Doctoral Examinations & Schedule
The Final Oral Examination (FOE) is the capstone experience of your doctoral studies. General information about the FOE is outlined in the SGS Calendar. A Doctoral Exam Schedule (see calendar below) listing current thesis defenses is updated periodically.
Additionally, you may find helpful the Guidelines for the Doctoral FOE, a PDF document that outlines the responsibilities of the graduate unit, SGS, the Examination Committee, and the Chair of the Committee in the planning and conduct of a Final Oral Examination. Faculty and Staff can access additional resources on the SGS Final Examinations webpage.
Academic fees for continuously registered Ph.D. candidates in the final year of the program are pro-rated over the 12-month academic year, based on the date of the final approved thesis submission to SGS. Incidental fees are charged on a sessional (term) basis. More information on the pro-rated fees and schedules can be found in Graduate Fees and on The Student Accounts website under Current Fall-Winter Fee & Refund Schedules.
In-Person Examinations at the School of Graduate Studies
- Maximum occupancy is four (4) people for rooms 109 and 111 at 63 St. George Street.
- Masks must be worn at all times in the examination room and throughout the building.
- All participants must complete UCheck before coming to campus – external examiners will likely need to complete the paper version.
- Individuals are required to adhere to social distancing guidelines displayed in the room and sit/stand in designated areas. Please do not move furniture or equipment.
- Exam rooms are available for blocks of up to three (3) hours between 9:30am and 4:30pm Monday to Friday.
- All surfaces of tables, chairs, equipment and handles must be wiped down before and after using the room; regrettably, we are unable to guarantee sanitization between each use. Please use the antiseptic wipes provided in the wall dispenser.
- Windows must be opened and remain fully open during use of the room despite inclement weather.
- While the door must remain closed throughout the examination, please ensure it stays open at other times and upon exiting the room.
- No food or drink in the room (with the exception of water that you bring with you).
- All participants should bring their laptop or tablet with them; the computer, camera, and microphone in the room can be used to provide a full room view for remote participants. The computer is currently configured for anyone to sign into their Zoom or MS Teams account. Teleconference is also available for a maximum of two participants.
- All signatures files and forms will be administered electronically.
Doctoral Examination Schedule
| Exam Date | Student Name | Exam Information (Thesis, Supervisor(s), Graduate Unit) |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 1 | Name: Stephen Berquist |
Assembling an Architecture of the Ayllu: Political Sequence, Historical Process, and Emergent Institutions at the Late Middle Horizon Site of Tecapa, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru Supervisor(s): Prof. Edward Swenson Graduate Unit: Department of Anthropology |
| Oct 1 | Name: Yan Wang |
An Organ-on-a-chip Platform for Cardiac Fibrotic Disease Modeling and Pre-clinical Drug Evaluation Supervisor(s): Prof. Milica Radisic Graduate Unit: Institute of Biomedical Engineering |
| Oct 1 | Name: Hannah Kirby Wood |
Intersections of Voluntary and Involuntary Poverty The Friars and the Lay Indigent in Late Medieval England 1221-c.1430 Supervisor(s): Prof. Shami Ghosh Graduate Unit: Centre for Medieval Studies |
| Oct 4 | Name: Sayeh Bayat |
Uncovering Outdoor Mobility Behaviours of Older Adults With and Without Dementia from GPS Data Supervisor(s): Prof. Alex Mihailidis Graduate Unit: Institute of Biomedical Engineering |
| Oct 4 | Name: Justin John Morris |
Constellated Media: Serial Stars, Feminist Film Historiography, And Intermedial Hollywood Supervisor(s): Prof. Charles Keil Graduate Unit: Cinema Studies Institute |
| Oct 6 | Name: Hossein Farrokhbakht |
