forwards the supporting documentation to the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies with the request that he or she recommend to Senate that the degree be awarded. The Associate Provost, Graduate Studies examines this request in light of the report from the Chair of the thesis examination. If the Associate Provost, Graduate Studies has any reason to feel that the acceptance of the thesis is open to dispute, the Associate Provost will take the matter before the Associate Deans (Graduate Studies) for advice or, if necessary, to the Senate Graduate and Research Council, which is specifically given authority to decide in such cases.

Appeals

A request for re-examination of a graduate thesis is a special case of an academic grievance. Students who decide to appeal a thesis decision should contact their Faculty Associate Dean (Graduate Studies), in the first instance, but they may also appeal formally to the Faculty Committee on Student Appeals (FCSA). The Faculty Committee on Student Appeals (FCSA) tribunal may order a re-examination of the thesis, or the tribunal may deny the student's appeal. (Reference copies of the Student Grievance Policy (Policy #70) are available from the Associate Deans, Graduate Studies Office, or University Secretariat).

Thesis Submission

When the thesis is accepted by the department and Faculty, and all other requirements for the degree have been met, the student must provide the University with an electronic copy of their approved thesis as a final University degree requirement. Theses must be prepared and submitted as outlined in the Graduate Thesis Regulations.

Degree requirements for bound paper copies of the approved thesis for the department and/or supervisor(s) are regulated by each Faculty. Students must check with their department regarding paper copy requirements and deadlines. Students may choose to have the department and supervisor copies and any personal copies of the approved thesis bound privately or through the services provided by Media.doc at the University of Waterloo.
(A Graduate Studies Thesis Review Form, approved by the Graduate Studies Office, is required for submission to Media.doc for binding).