Graduate Studies Calendar 2010-2011

6. Thesis and Dissertation Regulations

6.1 Thesis Registration
6.2 Thesis Supervision
6.3 Doctoral Thesis Requirement
6.4 Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation Comprehensive Examination
6.5 Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation Proposal
6.6 Examination of the Thesis - Master's and PhD
6.7 Acceptance of the Thesis
6.8 Submission of Thesis Results
6.9 Reproduction of the Thesis
6.10 Convocation
6.11 Publication of Results of Research

6.1 Thesis Registration

A student who is actively working on their thesis, must have completed a registration form and registered for either TH500 for the Master's Thesis or TH600 for the Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation.

Once students are registered in their thesis, both full-time and part-time students are required to re-register on a continuous basis for three terms (Fall, Winter, Summer) per academic year until completed (includes corrections), with an overall minimum thesis registration of not less than two terms.

6.2 Thesis Supervision

6.2.1 Master's Level Thesis

The student's research programme shall be under the direction of a thesis supervisor.

The thesis supervisor shall be appointed as early in the student's programme of studies as possible, consistent with the readiness of the student to elect the desired research topic and supervisor. Normally this is done by the end of the first year of full-time study in the Master's Programme.

6.2.2 Doctoral Level Thesis/ Dissertation

The student's research programme shall be under the direction of a thesis supervisor. At the doctoral level, an advisory committee shall also be appointed, consisting of the supervisor as chair and normally two other members, which will periodically review the progress of the research.

The thesis supervisor and at least one other member of the advisory committee shall be full-time members of the student's major department and of the Graduate Faculty.

The appointments shall be approved by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research upon the recommendation of the head of the major department.

The thesis supervisor shall be appointed as early in the student's programme of studies as possible, consistent with the readiness of the student to elect the desired research topic and supervisor. Normally this is done by the end of the first year of full-time study in the Doctoral Programme. The remainder of the committee will be appointed either at the same time or as soon after as possible.

6.3 Doctoral Thesis Requirement

A doctoral thesis is required for the PhD programme and must embody the results of original investigation conducted by the student on the approved topic of research, and must constitute a significant contribution to the furthering of existing knowledge in the field.

6.4 Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation Comprehensive Examination

The doctoral student will be required to pass a comprehensive examination, which may contain a number of both written and oral components. This examination is for the purpose of assessing a student's academic appreciation of the field of study and scholarly qualifications for the degree. The results of this examination determine whether or not the student will be permitted to continue in the programme. It is normally held after all coursework requirements are completed at the end of the first year, and must be held at least one calendar year before the submission of the thesis.

The student must register in CP600 Comprehensive Examination until its completion and pay appropriate tuition fees while studying to prepare for the examination.

The major department conducts the examination. The examining committee shall be chaired by the head of the major department or delegate, and will normally consist of the student's supervisor and other members of the major department, as appointed by the examining committee chair. The method adopted for examination and evaluation, and the areas to be examined shall be specified by the major department subject to approval by the Graduate Studies Committee and Faculty Council.

The examining committee shall determine the result of the examination. If the result is not favourable, the examining committee may recommend to Faculty Council through the Graduate Studies Committee either that the examining committee reconvene at a later date to re-examine the student, or that the student be required to withdraw. Re-examination, if authorized, shall not take place before the elapse of at least three months, but no later than twelve months, from the date of the first examination.

If the result is favourable the major department advises the Registrar and credit for the comprehensive examination is entered on the student's transcript as "AC" or "Accepted".

6.5 Doctoral Thesis/Dissertation Proposal

The Doctoral student, under the supervision of his or her supervisor and upon satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination, will present a thesis research proposal to the advisory committee for approval.

6.6 Examination of the Thesis - Master's and PhD

The student shall submit the thesis to his or her thesis supervisor not less than six (6) weeks prior to the date of defence.

The student shall then defend the thesis at a final examination, which will be conducted by the Division of Graduate Studies and Research, that will consist of an oral presentation by the student and an oral examination by the Examining Committee. The scope of the examination shall be limited to the subject and contents of the thesis, and subjects related to them. A written assessment from an external examiner will be required.

The chair of the Examining Committee will be appointed by the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research in consultation with the Head of Department of the student. The Examining Committee shall be appointed by the Head of Department or delegate and shall consist of at least four voting members including among them the student's supervisor(s), the examiner external to the university, one member of the RMC Graduate Faculty from outside the student's major department or field, and one member from the student's department.

