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Each student in the MSc program will complete a thesis during their two-year tenure at the university. You must propose your thesis during the first year of the program by submitting a written document and orally presenting your proposed research. At the conclusion of the program, you must submit a final thesis and orally defend the thesis to your committee.
The guidelines and procedures for the proposal, defence and written thesis are below.
1. During the fall and winter terms of the first year of the program, students and their supervisors, in conjunction with the graduate coordinator (GC), should select the committee members of the Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). It is strongly suggested that the TAC is selected by January of the first year of entry into the program. The GC must approve the TAC in order to ensure an equitable distribution of workload across faculty members.
2. Normally, there will be three members of the TAC. TACs must consist of a thesis advisor, who normally will be a full-time faculty member in the KPE department, and two other members (one of whom must be from KPE). Should it be deemed desirable for a person from outside of Laurier to sit on the TAC, this person needs to be approved for graduate faculty status at Laurier by the Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
3. In the winter term of the first year of study, it is strongly advised that each student will have a minimum of one meeting/term with their TAC, in order that:
These meetings will be recorded on the student’s progress reports that are completed in January and June. Should a TAC not meet with a student each term, an explanation must be provided on the progress report as to why the meeting did not occur. Additionally, in order to keep TAC members apprised of progress during the term, each student will have their TAC sign off on portions of their progress report prior to submission to the graduate administrative assistant (GAA). Note: It is important to note that selection of the TAC and subsequent meetings will be dependent on the progress of each individual student.
4. Ideally, all Master's students should propose their thesis by the end of the first year in the program (August).
5. Once a student is close to proposing, the supervisor should inform the GC and GAA of a range of possible dates. This should occur no less than three weeks prior to the suggested proposal time.
6. The GAA is responsible for:
7. At least two weeks prior to the proposal, the student should ensure that all members of the TAC receive a copy of the proposal document. An electronic copy of the proposal document should also be sent to the GAA as an office copy. If members of the TAC request a hard copy of the proposal document, the student is responsible for photocopying or printing costs.
8. Once the date, time, and location are set, the GAA should inform the entire department of the proposal via email. All relevant information should be forwarded in this email, including proposal title, student name, supervisor name, committee members, date, time, and location. A reminder of the proposal should also be sent to the department one to two days prior to the proposal.
9. The GC and student should complete Part 1 of the Master’s Student – Proposal Approval form (obtained from the GAA). The form is then given to the supervisor, who is responsible for obtaining the signatures of the TAC following the proposal. The form should then be given to the GAA.
10. The GAA is responsible for keeping a copy of the form and proposal for KPE records.
The thesis proposal should contain a detailed statement of the research problem and its significance in terms of its contribution to knowledge and/or practice, a precise account of the methodology or research techniques to be employed, plus an outline of the proposed data analysis procedures to be used. The candidate must present and defend the thesis proposal to their TAC. It is the purpose of the proposal defence to establish the student's level of understanding of the research topic and to ensure that:
The proposal defence should also be seen as an opportunity for the student to receive feedback so that weaknesses can be identified and addressed in preparation for the submission to the appropriate Research Ethics Review Committee.
The length of a proposal often varies depending upon the area of the proposed work and the topic itself. An acceptable guideline is an upper bound of 30 pages in length. It is strongly recommended that the format of the proposal follow the required thesis format style with respect to font, font size, pagination, etc. as outlined in the graduate calendar. Sections to include:
Note: The written proposal will usually be equivalent to the first two chapters of the final thesis.
Students will present the background information, objectives, hypotheses, and methods of their thesis research in an open and public forum. The oral presentation should take no longer than 15 minutes. The supervisor and TAC must be present. Following the presentation, there will be a minimum of two rounds of questions from the thesis committee. Questions from the audience may be taken following the committee question period. At this point, all members of the audience and the graduate student will be asked to leave while the TAC deliberates.
Following the oral proposal, the TAC will meet to determine whether the graduate student has satisfactorily proposed their thesis. They will also discuss any changes that may be required. The TAC will complete the Proposal Approval Form if the proposal is deemed satisfactory. If the proposal is not satisfactory, the thesis advisory committee must decide what is the proper course of action for the student (i.e. rewrite of proposal paper, repeat of oral proposal or withdrawal from the program).
It should be noted that graduate students who conduct research on humans or animals must have their research approved by the Wilfrid Laurier University Research Ethics Board (REB) prior to commencing the research.
