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Thesis Regulations - Section 5

Master's Candidate
Completion of Thesis Degree Requirement

Normally the entire process, from the Graduate Chair's request for a Thesis Examination to the placement of the candidate's name on the convocation list, requires approximately five weeks.

timeline

Final Date for Programs to Submit Thesis Examination Board to SGPS	Final Date for Candidate to Submit Thesis for Examination to SGPS	Final Date for Thesis Examination	Final Date for Final Submission of Thesis	Notes	Convocation Eligibility
Mar. 26, 2012	April 2, 2012	April 23, 2012	April 30, 2012	Last Term of Registration is Winter 2012	Eligible for Spring Convocation 2012
July 27, 2012	Aug. 3, 2012	Aug. 24, 2012	Aug. 31, 2012	Last Term of Registration is Summer 2012	Eligible for Fall Convocation 2012
Nov. 16, 2012	Nov. 23, 2012	Dec. 14, 2012	Dec. 21, 2012	Last Term of Registration is Fall 2012	Awarded degree in absentia, February 2013

5.1 The Program Requests a Thesis Examination

When the thesis is thought to meet recognized scholarly standards for the discipline and degree and is ready for examination, the Graduate Chair arranges a Thesis Examination by setting a proposed date, and obtaining provisional consent from the potential members of the Thesis Examination Board. (The thesis Supervisor(s), Supervisory committee or the candidate alone may also initiate this process.) He / she must then submit for approval the Examination Board to SGPS [PDF] at least four working weeks before the proposed date.

5.2 SGPS Approves the Thesis Examination Board and the Graduate Program Arranges for the Thesis Examination

SGPS approves the Thesis Examination Board and the date of the examination. For those theses submitted via the Scholarship@Western ETD repository, the date and time of the examination will be confirmed within the formal invitation from SGPS. For theses submitted via paper, the graduate program must communicate the approved date and time to examiners. Master's candidates must submit the thesis three working weeks before the approved date for the Thesis Examination. This ensures adequate time for:

Delivery of the thesis and forms to all Examiners
The Examiners to read the thesis and prepare their written reports
Submission of the Examiner's reports

The Thesis Examination may be postponed or cancelled if any step in the examination process is not completed on schedule (e.g. the candidate fails to submit the Thesis for Examination on schedule, or the Examiners fail to submit evaluations on time).

5.2.1 The Thesis Examination Board

Master's Thesis Examination Board Chair
Chair	Role: Represents the Dean of Graduate Studies Determines when a quorum exists Opens and closes the examination proceedings Sets the order of questioners and the length of their question periods Monitors the length and conduct of the candidate's presentation Intervenes if questioning becomes inappropriate Deals with behaviour that interferes with the proper conduct of the examination Moderates in-camera discussion on the merits of the thesis, the candidate's oral presentation and responses to questions, and other relevant matters Calls for a vote and recommendation Recalls the candidate and advises him/her of the recommendations that are to be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies Prepares a report to the Dean of Graduate Studies of the Examiners’ assessment of the thesis and the candidate’s oral performance Regulations: Must be a core member of SGPS or hold Emeritus Membership The Chair is a non-voting member of the Thesis Examination Board
Two Program Examiners	Role: Attend the Thesis Examination and participate in the questioning of the candidate, evaluating the thesis and the candidate's responses at the oral defence Cast a vote in the final determination of the acceptability of the thesis and oral defence Regulations: Must be a member of SGPS No more than one Program Examiner may be from the candidate's Thesis Supervisory Committee Must not have had significant involvement in the development of the thesis nor interest in the outcome
University Examiner	Role: The University Examiner brings to the thesis examination insights from outside the candidate's discipline He/she must have knowledge in the general field of the thesis, but need not be an expert on the thesis topic Attend the Thesis Examination and participate in the questioning of the candidate, evaluating both the thesis and the candidate's responses at the oral defence Cast a vote in the final determination of the acceptability of the thesis and oral defence Regulations: Must be a member of SGPS He/she must not be a member of the candidate's program, a member of the candidate's Thesis Supervisory Committee, or a member of the Supervisor's home program Where the program unit is a Faculty, the University Examiner must not be from the candidate's or Supervisor's home Department Where the University Examiner is from a unit that does not have a Graduate program, or from outside the University, the Graduate Chair of the candidate's program must nominate him/her for non-core limited membership in SGPS

Arm's-Length of Examiners

Examiners must be seen to be able to examine the student and the thesis at arm's-length, free of substantial conflict of interest from any source. The test of whether or not a conflict of interest might exist is whether a reasonable outside person could consider a situation to exist that could give rise to an apprehension of bias.

