Spring 2018 Graduate Calendar

PhD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

Residence: Residence requirements are intended to provide for each student an adequate contact with the University, with the faculty in the field of specialization, and with the library, laboratories, and other facilities for graduate study and research. Every student in a program leading to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy must be registered in a full-time program of study for a minimum of three calendar years, normally in succession. Credit for one of these years may be given for the time spent in proceeding to a Master's degree.

Credit for no more than one-half of the required courses for a program, taken at another university, may be given at the discretion of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, upon recommendation of the program.

A full-time residence year indicates that a student is in full-time work under the direction of a faculty member at the University of Windsor.

Candidacy: Admission to graduate study does not imply admission to candidacy for a degree. Admission to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy is granted by the Dean of Graduate Studies, upon recommendation of the program concerned, when a student has satisfied the requirements for candidacy of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and of the program, as may be specified in program listings in the calendar. Admission to candidacy is normally to be regarded as recognition that a student has given adequate evidence of superior capability and achievement in graduate study. A student may not be admitted to candidacy for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy before passing a comprehensive examination in the field of specialization.

Time Limit: A student admitted to a Ph.D. program must complete all requirements for the Ph.D. within six consecutive years.


If an extension of the time limit becomes necessary, the student should address a petition to the Dean of Graduate Studies giving reasons for the request and plans for the completion of the work. A student who exceeds the time limit may be required to take additional qualifying examinations or additional course work, or both.

Course of Study: Course requirements are specified in the program listings. Planning and direction of the student's course of study are the responsibility of the program coordinator or a designated departmental advisor. A specific program of study should be worked out at the time of the student's first registration, in consultation with the program.

Since in several programs only a few courses listed will be offered each year, students are advised to ascertain from the program area which courses will be offered in any given year.In consultation with their program area, all students must complete an Annual Report, which is to be submitted to their department by May 31 of each year.

It is expected that students working toward the degree of Doctor of Philosophy will maintain a superior average in all course work. Normally, graduate credit will be given only for courses in which a minimum 70% grade has been achieved. See also Senate Policy on Grading and Calculation of Averages.

Committees: Research undertaken as part of a doctoral program is normally directed by a faculty supervisor and advised by a doctoral committee.

By the end of the first term of registration in the dissertation, the program will recommend the appointment of members of the doctoral committee, whose appointments must be approved by the Faculty of Graduate Studies. At the same time the candidate will be required to validate the Non-Exclusive License to the University of Windsor authorizing the University to archive, reproduce, and distribute the dissertation.

The doctoral committee will consist of a research advisor from the program, who is a member of graduate faculty, two other faculty members in the program, and one from another program area at the University of Windsor. Additional members may be added with the approval of the program and the Faculty of Graduate Studies. This committee will, from time to time, review the student's progress.

The majority of the members of an advisory committee must have graduate faculty status and the supervisor must have graduate faculty status. In the case of co-supervision one of the co-supervisors must have graduate faculty status.

The doctoral committee is also charged with conduct of the final examination of the doctoral candidate (see below).

For the defense of the dissertation (final oral examination), the committee will be supplemented by an independent, external examiner who, as an expert in the field in which the candidate's research is carried out, will appraise the dissertation and ordinarily will also be present at the final oral examination.

The external examiner will be recommended by the doctoral committee, subject to the approval of the program area and the Dean of Graduate Studies. The external examiner must not be involved in the preparation of the dissertation before it is submitted to him or her for final evaluation.

If the research involves information gathered from or about human participants (including primary data collection, use of human biological materials, and secondary uses of information), the faculty supervisor and graduate student are responsible for the ethical conduct of the study, the completion of the project as described in the ethics application cleared by the Research Ethics Board (REB) and the protection of the rights and welfare of human participants. The supervisor ensures that all required clearances and permissions are obtained prior to commencement of the research. The graduate student and faculty supervisor submit an application to the Research Ethics Board REB Research involving human subjects cannot begin until ethics clearance has been obtained. (Consult with th REB .)

All research conducted at the University of Windsor is subject to the institutional policies as described in Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research and University of Windsor Guidelines for Research Involving Human Research Participants. If the research involves animal care, biohazards, health and safety, radiation, or any other procedure that requires certification, the supervisor of the research is responsible for obtaining prior approval from the respective committees. (Consult with the Office of Research and Innovation Services)