1. The Thesis Examination Committee (TEC) must consist of all the members of the Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) and an external examiner who is knowledgeable on the subject of the thesis. The external examiner must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator (GC). Normally, at least one member of the TEC must be from outside of the academic unit/program of the candidate, and this person is typically the external.
2. A minimum of four weeks prior to the defence the supervisor should provide the GC with a list of three or more names of potential external examiners. The GC will select, in consultation with the supervisor, the external. It is the responsibility of the GC or the GAA (Graduate Administrative Assistant) to contact the external. The criteria for an external examiner are as follows:
3. A minimum of four weeks* prior to the defence the candidate must provide the TAC with their thesis. The GAA MUST be informed by the candidate the day the TAC receives the document. Normally within 10 business days, the committee will decide whether the thesis is ready to go forward for defence. Students should communicate with their supervisor and internal committee members consistently to determine if any extenuating circumstances (e.g., vacation period, end of term grading) will delay this evaluation timeframe, and to determine a reasonable date for feedback.
*Note: The four week period is only a guideline. At any point during this period, the TAC or the external may determine that the thesis is not ready to go forward.
4. The “Master’s Thesis Defence – Request to schedule oral examination” report must be completed and submitted to the KPE GC/GAA if the document is ready to go forward (to be obtained from the GAA). Once the form has been signed, the GC/GAA will contact the potential external examiner and determine their availability. If the external examiner is from outside the university, a copy of their CV is required and should be sent to the GC.
5. A minimum of two weeks prior to the defence, the candidate is responsible for ensuring that the supervisor and committee members have received a current/updated copy of the thesis. The candidate must also submit an electronic copy of the thesis to the KPE office. The GAA is responsible for sending the thesis to the external and ensuring the external has received the document. The GAA will also provide the document to the defence chair and maintain an electronic copy for the KPE office. If members of the TEC request a hard copy of the thesis, the student is responsible for all photocopying/printing costs.
6. The GC and the GAA ensure that the proposed external examiner receives administrative approval. The GAA arranges for a chairperson for the oral defence, and sets the date and time of the oral defence. The KPE office also ensures that the chairperson receives a copy of the thesis.
7. The GAA is responsible for:
8. Within two weeks of sending the thesis document to the external, the GAA will contact the external to determine whether they feel the thesis is ready to move forward for defence. Once the date, time and location are set, and the external examiner has responded indicating the acceptability of the written document, the GAA should inform the entire department of the defence via email. All relevant information should be forwarded in this email, including thesis title, student name, supervisor name, committee members, date, time and location. A reminder of the defence should also be sent out one or two days prior to the defence. In addition, a poster should be placed in visible locations around the department.
9. The chair of the defence should receive, prior to the defence, a copy of the Guidelines for Conducting the Thesis Oral Defence, the student’s grades, and the oral exam report. All forms/instructions can be found in the Graduate Academic Calendar.
Additionally the chair of the defence will receive the criteria for Gold Medal of Excellence, which include: normally a minimum overall GPA of 10.5 in coursework, a minimum of A- in any course, majority of TEC must agree that the thesis is outstanding, practicum work (where applicable) is categorized as outstanding by the supervisor.
Process for Gold Medal
After the defence, if the decision category identified a need for revisions of any sort, these will be discussed during the in camera session of the TEC. The chair will record the specific recommendations made by each of the TEC members at that time. Ideally, the chair will submit the changes as is OR type the recommendations made, and subsequently attach the changes to the form and give a copy to the GAA. In some circumstances the supervisor may hand in the changes if they prefer to do so. The chair will also provide a copy of the changes to the advisor (if coming from the Chair) and the student. The student will be required to provide a typed summary of how they addressed each of the changes and have the supervisor sign off on these changes. This summary must be submitted alongside the form and the revised thesis to the GAA. Should this process not be completed, the forms will not be sent to the Graduate Studies Office. The GC will review the submitted changes prior to the documentation being brought to the Graduate Studies Office.
10. Following the defence, the chair of the defence (not the advisor) should return the Master's Thesis/MRP Oral Examination Report to the GAA.
11. If the committee agrees the candidate is Gold Medal worthy, the supervisor writes a letter of support which must be submitted within two working days following the defence to the GAA. The TEC members, the chair, the GAA and the GC are also sent a copy of the letter by the supervisor. Prior to fall convocation (or spring convocation if applicable), one application will be selected by the graduate committee. This application will go forward from the KPE office to FGPS to be considered for the Gold Medal. Once the candidate is selected, a second supporting letter will be required to be submitted with the other material.