Co-authors or collaborators of any component of the thesis may not serve as Examiners.

Relationships that might appear to have a conflict of interest include:

The involvement of an Examiner with the candidate or Supervisor in a personal capacity, such as:
- A spouse or partner
- A close family member
- A business partner
- Having previous, current, or future negotiations relating to employment

This list, while not exhaustive, illustrates the nature of potential conflicts to be avoided. The candidate's program must take reasonable steps to avoid recommending an Examiner whose relationship with the candidate or Supervisor could be seen as jeopardizing an impartial judgment on the thesis. A faculty member asked to examine a thesis should declare possible sources of conflict.

5.3 The Candidate Submits the Thesis for Examination

No later than three weeks before the date of the Thesis Examination, the Master's candidate submits a final draft of the thesis for preliminary examination. This can be done in one of two methods:

Digital submission via the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
- In addition to the thesis, the candidate must ensure the following completed documents are forwarded to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies:
  - Master’s Thesis Examination Board
  - Master’s Thesis Supervisor Approval
Paper copies (4) submitted to the candidate’s graduate program. The candidate must enclose each thesis copy in a letter-size file folder. Arrangements for duplication, the cost and the quality of reproduction are the responsibility of the student.
- In addition to the thesis, the candidate must ensure the following completed documents are forwarded to the candidate’s graduate program:
  - Master’s Thesis Examination Board
  - Master’s Thesis Supervisor Approval

In those rare cases when the student chooses to submit a Thesis for Examination without the approval of the Supervisor(s), the Supervisor(s) must state on the "Master's Thesis Supervisor Approval" form [PDF] why his/her approval is withheld. The Graduate Chair signs the form and provides the candidate with a copy of the Supervisor(s)'s stated reasons for withholding approval.

Once the thesis has been officially submitted for examination, it cannot be withdrawn except with the permission of the Vice-Provost (Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies).

5.3.1 Confidentiality Agreement

If the candidate feels a confidentiality agreement is required [PDF], the candidate must ensure that each Examiner's signed agreement is delivered to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies along with the "Master's Thesis Supervisor Approval" form [PDF] . The Graduate Program will ensure the Chair of the Thesis Examination has signed an agreement prior to the Thesis Examination.

5.3.2 Delay of Publication

Note: please see section 8.5.6 for important information regarding the electronic publication of theses.

If the candidate feels a delay of publication is required, blocking the work from public access after successful examination and final submission, a Request for Delay of Publication may be submitted during the initial or final submission process. Candidates may request an automatic delay of publication, for up to two years, on their work. This request is available as part of the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation submission process. At the expiration of the original delay of publication, the author will be granted a one-year extension upon written request to the Thesis and Membership Coordinator.

Exceptionally, a candidate may request a six-year delay of publication by contacting an Associate Vice-Provost within the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. This request requires the approval of the Policy, Regulations and Graduate Program Membership Committee of the Graduate Education Council.

5.4 The Examination of the Thesis and the Candidate

The Tasks of the Examiners are to:

Determine if the thesis and the candidate meet recognized scholarly standards for the degree
Appraise the thesis for content - its underlying assumptions, methodology, findings, and scholarly significance of the findings
Appraise the thesis for form - its organization, presentation of graphs, tables, and illustrative materials, and its use of accepted conventions for addressing the scholarly literature
Evaluate the candidate's skill and knowledge in responding to questions and defending the thesis
Ensure authenticity of authorship

For those Candidates making use of the ETD Submission Process SGPS distributes to the Examiners an electronic package via e-mail consisting of:

A formal invitation to examine the thesis and the candidate
The date, time and location of the examination
Instructions on how to access the Scholarship@Western ETD repository
The thesis, in .PDF format available through the Scholarship@Western ETD repository
The option to request the thesis in a paper format through Graphic Services
Pertinent excerpts from the Thesis Regulation Guide
The secure Thesis Examiner Report available through the Scholarship@Western ETD repository
For External Examiner: UWO Travel Claim Guide

For those Candidates submitting paper copies of their thesis for review the graduate program distributes to the Examiners a package consisting of:

A formal invitation to examine the thesis and the candidate
The date, time and location of the examination
The thesis
Pertinent excerpts from the Thesis Regulation Guide
Thesis Evaluation Form(s)/Reports(s)

The Examiners do their work in a two-stage process.