The public will normally be welcome to attend the oral presentation, where questions may be asked of the student, and the oral examination, at the discretion of the Chair, where only the Examining Committee is permitted to ask questions.

Security considerations for the research may require the final examination to be open only to the Examining Committee.

6.7 Acceptance of the Thesis

Once a thesis has been accepted, no major revisions or additional work relating to the thesis may be required of the student. Should major revisions or additions to the thesis be required, it shall remain unaccepted until these are completed.

A rejected thesis may be submitted once for re-examination, but not before the elapse of at least three months from the time of its rejection.

6.8 Submission of Thesis Results

The thesis acceptance will be reported by the Chair of the Thesis Examining Committee to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research with a copy to the Registrar.

No grade, whether numerical or letter, will be assigned to a thesis credited toward a graduate degree. An accepted thesis will be recorded on the transcript as "AC" for "Accepted" for courses TH500 or TH600.

6.9 Reproduction of the Thesis

6.9.1 Procedure for Thesis Approval and Deposit

Following acceptance of the thesis, with all the corrections and modifications complete, and prior to the Convocation at which the degree is to be granted, the student will submit to the supervisor the final, unbound manuscript, complete with all tables, figures, illustrations, and attachments. At the same time, the student will also submit to the supervisor(s):

These forms are available from departmental administrative assistants and from the Library.

6.9.2 Number of Copies of Thesis

The major department of the candidate will arrange for reproduction of the thesis, and will provide the Library with the original and five (5) (six (6) if there is a sponsor) complete copies, ready for binding.

6.9.3 Non-exclusive License to Publish

As mentioned in section 6.9.1, the candidate must complete the "Non-exclusive License to Reproduce Theses" form. The College Library will arrange for submission of the thesis to the National Library of Canada.

6.9.4 Binding

As mentioned in section 6.9.2, the Library will make arrangements for binding the original and a specific number of copies of the thesis. A checklist and instructions are provided on the web at: Binding of Theses for Graduate Students at RMC.

Theses are sent out for binding in April and October of each year, and normally must be received six to eight (6-8) weeks before convocation (departmental administrative assistants are informed of the exact date) in order to be processed in time, otherwise the thesis will be sent in the next shipment.

If the candidate and/or the supervisor(s) want additional bound copies, they must make the proper arrangements and assume the costs related to duplicating and binding these copies.

6.9.5 Distribution of Thesis Copies

The College library will retain the original and one (1) copy. It will send one (1) copy to Director, Research and Development Knowledge and Information Management (DRDKIM), and three (3) (four (4) if there is a sponsor) copies back to the major department.

The major department will retain one (1) copy, send one (1) to the sponsor (if there is one), one (1) to the principal supervisor and one (1) to the author.

The distribution of any additional copies of the thesis will be the responsibility of the candidate and his or her supervisor(s).

6.9.6 Copyright

The title page of the thesis will include the following statement at the foot of the page:

"This thesis may be used within the Department of National Defence but copyright for open publication remains the property of the author".

it is important here to note that citation copyrighted other authors, well as publication of proprietary material data, must not appear in thesis without proper reference and permission from the authors or companies involved.

6.9.7 Confidentiality Status

In general, the thesis is open to the public domain. However, there are cases where the whole thesis, or parts of it, includes protected information. These documents must be fully identified with appropriate warning messages, according to the procedures used in the Department of National Defence for protected and classified documents. If no such warning messages are displayed, the thesis is then considered as unclassified. More information may be found at: Thesis Preparation Guidelines

6.10 Convocation

An "Application to Graduate" form should be completed and sent to the Office of the Registrar no later than eight (8) full weeks before the date on which the Convocation is scheduled to be held.

A graduate student wishing to be considered as a candidate for receiving a Master's degree or a Doctoral degree involving a thesis at a particular Convocation will so inform the Head of the major department in writing no later than eight (8) full weeks before the date on which the Convocation is scheduled to be held. At this time the department head, on the advice of the student's supervisor that the thesis will be ready for examination, will so inform the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. 

The student will submit to his or her supervisor, no later than six (6) full weeks before the scheduled date of the thesis defence, copies of the thesis, each complete but unbound, suitable for examination purposes.

For each Graduate Degree student, the Graduate Studies Committee shall adjudicate whether or not the requirements for the degree have been met, and will report its recommendation to Faculty Council.

6.11 Publication of Results of Research

Publication of results of research is encouraged.

Agreement on publication must be reached between supervisor and graduate student prior to publication.

Officers are reminded that the provisions of Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Canadian Forces, Articles 19.36 and 19.37, govern publication of theses and journal articles.