Reducing Reliance on Buffering and Virtual Channels in Networks-on-Chip Supervisor(s): Prof. Natalie Enright Jerger Graduate Unit: Edward S. Rogers Sr. Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engin. |
| Oct 6 | Name: Daniel Indacochea |
Three Essays in Labour Economics and Applied Econometrics Supervisor(s): Graduate Unit: Department of Economics |
| Oct 7 | Name: Timothy Colin Lem-Smith |
Collusive Critique: Paranoid Reading and Contemporary American Literature Supervisor(s): Prof. Paul Downes Graduate Unit: Department of English |
| Oct 7 | Name: Lydia Antoniette Sequeira |
Clinical decision support for suicide: the feasabi lity of predictive analytics and building alternat ive innovative approaches Supervisor(s): Prof. David Wiljer Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 8 | Name: Kathleen Gloria Dobson |
The Prevalence of Depression and Its Impact on Employment Earnings among Canadian Labor Force Participants Supervisor(s): Prof. Peter Smith Graduate Unit: Department of Public Health Sciences |
| Oct 8 | Name: Ira Reuben Halpern |
Doctoring America: The Literature of Medical Care Supervisor(s): Prof. Michael Cobb Graduate Unit: Department of English |
| Oct 8 | Name: Heriberto Rochin Banaga |
U-Pb Dating of Fossils and Hydrogenic Minerals: Toward Practical Paleontological Chronometry Supervisor(s): Prof. Donald Davis Graduate Unit: Department of Earth Sciences |
| Oct 8 | Name: Steven Coyne |
Liberal Theories of Political Authority Supervisor(s): Prof. David Dyzenhaus Graduate Unit: Department of Philosophy |
| Oct 8 | Name: Adora Lai-Yan Chui |
Inclusion and Representation in Rehabilitation Research and Practice of Adults with Traumatic Brain Injury and Comorbid Depression: A Knowledge Translation Perspective Supervisor(s): Prof. Deirdre Dawson, Prof. Heather Colquhoun Graduate Unit: Rehabilitation Sciences Institute |
| Oct 12 | Name: Anastasia Korolj |
Engineering the Fractal Properties of Podocytes Supervisor(s): Prof. Milica Radisic Graduate Unit: Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry |
| Oct 12 | Name: Yingzhou Wu |
Estimating the Functional Impact of Single Amino Acid changes using Machine Learning Supervisor(s): Prof. Frederick Roth Graduate Unit: Department of Computer Science |
| Oct 12 | Name: Laurie Christine Faith |
Achieving Learning Regulation Support: How a Socially Shared Approach Fits, Functions, and Thrives Supervisor(s): Prof. Rhonda Martinussen Graduate Unit: Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development |
| Oct 12 | Name: Laura Best |
NB: All examiners must have agreed to their willi Supervisor(s): Prof. Isabelle Boileau Graduate Unit: Institute of Medical Science |
| Oct 12 | Name: Bijun Wen |
Understanding Pathways Underlying Inpatient Mortality of Children with Complicated Severe Malnutrition Supervisor(s): Prof. Robert Bandsma Graduate Unit: Department of Nutritional Sciences |
| Oct 13 | Name: Alex De Serrano |
The Transgenerational Effects of a Dopaminergic Drug on the Behaviour and Morphology of the Trinidadian Guppy (Poecilia Reticulata) Supervisor(s): Prof. F. Helen Rodd Graduate Unit: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
| Oct 13 | Name: Sepehr Semsar |
Full Scale Electric Vehicle Drivetrain-Integrated Charging from a Single-Phase AC Grid and Wireless Power Transfer System Supervisor(s): Prof. Peter Lehn Graduate Unit: Edward S. Rogers Sr. Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engin. |
| Oct 15 | Name: Philip Matthew Norman Hitchings |
Bayesian Optimal Allocation of Search Effort in Archaeological Survey: Seeking the Late Neolith in Wadi Qusaybah, Northern Jordan Supervisor(s): Prof. Edward Banning Graduate Unit: Department of Anthropology |
| Oct 15 | Name: Judith Apondi Odhiambo |
Legislation of Structural Violence, Inequities, and Social Injustices?An Institutional Ethnography of the social organization of HIV Healthcare and Treatment for African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) People Living with HIV in Canada Supervisor(s): Prof. Daniel Grace, Prof. Daniel Grace Graduate Unit: Department of Public Health Sciences |