5.4.1 Stage One: The Preliminary (or Pre-Examination) Evaluation of the Thesis

Each Examiner must independently and without consultation, decide whether the thesis meets the scholarly standards for the discipline and degree in form and content.

A thesis that requires only minor revisions may be judged acceptable. Minor revisions include typographical or grammatical errors; errors in calculation, labels for tables, nomenclature, and bibliographic form; and the need for minor clarifications of content.

A thesis that requires major revisions in form and or content before it can meet requisite scholarly standards must be judged unacceptable. Major revisions include, for example, faulty conceptualization, inappropriate or faulty use of research methodology, misinterpretation or misuse of data, neglect of relevant material, illogical argument, unfounded conclusions, seriously flawed writing and presentation, and failure to engage the scholarly context. The need for the rewriting of substantial portions of the thesis to make it acceptable cannot be construed as "minor." As a rule of thumb, revisions requiring more than two weeks to complete cannot be construed as "minor."

Reports must be received from all the Examiners at least five working days before the date scheduled for the candidate's in-person examination. Examiners will either direct their reports to SGPS via the ETD repository or to the program via paper depending on the method of submission chosen by the candidate.

If the Thesis Content and Thesis Form is Judged Acceptable

A majority of the Examiners must judge that both the thesis content and thesis form are acceptable to allow Stage Two: The Thesis Examination to proceed. An examiner's preliminary judgment of acceptability is provisional. It does not preclude the examiner changing his/her judgment to finding the thesis unacceptable at the Thesis Examination.

For those reports collected via the ETD repository, SGPS will forward the preliminary decision to the candidate, examiners, supervisor(s), graduate chair and graduate assistant.
For those reports collected on paper via the graduate program, the program will communicate the decision to the candidate, examiners, supervisor(s), graduate chair and graduate assistant.

If the Thesis Content and Thesis Form is Judged Unacceptable

If there is not a majority of Examiners who judge the thesis to be acceptable in both content and form, the Program cancels the Thesis Examination, and the Graduate Chair of the Program concerned [Modified Sept. 29, 2004] appoints a Re-Submission Hearing Committee* which reviews the case and decides whether or not to allow the candidate to prepare a revised version of the thesis for examination and, if so, the time limit for doing so.

* The Re-Submission Hearing Committee is chaired by the Graduate Chair of the program concerned and includes the three Examiners, the Supervisor, and others specified in the procedures of the program concerned. Note: The candidate does not attend the committee meeting.

Where the Re-Submission Hearing Committee agrees that the candidate should be given the opportunity to revise the thesis to bring it to the acceptable scholarly standard for examination, the committee first establishes a new Thesis Examination date, no earlier than six weeks after the date for the originally scheduled examination. Normally the same Examiners assess the re-submitted thesis. The Chair of the committee provides the Supervisor(s) and student written notification of the decision and the changes suggested by the committee.
The Examination must then proceed as listed in Section 8.5.1 The Program Requests a Thesis Examination for the re-submitted thesis.
Whether or not the re-submitted thesis is found acceptable, the candidate proceeds to Stage Two: The Thesis Examination.

5.4.2 Stage Two: The Thesis Examination

The Chair presides over the Thesis Examination

1) To open proceedings, the Chair introduces all present.

2) Examiners are asked to refrain from using electronic devices (cell phones) during the examination (unless in emergencies)

3) The Chair then asks the candidate and visitors to leave the room so that the Examiners can decide on the following points:

the order in which Examiners are to question the candidate;
the number of rounds of questioning desired (usually two);
the time limit for each of the Examiners' questioning periods (typically 15-20 minutes in the first round and 5-10 minutes in the second round);

4) The Chair gives to each examiner a "Master's Thesis Examination Evaluation Form" (to be completed when the questioning of the candidate is over and the candidate has left the room). The Chair advises the Examiners that their evaluations on acceptability of the thesis content and thesis form should be made independent of the assessment made in Stage One: The Preliminary Evaluation of the Thesis.