12. The student must make changes to the thesis and then submit a copy to their supervisor for review. A copy of the changes must also be brought to the GAA for the GC to review once the supervisor has signed off on the changes.
13. The supervisor is responsible for ensuring all changes have been made, if the changes are minor. The supervisor will then sign the “Oral Exam Report” which the GAA will have. Once the changes to the thesis have been made and ALL the appropriate signatures have been obtained, the GAA sends a copy of the form (including the Gold Medal letter if applicable), a list of changes, and a copy of the summary of the changes (where applicable) to FGPS.
The GAA will provide the candidate with the following forms prior to the defence:
The final approved document must be uploaded to Scholars Commons@Laurier. Students must not upload their thesis until their supervisor has approved the final document and all paperwork (oral examination report/graduate candidate record and four additional forms) has been sent to FGPS. Instructions on how to upload the thesis can be found on Scholars Commons.
Note: These guidelines are primarily intended for the chair of the defence committee. They are provided here for graduate students' reference.
The purpose of the oral defence of the master’s thesis is to demonstrate to the members of the TEC that the candidate fully understands the process and outcome of the work and the meaning and significance of the findings in relation to the relevant practice and/or literature of the discipline.
The defence is normally one and a half to two hours duration and is conducted by the chairperson. Any member of the university community is entitled to attend the defence, but the chair has the authority to exclude persons whose conduct disturbs the defence procedures. Non-members of the university community may attend but must receive the permission of the candidate, the thesis advisor, and the chair of the defence.
1. Once all members of the TEC are present and necessary introductions have been made, the chair will ask the candidate and all other attendees to leave the room. The chair will then conduct an in camera meeting to:
2. The chair will ask the candidate to present an oral summary of the thesis (approximately 20 minutes) to begin the defence.
3. The chair will ask the external examiner to commence the rounds of questioning (in the absence of the external examiner, the chair will ask his or her questions).
4. When the members of the TEC have no further questions, the chair will offer other attendees an opportunity to direct questions to the candidate.
5. Upon the conclusion of all questions, the chair will ask the candidate and others to leave the room. If present, the dean of Graduate Studies, the dean of the candidate’s faculty, the departmental chair, and the graduate coordinator/program director are permitted to stay and observe the “in camera” deliberations of the TEC; however, they may not participate in the discussion except by invitation and they have no vote.
6. The chair will conduct an in camera meeting of the TEC to:
7. The chair will then invite the candidate back into the room and:
8. The chair should return the Master's Thesis/MRP Oral Examination Report to the appropriate administrative office in the candidate’s academic unit/program. This office should then forward a copy of the form to the Graduate Studies Office.
It is expected that all members of the TEC will attend the thesis defence, either in person or via teleconference or videoconference. In the unusual event that one member of the TEC knows in advance that he or she cannot attend the defence, he or she must submit a written report, with questions and a preliminary vote (per the decision categories), to the appropriate administrative office within the academic unit/program at least one week before the defence. This office will arrange for the chair or a member of the TAC to read the questions of the absent member during the rounds of questioning in the defence and to share the preliminary vote of the absent member during the “in camera” committee deliberations. Only if the absent member is the external examiner will the preliminary vote count toward the decision. If two or more members of the TEC inform the appropriate administrative office in advance that they cannot attend the oral defence, it may be rescheduled.
In the case of an unexpected absence of the chair or a TEC member, the person who is going to be delayed or who cannot attend must, if possible, telephone the office of the chair of the department or of the program director. If any member of the TEC will be delayed not more than one hour, the department chair’s/program director’s office will inform the TEC chair, the candidate, and the other TEC members that the defence will be delayed for this period of time. If a TEC member is unable to attend, questions to be addressed to the candidate are to be dictated over the telephone, along with a confidential vote (per the decision categories).
If the TEC chair or a TEC member do not appear for the defence and do not contact the department chair’s/program director’s office within one-half hour, or when the department chair’s/program director’s office has been notified of the TEC chair’s or TEC member’s unexpected inability to attend, the following procedures are to be implemented:
The examination is to be postponed and re-scheduled as soon as possible only if the candidate or two or more members of the TEC do not appear.
The following are the decision categories that are available to the TEC:
The criteria for nominating a candidate for a Medal for Academic Excellence are:
Contact Us:
Graduate Coordinator: Tom Hazell
E:
thazell@wlu.ca
T:
1.548.889.3902
Office Location: BA525
General Inquiries c/o Julia Mulroney
E:
kingrad@wlu.ca
T:
519.884.0710 x2116
Office Location: BA501
Office Hours:
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.