9.2 Doctoral Supervision
While the special, collaborative relationship between student and supervisor serves as a foundation for graduate education, particularly at the doctoral level, the primary responsibility for graduate programs and their supervision rests with the graduate unit. The Chair of the graduate unit has the principal obligation and authority for exercising these responsibilities, in accordance with the Constitution of the School of Graduate Studies, and, therefore, for implementing the academic and procedural standards established in the School of Graduate Studies.
Although this calendar outlines procedures to be followed in the supervision of doctoral students, it is clear that these have general applicability for all graduate students to some degree. It is essential that students have access to information relevant to their graduate program of studies, in all domains. Thus, each graduate unit will provide students with documentation that provides details of all procedures involved with graduate training, a list of members of the graduate faculty with relevant information concerning their participation, fields of expertise and supervision, and access to the document Graduate Supervision: Guidelines for Students, Faculty, and Administrators (PDF). In addition, updated statements must be made available to students on a regular basis. These will include a list of graduate students (with their general thesis topic, supervisors, and advisors), the availability of financial assistance, and relevant information to affected students about the expected absences of their supervisor(s) and/or advisor(s). Any doctoral student who believes that his or her graduate unit is not following the supervision guidelines may inform his or her Coordinator of Graduate Studies or the Vice-Dean, Students, of the School of Graduate Studies.
The academic experience is greatly enhanced if members of the academic faculty, in addition to the direct supervisor, are readily and formally available for consultation and discussion with the graduate student. Therefore, an individual thesis supervisory committee or, as an alternative, an area supervisory committee, should be struck as early as possible for each graduate student, and certainly from the commencement of thesis supervision.
The graduate unit is responsible for adopting a procedure for monitoring the progress of doctoral students registered in its programs. Consistent with the document Graduate Supervision: Guidelines for Students, Faculty, and Administrators (PDF), the procedure must contain, at minimum, a supervisory committee that:
- consists of the supervisor and at least two graduate faculty members;
- meets with the student at least once per year to assess the student’s progress in the program and to provide advice on future work; and
- submits a report detailing its observations of the student’s progress and its recommendations.
Further, the student must be given the opportunity to respond to the supervisory committee’s report and recommendations and to append a response to the committee’s report. Copies of the report must be given to the student and filed with the graduate unit.