PhD Thesis

A Supervisory Committee will be established with three members: the supervisor, and two graduate faculty members from the program or experts from a relevant field within or outside Nipissing University.

A student may not proceed to examination until approved to do so by their Supervisory Committee. A student has the right to proceed to examination without the approval of the Supervisory Committee if the student signs a written statement to that effect.

The Examination Committee for all PhD thesis students will consist of the Supervisory Committee plus an Internal Examiner who is not a committee member, and an External Examiner, who shall be external to Nipissing University, and the Assistant Vice-President Research & Graduate Studies or designate who shall chair the examination.

All examinations shall comprise a public oral presentation by the student followed by in-camera examination by the Examination Committee. In some circumstances the external examiner may participate by videoconference or teleconference. The candidate shall be asked to withdraw while the committee decides on the outcome of the examination.

The outcome of a thesis examination may be one of the following:

• ​Unconditional pass
• Pass conditional upon specific revisions (deadline set for receipt of revisions)
• Fail with a provision to resubmit for another exam
• Fail outright​

Confidentiality in the examination process is essential when there is a proprietary requirement regarding the Intellectual Property (IP) content of the thesis and where such an IP agreement has been signed between the relevant parties (student, supervisor, university, external partner) and has been approved by the Dean of Education and the Associate Vice President Academic and Research.

Evaluation Requirements

There will be two components to the thesis evaluation process which will take place simultaneous:

1. ​The written thesis; and
2. The quality of the oral presentation and in-camera examination.