5) The Chair invites the candidate and visitors back into the room.

The Examination Begins

The Chair explains to the candidate the sequence of events (e.g. two rounds of questioning, order of questioning).
The Examiners question the candidate in the agreed-upon order, with the Chair holding them to the agreed-upon time limit. The Supervisor(s) may not question the candidate.
When the questioning has finished, the Chair asks the candidate and visitors, but not the Supervisor(s), to leave the room.

The Thesis Examination Board Deliberates and Renders a Decision

1) The Chair invites the Supervisor(s) to comment on the candidate, the thesis, and aspects of the oral defence.

In rare cases where the thesis has been submitted without the Supervisor(s)'s approval, the Chair informs the Examiners of the Supervisor(s)'s written reasons for withholding approval, before inviting the Supervisor(s) to speak.

2) At the Chair's invitation, the Examiners alone discuss the thesis and the oral defence.

3) The Chair instructs the Examiners once again about the difference between minor revision and major revision and reminds Examiners that a thesis cannot be judged acceptable if a majority of the Examiners require what he/she, as Chair, has indicated are major revisions. (See Section 5.4.1 Stage One: The Preliminary Evaluation of the Thesis)

4) The Examiners vote on the acceptability of the thesis and the oral defence by completing their "Master's Thesis Examination Evaluation Form." These forms are confidential, only to be seen and recorded by the Chair.

The Examiners must decide whether the thesis form and thesis content and oral defence were acceptable or unacceptable. For each of thesis form and thesis content, they must find the thesis:

acceptable as it stands, or
acceptable with minor revisions, or
unacceptable.
- If the Examiner judges that major revision is necessary, then he/she must find the thesis unacceptable.

For the oral defence, the Examiners must determine if the candidate's responses to questions and general level of scholarly knowledge meets the standard for the Master's degree and is consistent with the contents of the thesis.

5) The Chair collects the completed forms and tallies the results.

6) The Chair announces the results of the vote on the acceptability of the content and form of the thesis and of the oral defence and asks if further discussion is needed. In rare instances the Chair may allow Examiners to change their votes.

7) The Chair pronounces the Thesis Examination Board's decision.

8) If a majority of the Examiners find that each of the thesis content, thesis form, and the oral defence are acceptable, the candidate passes the Thesis Examination. The Examiners' approval may be conditional on the candidate successfully completing minor revisions to the thesis content or thesis form.

When the Thesis Examination is Successful

1) On the "Master's Thesis Examination - Chair Report" the Chair

Reports the Thesis Examination Board's decision for the Thesis Examination on page 1.
With the assistance of the Examiners, lists the minor revisions, if any, required by a majority of the Examiners on page 2. Note: Infrequent typographical and grammatical errors do not constitute "minor revisions," but must be corrected before final submission of the thesis.
If there is a determination that the thesis requires minor revisions, ensures that the Supervisor(s) will withhold his/her signature from the "Certificate of Examination" until the required revisions have been made.

2) The Chair dates and signs both pages of the Chair's Report.

3) The Chair, the Examiners, and the Supervisor(s) sign the "Certificate of Examination", except in cases where the Supervisor(s) withholds his/her signature.

4) The Chair communicates the positive decision to the candidate. (See Communicating the Decision to the Candidate.)

When the Thesis Examination is Unsuccessful

The Chair completes the "Master's Thesis Examination - Chair Report." In consultation with the Examiners, the Chair states (on page 2 of the report) why the thesis and/or the oral defence was unacceptable.

If the Thesis Examination failed because the thesis content and/or thesis form was unacceptable, the Dean of Graduate Studies refers the case to a Re-Submission Hearing Committee.

