Academic Advising and Supervision
Students desiring information regarding any of the graduate programs are encouraged to contact the Graduate Associate Chair, or faculty members in their area of interest.
After being admitted, MEd and PhD students will be assigned an Academic Advisor. The role of the Academic Advisor is to help the student develop a personally meaningful program within the guidelines set out by both the Faculty and the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. Students are free to change their Academic Advisor by submitting a request, in writing, to the Graduate Coordinator. The Academic Advisor will continue to be the student's advisor until the student selects a Thesis Supervisor, notifies the Graduate Coordinator in writing, and the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies approves the change. The Thesis Supervisor then also assumes the role of Academic Advisor.
Within one year of beginning a PhD program, a doctoral student requires a Supervisory Committee of three faculty members to oversee their academic program and academic progress. This committee must meet annually, at a minimum, to review the student's progress. After the student decides on a particular area of research, the Supervisory Committee will oversee the carrying out of the dissertation. Where appropriate, one member of the Supervisory Committee may be external to the program area.
Prior to proceeding to dissertation research, each doctoral student must complete a written proposal for their research followed by an oral examination. Students present their dissertation proposals as a part of this examination. The Candidacy examining committee consists of the three Supervisory Committee members, and two additional members. At least two members of the Candidacy Committee must be at arm's length (FGPS)*. For the final defense of the dissertation an External Examining Committee member is added. Typically, the External Examiner will act in the capacity of a Reader, who sends questions for the oral, which are delivered by the Chair of the oral. The External Examiner must be recognized as an authority in the area to be examined, and must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies.
Note to new international and non-local students: In order to allow time for adequate academic advisement, those students who are accepted into a program should make travel arrangements, if possible, in order to arrive in Edmonton several days before the required registration date. To develop an appropriate program of study may require an in-depth assessment of one's background by the Academic Advisor. Students may also wish to use this time to talk to other graduate students about optional courses that are available.
* An arm's length examiner is not a member of the supervisory committee, has not contributed substantially to the student's proposal, and is not a close collaborator of the supervisor. Arm's length examiners may be from the same program area as the student.