The supervisor, in consultation with the student, is responsible for arranging the date and time for the thesis defence and finding two suitable examiners. The Graduate Assistant is informed as outlined in the "Deadlines for Scheduling Theses Defences." The Graduate Assistant will find a suitable Head's Delegate/Chair (from within the department). They will book the room and complete the scheduling forms (within the scheduling deadlines of 10 working days for a master's thesis and 25 working days for a PhD thesis). The candidate is responsible for circulating the thesis to the other members of the examining committee and Head's Delegate/Chair.
Master's Defence: The forms to schedule the examination (Oral Thesis Examination Form, Departmental Conflict of Interest Form) must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Assistant for approval at least three (6) weeks (15 working days) before the date planned for the examination to take place. This is necessary to find a Head's Delegate/Chair for the exam. A copy of the thesis must be handed in to the Graduate Studies Assistant no later than two weeks (10 working days) before the date planned for the examination to take place. Copies of the thesis must also be distributed to all members of the committee by the student no later than ten (10) working days before the date of the thesis defence. If these deadlines are not respected, the examination may be delayed.
PhD Defence: The forms to schedule the examination (Oral Thesis Examination Form, Departmental Conflict of Interest Form) must be submitted to the Graduate Studies Assistant for approval at least six (6) weeks before the date planned for the examination to take place. This is necessary to find a Chair and/or Head's Delegate for the exam*. A copy of the thesis must be handed in to the Graduate Studies Assistant no later than five (5) weeks before the date planned for the examination to take place. Copies of the thesis must also be distributed to all members of the committee no later than 25 working days before the date of the thesis defence. If these deadlines are not respected, the examination may be delayed. *The roles of Chair and Head's Delegate may be separate or combined.
Learn more about Oral Examination Procedures.
Please see the School of Graduate Studies’ requirements for the format of theses.
Our department holds a library of previous theses in McLaughlin Hall, Room 312. Candidates may ask their supervisors for advice on which theses are relevant to them and consult the department copies.
The examination is normally held in the following way: after general introduction, the candidate is asked to withdraw for a few minutes, during which time the Chair reads the Confidential Reports to the Committee. The student is then called back into the room to give a presentation of their work. This presentation should not exceed 20 minutes.
The questioning then takes place in the following order:
Usually, there are two rounds of questions.
After the questioning, the candidate is asked to withdraw again while the Committee deliberates. Finally, the candidate is recalled and informed of the decision and the details of any corrections to the thesis.
Visitors are allowed to attend oral thesis examinations with the permission of the Chair of the Examination Committee. It is important to notify the Chair a few days in advance to allow them to consult both the candidate and the Department Head before the examination and avoid unnecessary stress at the time of the examination.
The supervisor, after consultation with the student, makes a recommendation to the Graduate Studies Coordinator regarding the proposed date, as well as suitable external (PhD), internal/external and departmental examiners. When scheduling the defence, the supervisor(s) must provide a description of any relationship of the candidate and their supervisor(s) with each of the examiners by completing the Departmental Conflict of Interest Form. This includes but is not limited to disclosing any joint publication, joint grant tenure, supervisor/student relationship that occurred in the last 6 years, any family or close friend relationship, and any other relation that may prevent the examiner from being objective.
For a PhD examination, departmental guidelines stipulate that the external examiner must not have been associated or affiliated with Queen's University for a period of at least 5 years and must be "at arm's length"**. In addition, at least one other member of the committee must be at arm's length from the candidate and the supervisor(s) and must not have been associated with the supervision of the thesis.
For a master's examination, departmental guidelines stipulate at least one member of the committee must be at arm's length from the candidate and the supervisor(s).
Notes: "Associated" or "affiliated" includes but is not limited to: holding an appointment (tenure-track, adjunct, course instructor, staff, PDF,…), been enrolled in a program as a student, being a member of a Queen's or joint research centre, etc.
**Arm's length requirements normally mean that examiners should not be closely associated with the candidate or the supervisor(s), for example, as research collaborators, co-authors, employer/employee, supervisor/student, in the present or in the past 6 years.