Master's Thesis- Examination Committee
In most cases, the members of the supervisory committee will also serve as members of the examining committee.
An examining committee consists of:
Where there is a supervisor only, the examining committee is the supervisor and two university examiners or one university examiner and one specialized knowledge examiner.
Where there is a supervisory committee, the examining committee is the ex-officio examiners and one university examiner or one specialized knowledge examiner.
At least half of the examiners must hold a master’s degree or higher (see above).
The chair is not the supervisor. The chair is a faculty member in the student’s home department or with experience chairing master’s examinations. The FGSR recommends that committee chairs not be examiners except in extenuating circumstances where any conflict of interest in this role be managed transparently for the student.
The authority for the appointment of final examining committees rests with the Dean of the department’s Faculty [unless delegated to the department].
The members of the examining committee must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.
The examining committee will review the thesis and conduct an oral examination designed to test the student's knowledge of the thesis research and related fields. All members of the examining committee must participate in the examination. Teleconferencing can be used for any member of the examination committee, the chair, and the student.
In the event that an examiner is participating by distance and the communication connection is lost, the examination will be stopped until the connection is restored. If the connection cannot be restored within a reasonable time and that examiner’s participation is required to meet the examiner requirements specified in the Preliminary Approval of Masters Thesis for Examination, the examination must be adjourned.
The oral examination will evaluate whether the thesis and the student’s examination performance are acceptable. Guidelines for conduct of oral examinations can be found here.
For further information on the role of the Examination Committee, please refer to the FGSR Supervision and Examinations section of their website.