Supervision

A supervisory committee for each graduate student in a PhD program shall be named by the Director of the Graduate Program to which the candidate is admitted. It shall consist of the dissertation supervisor and at least two other faculty members who meet the School of Graduate Studies and the program requirements, with the supervisor as committee chair.

The role of the committee shall be:

to ensure that reasonable progress is being made by the student in his/her research and course work. The supervisor shall submit a report on this progress through the Graduate Program Director to the School of Graduate Studies at the end of each Winter term.
to approve the dissertation topic and any prescribed work.
to recommend to the School of Graduate Studies appropriate action (withdrawal, further research, or course work) in light of the student’s progress.
to recommend the membership of the dissertation examining committee when the final draft of the dissertation has been approved by the committee.

If a student’s supervisor expects to be absent from the University for an extended period of time (two months or more) it is his/her responsibility either to make suitable arrangements in writing with the student and the Graduate Program Director for the continued supervision of the student, or to request the Graduate Program Director to appoint an interim supervisor. Such arrangements must be communicated in writing to the student with a copy to the Dean of Graduate Studies before the supervisor leaves the University.

Guidelines for graduate programs, graduate students, faculty and the Committee on Graduate Studies can be found on the graduate studies website.

Dissertation Requirements

A candidate for a PhD degree will undertake research and write a dissertation. In the dissertation, students should give evidence that they have made a logical and intelligent approach to the selected problem and demonstrate the ability to conceptualize, design and implement research for the generation of new knowledge and to make informed judgments on complex issues. The dissertation should demonstrate original research or other advanced scholarship of a quality to satisfy peer review and merit publication. Note: All research conducted under the auspices of Trent University by graduate students, funded or unfunded, that involves human subjects requires approval by the Research Ethics Committee of Trent University. Research Ethics guidelines are published on the Research Office website at trentu.ca/ori.

Although a dissertation may be submitted at any time, candidates should note the dissertation submission deadlines for the Spring Convocation in the academic Calendar and take into account normal times for review of such documents.

Principles Governing Submission & Examination of Dissertations

1. Submission of dissertation for examination

1.1 Supervisory Committee members shall review a complete typed version of the dissertation, prepared in conformity with Program requirements, and send a signed “Pre-Exam” form to the Graduate Program Director verifying that the dissertation meets degree level expectations and is of sufficient quality to proceed to formal examination.

2. Examining committee

2.1 After the supervisory committee has confirmed that the dissertation may proceed to examination, the Graduate Program Director establishes a committee to participate in the defence, consisting of a Chair, the supervisor, at least one member of the supervisory committee, one Trent faculty or adjunct member external to the supervisory committee and one member external to the University. The Graduate Program Director determines the date, place and time of the defence.

2.2 The external examiner must not have any affiliation with the university or the candidate that might be construed as creating a conflict of interest. Guidelines on conflict of interest are available from the School of Graduate Studies.

3. Dissertation examination

3.1 Copies of the dissertation shall be distributed amongst the Examining Committee by the Graduate Program Director at least three weeks before the scheduled date of the oral, along with a covering letter from the Graduate Dean explaining the status of the dissertation and the range of options for its disposition.

3.2 A “Pre-Oral Defence” form is supplied on which each examiner, who has not previously approved the dissertation, should verify whether they recommend that the oral examination should proceed. These forms must be returned to the Graduate Program Director at least one week before the scheduled date of the oral.

3.3 A negative response by any member of the Examining Committee will result in cancellation of the defence and return of the dissertation to the student. An examiner who indicates that a dissertation is not suitable for defence will provide a written explanation of the deficiencies and the changes necessary to make the dissertation acceptable for defence.

4. Defence

4.1 The dissertation will be defended by the candidate in an oral examination before the Examining Committee.

4.2 Every attempt shall be made to schedule the defence within six to eight weeks from the date of approval of the submitted dissertation by all members of the Supervisory Committee (see 1.1 above).

4.3 All graduate dissertation defences will be conducted on one of the Trent Campus with the examining committee and the candidate physically present at the examination. The Dean of Graduate Studies, acting on the recommendation of the Director of the graduate program involved may permit some members of the examining committee to participate by video or teleconference. Requests for this exam status must be submitted by the Program Director to the Dean of Graduate Studies in advance of the dissertation defence.

4.4 The Examining Committee, and the defence examination, will be chaired by a person appointed by the Graduate Program Director.

4.5 A quorum consists of the external examiner and two other members of the examining committee, not including the chair.

4.6 If any member of the examination committee cannot be present, the defence may be postponed at the discretion of the Graduate Program Director. The candidate shall not be penalized unduly by a postponement.

4.7 Subject to the policy of individual graduate programs, any member of the university or public is free to attend an oral dissertation defence examination.

