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Oral examinations

PhD candidacy exam

The purpose of the Candidacy Exam is to evaluate an independently prepared research proposal, to determine if the candidate understands the background material related to their proposal, and to identify any areas of weakness which the candidate can work on prior to their final oral exam.

The Candidacy Examination should normally be held within 21 months of a student entering the PhD program. Students transferring from the MSc to the PhD program should normally complete the exam within 18 months of their entry into the PhD program. Candidacy Exam preparations take approximately 4-5 months. You must notify the  (GPDA) of your intention to organize your Candidacy Exam.

The Candidacy Exam consists of a defence of a written proposal on the student's proposed dissertation research project and an oral exam on the background/general knowledge material and research components of the proposal.

Additional information can be found in the Neuroscience Graduate Program Handbook.

MSc and PhD oral examinations

Students of the Neuroscience Program are required to write and orally defend an MSc Thesis or PhD Dissertation.

Before a student is permitted to start writing their thesis/dissertation they must first have a supervisory committee meeting wherein they are granted permission to start writing. Students must then submit a signed Progress Report Form to the GPDA.

Upon reaching the Thesis/Dissertation portion of a student’s program they must schedule a meeting with the GPDA to outline next steps and timelines.

Please see below for detailed steps of the procedure. Students are strongly encouraged to review the Final Oral Examination section of the Neuroscience Graduate Program Handbook and the Faculty of Graduate Studies' Thesis and disseration guidelines for more information.

Step 1. Supervisory committee permission

You are required to organize a meeting with your supervisory committee as they must agree that you are ready to write your thesis/dissertation. Following the meeting, all members of your committee must sign off on the Supervisory committee’s student progress report form which documents that you are ready to begin writing your thesis/dissertation.

 

Step 2. Establish your examination committee with your supervisor(s)

Your exam committee will include a Chair (appointed by FGS), your supervisory committee members, plus an external examiner who has had no prior involvement with your supervision.

Your supervisor must find an appropriate external examiner; students should not recruit their external examiner.  Once an examiner has been identified, your supervisor will confirm his/her availability to attend the oral examination on the specified date and time. 

Step 3. Establish a date and time for your oral exam

You and your committee will determine a date and time for your oral exam that is convenient for everyone. The exam date must be far enough in advance to ensure that Faculty of Graduate Studies timelines can be met. For example timelines please refer to the Neuroscience Graduate Student Handbook.

The GPDA will work with you to identify specific deadlines, book a lecture hall in the Medical Sciences Building, and create the calendar invite for committee members.

Step 4. Submit your thesis/dissertation

Submit your thesis/dissertation –  Email a PDF of your thesis/dissertation to your examination committee (with the exception of your external advisor) and the GPDA. Once your thesis/dissertation is sent no further changes can be made to the document. 

Your committee will have a minimum of 10 business days to determine your thesis/dissertation is examinable. They will notify the GPDA if they deem it is examinable.

Step 5. Apply to graduate

Convocation occurs twice a year – June and November. In order to convocate at either ceremony, you must have your thesis/dissertation completed and archived by the posted degree submission deadlines of April 30, August 31 and December 31. Please note important deadlines on the Faculty of Graduate Studies webpage. Submit your application to graduate via Online Tools. You must apply to graduate before the Graduate Admissions and Records Office can proceed with setting up your oral exam.

Step 6. Submit the Request for oral exam (ROE) form

After each member of the examination committee has reviewed the thesis/dissertation and agree it is examinable, it is your responsibility to have each member sign the ROE form*; the GPDA will complete the form and email it to you prior to the end of the review period.  Signatures can be acquired in any order, excluding your supervisors’, who must sign first and the Graduate Advisor who must sign last. The external examiner is not required to sign the ROE. You are responsible for ensuring that all signatures are gathered and that the ROE is submitted to the GPDA.

*Ensure you are submitting the correct ROE form for your program!

In addition to the ROE, the GPDA submits the following forms (as applicable):

  1. Dissertation withholding form
  2. Human ethics approval or waiver form (provided by your supervisor).

Following submission of the ROE you will receive an email from Graduate Admissions & Records Office prompting you to register for , the online repository where the defended version of your thesis/dissertation will be uploaded. Please follow the instructions and register for UVicSpace. Below are links to additional resources which will answer many of your questions.

Thesis and dissertation guide

Ethical issues and copyright

Step 7. Oral examination day

The GPDA will prepare the Thesis/Dissertation approval form. This form requires original signatures from all of your committee members. If one of your members is attending virtually the Chair may sign on their behalf. Once this form is signed it must be returned to the GPDA who will submit it to FGS.

All supervisory committee members are normally expected to be present for their student’s oral examination. If a faculty member is unable to attend, review the information provided in the .

At the defense you will give a 10 - 20 minute presentation followed by questions. The external examiner has the first opportunity to ask questions, followed by the committee members, and finally the supervisor. There will be a second round of questions, including those posed by the exam Chair and/or audience members. Following the question period, the student and audience will be asked to leave the room so the committee can evaluate the thesis/dissertation and render a decision.

Step 8. After the oral exam

The Exam Chair will:

  1. inform the student of the outcome of their exam;
  2. identify actions and timelines associated with the outcome, as applicable; and
  3. identify next steps including the review/approval process for any required revisions/edits that must be made to your thesis/dissertation.

The final version of your thesis/dissertation must be uploaded by 3:00 pm the last day of the term in which you wish to complete in – there are no exceptions. Once you have received confirmation that your thesis/dissertation has been archived, notify the GPDA who will then submit the Thesis/Dissertation approval form and the Letter of Recommendation to the Graduate Admissions & Records Office.

Step 9. The final details

Two copies of your thesis/dissertation will be bound at no cost to you; one copy for you and one for your supervisor.

Binding is typically completed once or twice a year so there may be a delay between the time you graduate and when your thesis/dissertation is bound. Please provide to the GPDA an email and mailing address that will be current up to six months, post graduation.

Contact graduate photos to arrange an appointment to have your graduation portrait taken. The DMSC contributes funds towards your portrait and the photo is included on the wall of fame outside of the GPDA office.


Please contact the  if you have any questions or concerns regarding your oral examinations.