Where the Re-Submission Hearing Committee agrees that the candidate should be given the opportunity to revise the thesis to bring it to the acceptable scholarly standard for examination, the committee first establishes a new Thesis Examination date, no earlier than twelve weeks after the date for the originally scheduled examination. Normally the same Examiners assess the re-submitted thesis. The Chair of the committee provides the Graduate Chair, Supervisor(s), and student written notification of the decision and the changes suggested by the committee
The Examination must then proceed as listed in Section 5.1 The Program Requests a Thesis Examination for the re-submitted thesis
Whether or not the re-submitted thesis is found acceptable, the candidate proceeds to Stage Two: The Thesis Examination

If the Thesis Examination failed solely because of an unacceptable oral defence, the Dean of Graduate Studies refers the case to a Re-Examination Hearing Committee.

Where the Re-Examination Hearing Committee* decides that a second Thesis Examination is appropriate, it should be held, preferably with the same Thesis Examination Board, within a time period determined by the committee. The Chair of the committee provides the Graduate Chair, Supervisor(s), and student written notification of the decision
* Re-Examination Hearing Committee is chaired by the Graduate Chair of the program concerned and includes the three Examiners, the supervisor, and others specified in the procedures of the program concerned. Note: The candidate does not attend the committee meeting

If the candidate has already been through a Re-Submission Hearing Committee or Re-Examination Hearing Committee, then the Thesis Examination Board's decision is final. The candidate has no further opportunity for re-submission and/or re-examination.

Communicating the Decision to the Candidate

When the Chair and the Examiners have completed the documentation, the Chair invites only the candidate back into the room and informs him/her of the result.

Following a positive decision that is subject to minor revisions, the Supervisor(s) must meet with the candidate, to ensure that he/she understands the minor revisions required by the Thesis Examination Board

Following the Examination

The Chair of the examination returns all forms to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.

5.5 Final Submission of the Thesis

When the candidate has completed any changes recommended by the Thesis Examination Board the candidate must submit the final copy of their work. This can be done in one of two methods:

Digital submission via the Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository
- The candidate accesses their original submission within the repository and submits a revised copy of their work.
Paper copies (3) submitted directly to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies
- The candidate must book an online appointment for SGPS approval. Once approved by SGPS, the candidate must submit the thesis with all the completed forms to UWO's Graphic Services (Graphic Services Building), who will accept the thesis and make copies for binding and microfiching. One of the Western Library copies is sent to be microfiched then returned and bound. If using an electronic version for Graphic Services to copy from it should be in .PDF format.

All candidates are required to submit the following to the School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies before publication can occur:

The original signed Certificate of Examination

Candidates who submit paper copies must also submit the signed “UWO License” to SGPS.

Once the thesis is published, the candidate has officially completed the thesis requirement for their degree. Subject to approval by the University Senate, the candidate's name is placed on the convocation list. Should a thesis writing candidate require proof of completion of all degree requirements he/she should contact the Thesis Coordinator.

8.5.6 Publication of the Thesis

A thesis is a research document. It is a record of the research that the student conducted while completing a graduate degree. Given the research and education mandate of Canada's publicly funded universities, it is expected that the results of this research will be made publicly available.

For those theses that are submitted through the Scholarship@Western ETD Repository, the University requires that successful graduate theses be made available through the Western Library’s Scholarship@Western program. The thesis will be published electronically at the conclusion of the degree process, and will be available globally via the World Wide Web.

At the same time, the University recognizes that the student is the author of the thesis, and retains copyright and control interests in the material.

Note: Students should be conscious of the implications of electronic publication in the digital context: material is accessible to any interested party, academic and non-academic. The record should also be understood to be permanently available – once published electronically, it can be withdrawn from Scholarship@Western, but digital copies will inevitably persist. Students engaging in thesis preparation and research should be mindful of electronic publication and availability as an endpoint of their research. Supervisors, equally, have a responsibility to be acquainted with the implications of electronic publication, and advise their students accordingly.

In certain cases, a “delay of publication” may be appropriate. See section 8.5.3.2 above.

The candidate is asked to permit the release of the thesis to be used for research and also to agree to allow the non-exclusive right to reproduce or loan copies of the thesis in micro-form, paper, or electronic formats. The term "non-exclusive license" means that the author retains the copyright of the thesis and can seek other forms of publication.

Upon final approved submission, the work is published to the Scholarship@Western ETD repository, pending any requests for a delay of publication. This repository is publicly accessible, permitting free access to the work. The repository transmits regular reports via e-mail to the author on how often the work is accessed.