4.8 The chair will give priority to questions from members of the Examining Committee, and will adjourn the examination when the Examining Committee decides that further questioning is unnecessary.

4.9 The deliberations of the Examining Committee are held in camera. That is to say, only appointed members of the Examining Committee are present at this stage.

4.10 It is the responsibility of the chair to see that a report on the examination is prepared before the committee adjourns.

4.11 Five recommendations are open to the Examining Committee:
(i) the dissertation is approved as it stands, or
(ii) the dissertation is approved provided certain minor revisions are made, or
(iii) the dissertation is approved provided certain major revisions are made, or
(iv) the dissertation is not approved as it stands but may be resubmitted, and re-examined by some or all of the Examining Committee (this may or may not involve another oral defence), or
(v) the dissertation is not approved.

4.12 The voting is based on a simple majority. In the case of a tie vote, the Chair will consult with the Dean to resolve the tie.

4.13 If revisions are required, each member of the Examining Committee must provide a written list of required revisions to the Graduate Program Director immediately following the oral. Minor revisions are defined as corrections that can be made immediately to the satisfaction of the supervisor. Major revisions are defined as corrections requiring structural changes, or other substantive revision. When a dissertation is accepted with major revisions, a precise description of the modifications must be included with the Examining Committee’s report as well as a time within which the revisions will be accepted. It is then the responsibility of the candidate’s supervisor to demonstrate to the Examining Committee that the required revisions have been made. In the case of a dissertation that is not approved but may be resubmitted, the Examining Committee will determine whether the dissertation or portions of it will be reviewed by one or more members of the Committee following revisions, or whether a second defence is required.

4.14 If the Examining Committee is not prepared to reach a decision concerning the dissertation at the time of the dissertation defence, it is the responsibility of the chair to determine what additional information is required by the committee to reach a decision, to arrange to obtain this information for the committee, and to call another meeting of the committee as soon as the required information is available. It is also the chair’s responsibility to inform the candidate that the decision is pending.

5. Final submission

5.1 The Graduate Program Director, in consultation with the dissertation supervisor, must verify that appropriate corrections have been made, and then submit a summary report of the dissertation defence and examination to the School of Graduate Studies.

5.2 An approved dissertation may be submitted at any time following the oral defence. However, candidates wishing to graduate at Spring Convocation should refer to the deadlines for submission of final copies of successfully defended dissertations. Candidates not meeting these deadlines are required to re-register until the dissertation has been formally submitted and approved by the University.

5.3 The formal submission of the thesis to the University is made to the School of Graduate Studies. At this point, the thesis should be in its final typed version, and in PDF format. Submit final PDF copy to graduate@trentu.ca for review. The School of Graduate Studies will review and inform the student when the final copy is approved for submission.

5.4 After the thesis has been formally approved, the candidate will submit their thesis online through the thesis submission portal. Some graduate programs may have additional submission requirements. Students should check with their home department regarding such.

5.5 When the thesis is submitted, the candidate is required to complete a non-exclusive licensing form. This gives consent for Trent University Library & Archives and Library and Archives Canada to make the thesis available to interested persons and grants a non-exclusive, for the full term of copyright protection, license to both Trent University Library & Archives and Library and Archives Canada.

6. Binding of dissertation

6.1 Dissertation may be bound in Trent green with front cover and spine writing in gold. Binding arrangements can be made through the School of Graduate Studies. A bound hardcopy maybe required by the program - please see your program for specific guidelines. Students have the option of having personal copies bound through the School of Graduate Studies. Fees for binding will be charged to the student account.

7. Intellectual property and copyright regulations

7.1 For information concerning intellectual property and copyright regulations, please refer to the “Guidelines for the use and ownership of intellectual property developed by graduate students at Trent University” found In the Policies and Procedures section of this academic calendar.

Notes

Arrangements and expenses for producing the final dissertation copies are the responsibility of the student.
Information and a detailed guide on the preparation of dissertations can be found on the graduate studies website: trentu.ca/graduatestudies

Language Requirement for Dissertation

Dissertations will be written and defended in English (or in French, subject to individual program’s policy/ practice), unless the Dean of Graduate Studies, acting on the recommendation of the Director of the Graduate program involved, grants an exception to this rule. The Dean must take into account: a) the relevance of this language to the content of the dissertation, and b) the availability of Trent graduate faculty members fluent in the language (both verbal and written) who can supervise the dissertation, and c) the availability of External and Internal Examiners fluent in the language (both written and verbal) who can effectively participate in the dissertation examination. Application to defend in a language other than English or French must be submitted to the Dean of Graduate Studies by the Graduate Program Director at least one (1) year in advance of the proposed date of the dissertation defence. In any case, the Title and Abstract of the dissertation must also be provided in English.

Research Paper & Thesis Requirements

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