| Oct 15 | Name: Lauren Emma Tessier |
The relationship between multimorbidity and incident dimentia in Ontario Supervisor(s): Prof. Walter Wodchis Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 15 | Name: Katherine Ann Patterson Zagrodney |
An examination of factors affecting the labour sup ply of personal support workers in Canada Supervisor(s): Prof. Audrey Laporte Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 15 | Name: Esther Elizabeth Atkinson |
Anomalous Bodies:Representation of Children’s Deformities in Britain, 1740-1790 Supervisor(s): Prof. Lucia Dacome Graduate Unit: Inst. for the History & Philosophy of Science & Technology |
| Oct 15 | Name: Rui Xu |
Focusing Ultrasound to the Vertebral Canal Supervisor(s): Prof. Meaghan O’Reilly Graduate Unit: Department of Medical Biophysics |
| Oct 15 | Name: Soo Kyung Min |
Are we playing the blind men and the elephant? Need to understand international students’ social-emotional experiences in Ontario elite boarding schools Supervisor(s): Prof. John Portelli Graduate Unit: Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education |
| Oct 18 | Name: Surain Bala Roberts |
An Evaluation of Primary Biliary Cholangitis as a Supervisor(s): Prof. Bettina Elisabeth Hansen Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 19 | Name: Mengye Ren |
Open World Machine Learning with Limited Labeled Data Supervisor(s): Prof. Richard Zemel Graduate Unit: Department of Computer Science |
| Oct 19 | Name: Kazem Cheshmi |
Transforming Sparse Matrix Computations Supervisor(s): Prof. Maryam Mehri Dehnavi Graduate Unit: Department of Computer Science |
| Oct 20 | Name: Deborah Lokhorst |
Ultra-Narrowband Imaging with the Dragonfly Telephoto Array: Toward the Cosmic Web Supervisor(s): Prof. Roberto Abraham Graduate Unit: Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics |
| Oct 20 | Name: Fook Lun Benjamin Lai |
Development of a well plate-based multiplexed organ-on-a-chip platform with perfusable vasculature Supervisor(s): Prof. Milica Radisic Graduate Unit: Institute of Biomedical Engineering |
| Oct 20 | Name: Mackenzie McLaughlin |
The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on the Distribution and Metabolism of Select Xenobiotics Supervisor(s): Prof. Ira Jacobs Graduate Unit: Department of Kinesiology (Graduate) |
| Oct 20 | Name: Boyce William Jeffries Jr. |
Digitisation, Dissemination, and Reception of Percussion Performance: Evaluating YouTube of John Cage’s Third Construction Through Analysis and Case Studies Supervisor(s): Prof. Aiyun Huang Graduate Unit: Faculty of Music |
| Oct 21 | Name: Alexander Sasse |
Inferring RNA sequence specificities from protein sequences to characterize post-transcriptional regulation in eukaryotes Supervisor(s): Prof. Quaid Morris Graduate Unit: Department of Molecular Genetics |
| Oct 22 | Name: Joel Faber |
“‘Farre more than Himselfe’: Figures of Women’s Friendship in Early Modern England” Supervisor(s): Prof. Katherine Larson Graduate Unit: Department of English |
| Oct 22 | Name: Christina Belza |
Evaluating Burden of Care for Caregivers of Childr en with Intestinal Failure on Long-Term Parenteral Nutrition Supervisor(s): Prof. Paul Wales Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 22 | Name: Donghe Yang |
Modelling multilineage human heart field developme nt with pluripotent stem cells Supervisor(s): Prof. Gordon Keller Graduate Unit: Department of Medical Biophysics |
| Oct 22 | Name: Taoyingnan Li |
Characterization of immunity-related GTPase Q (IRGQ) as a novel ATG8 family interactor Supervisor(s): Prof. John Brumell Graduate Unit: Department of Molecular Genetics |
| Oct 24 | Name: Kieu Trang Grace Tran |
Laws of Law: Negotiations of Intimacy and Legitimacy At and Beyond State Borders Through Vietnamese “Marriage Fraud” Arrangments Supervisor(s): Prof. Audrey Macklin Graduate Unit: Centre for Criminology and Sociolegal Studies |
| Oct 25 | Name: Amin Banaiemoqadamfariman |
Distance Protection of Systems with Inverter-Based Resources Supervisor(s): Prof. Ali Hooshyar, Prof. Mohammad Iravani Graduate Unit: Edward S. Rogers Sr. Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engin. |
