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September

PhD 2

Student begins program by registering in full-timeÌýCoursework (minimum of 2 courses per semester). Students should begin thinking about research directions.

January - April

PhD 2

Student and supervisor begin to discuss the comprehensive exam proposal (expectations, purpose, process) and the composition of Doctoral Committee. See attached proposal guidelines.

April - May

PhD 2

Students and/or supervisors reach out to potential committee members to discuss proposed comps focus (tentative areas of exploration) and process (timelines, what input will be expected).Ìý This information is important so secured committee members know what will be expected of them and can confirm availabilities.Ìý

When the committee members confirm their capacity to serve the committee membership form is completed (this form, titled PhD Supervisory Committee Membership Form, can be found here: /socialwork/prospective/phd/forms) and uploaded by student in myProgress (this is an important step to maintain satisfactory status)

June - August

PhD 2

Student begins to draft comprehensive examination proposal with input from Supervisor.

July PhD 2 -

ÌýSeptÌýPhD 3

Once deemed ready by supervisor, the student distributes proposal to the full committee. At the time of distribution, a date should be set to discuss the proposal (via email) a timeline for written committee feedback should be set and clarification on where and to whom feedback should be sent should be offered. It is often preferable for the committee to exchange feedback together via email and ask that the supervisor distribute the collective feedback to the student prior to the meeting.

August - September

PhD 3

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Comps Proposal should be approved by end of October

PhD 3

Committee meeting to discuss the proposal:

• when the committee meets all members should have reviewed the comps proposal so they can decide to accept the proposal as is, request changes to be overseen and approved by supervisor and/or request a revision sent to all members
• If the proposal is accepted as is the committee signs the comprehensive approval form (this form, titled Comprehensive Exam Questions and Timeline, can be found here) which the student uploads onto myProgress
• If a revision is being overseen by a supervisor a date and time for the revision and feedback is set. Once approved the comprehensive approval form is distributed to members who all sign so it can be uploaded onto myProgress by the student.
• If a revision is being reviewed by all members of a committee a tentative date should be set to discuss the revised proposal
• Clarification on where and to whom feedback should be sent should be offered (a committee initial exchange is preferable at this stage as upon review the committee may decide to wave the planned meeting and approve revisions via email)
• Once approved, a formal comprehensive proposal approval signed with dates for expected submission must be completed (this form, titled Comprehensive Exam Questions and Timeline, can be found here) and uploaded by the student on myProgress. If the meeting is preserved it can be done at the meeting. It is critical that committee members understand and expect forms to be circulated as delays in completion could compromise the students’ status.

Students are expected to receive approval and start writing their comprehensive examinations by no later than the end of October of PhD 3. Missing this deadline could compromise the student’s capacity to engage in the PhD seminar (winter PhD 3).

For further details about the purpose and content of the comprehensive examination proposal see Guidelines for the Comprehensive Exam Proposal.

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Comprehensive examination writing period. Every student has three months to complete the written component of their comprehensive examination. The written component must not exceed 15,000 words (excluding references). Once complete the student submits the examination via email to all committee members with a cc the PhD Director?

While the writing of the comprehensive examination is an independent process students can reach out to supervisors to ask for clarification on expectations. Supervisors will be positioned to indicate the extent to which they can provide advice and input.

Students can also reach out to peers, the writing centre and any other resources deemed of utility during this writing stage. Please remember independence does not mean total isolation.

November PhD 3 - early FebruaryÌý PhD 3

Within 3 weeks

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Evaluation of Written Component

Doctoral committee members agree on their evaluation of the written component of the exam.

Pass: Within a month, student moves on to the Oral Defense component of Comprehensive Exam.

The student is informed by email that they may proceed to the oral component of the comprehensive examination. NO WRITTEN feedback is provided to the student in this case. Rather the feedback becomes the topic of questioning at the oral defence. No further changes to the written component of the examination should be required after the defence if the committee deems the examination acceptable without revision.

Pass with Revisions: If only one of the written exam questions requires revisions, & the student must resubmit that question within 2 weeks of receiving the Committee’s detailed feedback on what must be revised. The committee will have 2 weeks to determine whether the revision is a Pass or a Fail (which would count as their first Fail on the exam). If the revision is a pass NO FURTHER WRITTEN feedback should be sent to the student prior to the oral defence.

Fail: If more than one of the written exam questions requires major revisions, the student will receive detailed written comments from the committee and has 3 months to rewrite their Exam (first Fail on the exam). The Committee would then have 3 weeks to determine whether the new submission is a Pass or a Fail (which would be the 2^nd Fail, ending the exam and requiring the student’s withdrawal from the PhD program.)

Within 1 month of passing Written Component

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Oral Defence

The Dissertation Committee meets for the student’s Oral Defence. The comprehensive oral defence is chaired by the Graduate Program Director or a delegate. All committee members and the student are present.

The student is given 20 minute to provide an overview of their comprehensive examination. The presentation should focus on high level key findings and their implications for future work.

Each member of the committee asks questions to determine the student’s grasp of the literature and capacity to think critically about the scholarship. This question period should not exceed 90 minutes.

Following these components, the committee deliberates to make a determination on the oral component of the examination which is documented in writing (see /socialwork/files/socialwork/comp_exam_evaluation_form_2024.pdf)

Pass: Student becomes a PhD Candidate and proceeds to the Dissertation Project If student passes the oral component of their examination the student must send the evaluation form to the graduate program coordinator as proof of course completion.

Fail: Student receives detailed written feedback on the oral presentation through the supervisor and may repeat the Oral Defense a month later. If the student fails a second time, they will be required to withdraw from the PhD program. If a student has not demonstrated a capacity to critically reflect on the literature in the oral component of their defence (e.g. they cannot position themselves within the major debates in the literature, they fail to outline the major debates in the literature; they are unable to articulate the strengths and limitations of their work ) a non-passing grade will be recorded with an appended written description of what the student should do to prepare for a second defence. This will likely involve revisiting aspects of the literature deemed of utility and hence revising the written portion of the comprehensive examination.

February - May

PhD 3

Dissertation Seminar