Conduct of Thesis Examination

The following apply to all examinations. Matters specific to each type of examination are detailed in the sections that follow. Programs may have additional regulations in their program guidelines.

• The student may be required to give a presentation prior to the examination. The presentation may be public or only for the examining committee (and others approved to attend the examination—see Attendance at Doctoral Examinations, above).
• If a public seminar is held before the examination, typically the examiners do not ask questions until the examination itself begins.
• At the start of the examination the chair should review the procedures as detailed by the program's guidelines for the examination including the order of examiners, number of rounds of questions, the length of time allotted to each examiner and whether interjections by other examiners are permitted. Departmental examination procedures should have flexibility to adjust accordingly when there are large supervisory committees so as not to extend the questioning portion of the examination beyond a reasonable duration (2 hours for master's and 3 hours for doctoral examinations).
• The student may be asked to leave the room while the order of examiners is determined, and the student's academic record is reviewed by the supervisor for the committee. Typically the order of examiners is the External if applicable, the arm's length examiners, the supervisory committee members, and then the supervisor. The Examiners may seek clarification at this time regarding exam procedures.
• If academic misconduct is suspected, an Associate Dean, FGSR should be consulted prior to the exam.
• For thesis examinations the questioning should focus on establishing the quality of the thesis (or thesis substitute) and the student's breadth and depth of understanding at a level appropriate to the degree qualification. Expectations for a Candidacy examination are detailed in the program's guidelines.
• When the questions have concluded, the chair should ask the student if they have any final comments they would like to add.

Deliberation:

• The student is required to leave the room and will be asked to take their personal belongings including electronic devices with them.
• The deliberations are confidential proceedings. The committee will agree on the report to be provided to the student with the outcome of the examination.
• The examiners are asked to give their opinions on the quality of the thesis and the defense, or performance in the candidacy examination, in the same order as questioning occurred. All examiners must provide their opinion before a final decision is made.
• The options of the outcomes from the vote are detailed for each type of examination.
• If the outcome of the first vote does not result in a decision (eg. two of five examiners vote to fail), the chair will allow for further discussion and attempt to reach a decision. Only in cases where a decision cannot be reached in a reasonable time will the student be informed and matter referred to the Dean FGSR, who will determine the appropriate course of action.
• The Chair of the Examination Committee may sign the thesis examination form on behalf of an examiner who is participating from a remote location.