| Oct 25 | Name: Heather Shearer |
The Clinical Course of Pain Intensity in children and youth with cerebral palsy Supervisor(s): Prof. Pierre Cote Graduate Unit: Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation |
| Oct 27 | Name: Benjamin Robert Kingston |
Cancer Cartography Three dimensional mapping of tumours to understand and mprove nanoparticle delivery Supervisor(s): Prof. Warren Chan Graduate Unit: Institute of Biomedical Engineering |
| Oct 27 | Name: Fartash Faghri |
Training Efficiency and Robutness in Deep Learning Supervisor(s): Prof. David James Fleet Graduate Unit: Department of Computer Science |
| Oct 27 | Name: Kuan-Chieh Wang |
Towards Reliably Handling Inputs Not From the Training Distribution Supervisor(s): Prof. Richard Zemel Graduate Unit: Department of Computer Science |
| Oct 27 | Name: Victoria Sylvana Marshe |
Towards Precision Medicine: Characterizing and Pre edicting Antidepressant Remission Heterogeneity in Late-Life Depression Using Genetic Data Supervisor(s): Prof. Daniel Mueller, Prof. Sidney Kennedy Graduate Unit: Institute of Medical Science |
| Oct 27 | Name: Anne Meyer-Miner |
Investigating CSF homeostasis and cellular stress in a new genetic zebrafish model of idiopathic scoliosis Supervisor(s): Prof. Brian Ciruna Graduate Unit: Department of Molecular Genetics |
| Oct 28 | Name: Najme Kishani Farahani |
Hope Amidst Violence: Youths’ Agency and Learning Experiences to Transform Social Conflicts in Iran Supervisor(s): Prof. Kathy Bickmore Graduate Unit: Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning |
| Oct 28 | Name: Dylan Shea |
The Influence of Aquaculture on Marine Microbiota and Pathogen Communities in a British Columbia Coastal Ecosystem Supervisor(s): Prof. Martin Krkosek, Prof. Steven Short Graduate Unit: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology |
| Oct 28 | Name: Yohan Chiwah Yee |
The neurobiological correlates of structural covar iance networks Supervisor(s): Prof. Jason Lerch Graduate Unit: Department of Medical Biophysics |
| Oct 28 | Name: Nicole Revie |
Exploring Novel Drug Targets and Combination Therapies to Extend the Life of Current Antifungal Agents Supervisor(s): Prof. Leah Cowen Graduate Unit: Department of Molecular Genetics |
| Oct 29 | Name: Aleksa Alaica |
Non-Human Social Actors in Daily and Ritual Activities of the Andes: Human-Animal Interactions among the Moche in the Middle Horizon, Jequetepeque Valley, Peru (CE 600-1000) Supervisor(s): Prof. Edward Swenson Graduate Unit: Department of Anthropology |
| Oct 29 | Name: Rohan Ghatage |
Illegible Subjects: Knowledge and American Modernity, 1898-1985 Supervisor(s): Prof. Neal Dolan Graduate Unit: Department of English |
| Oct 29 | Name: Rami Maher Abou-Seido |
Three Papers in game Theory and Organizational Economics Supervisor(s): Prof. Rahul Deb Graduate Unit: Department of Economics |
| Oct 29 | Name: Neil Nunn |
The 2014 Mount Polley Mine Disaster: Environmental Justice, Antirelationality, and Dreams of Unconstrained Futures Supervisor(s): Prof. Susan Ruddick Graduate Unit: Department of Geography and Planning |
| Oct 29 | Name: Dustin Gumpinger |
Deconstructing and Reconstructing Constitutional R ights: Jacques Derrida s General Strategy of Decon struction and the Constitutional Rights of Canada s Indigenous Peoples Supervisor(s): Prof. David Schneiderman Graduate Unit: Faculty of Law |
| Oct 29 | Name: John Christopher Truman Onderisin |
Deeply Conserved Cardiac Enhancers Guide Zebrafish Heart Regeneration Supervisor(s): Prof. Ian Scott Graduate Unit: Department of Molecular Genetics |
| Oct 29 | Name: Youssif Ben Zablah |
The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the role of LIMK1 in long-term memory and late-phase long-term potentiation Supervisor(s): Prof. Zhengping Jia Graduate Unit: Department of Physiology |
| Oct 29 | Name: Emil Marmol |
An Olive in Orange County: My Story of Surviving in a Climate of Racial Hostility Supervisor(s): Prof. John Portelli Graduate Unit: Department of Social Justice Education |