Examination
The purpose of the Master’s Thesis Oral Defence and the Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination is for the student to independently defend their thesis/dissertation. The defence/examination is also intended to serve as confirmation of the student’s knowledge of the research topic within the context of their field(s) of study.
In order to safeguard and promote the quality of graduate education, all students in thesis-based graduate programs must defend their thesis/dissertation in an oral examination before the degree can be granted. Defences and examinations are approved by the College of Graduate Studies.
Prior to the final defence, candidates must have fulfilled all coursework, examination and language requirements of the degree program. Master’s students may complete required coursework by the end of the term in which the defence is scheduled. It is the responsibility of the candidate’s graduate program to ensure that all requirements have been met and that the candidate’s language proficiency is sufficient for the examination to be conducted with full communication between the committee and the candidate.
Both the Master’s Thesis Oral Defence and the Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination are considered public events at UBC Okanagan and, as such, will be conducted in English.
To schedule an exam, create a committee or request approval for an examiner, please see the Supervisors, Supervisory Committees, and Graduate Program Coordinators section of our Graduate Policy and Procedure Manual and use the forms found below.
Final Master's Thesis Oral Defence
The following dates allow a student sufficient time to complete the thesis defence process, based on a successful defence and only minor revisions.
Students may initiate the process at any time, and have four periods to be considered for degree conferral (February, May, September or November).
December 8: Last date for submission of documents/thesis to initiate a defence
January 5: Last date for the defence
January 19: Last date for submission of final documents/thesis for formatting review
January 30: Last date for the final thesis to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
March 5: Last date for submission of documents/thesis to initiate a defence
April 2: Last date for the defence
April 16: Last date for submission of final documents/thesis for formatting review
April 30: Last date for the final thesis to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
July 5: Last date for submission of documents/thesis to initiate a defence
August 6: Last date for the defence
August 19: Last date for submission of final documents/thesis for formatting review
August 30: Last date for the final thesis to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
September 9: Last date for submission of documents/thesis to initiate a defence
October 7: Last date for the defence
October 21: Last date for submission of final documents/thesis for formatting review
October 31: Last date for the final thesis to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
October 28: Last date for submission of documents/thesis to initiate a defence
November 25: Last date for the defence
December 9: Last date for submission of final documents/thesis for formatting review
December 18: Last date for the final thesis to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
Final Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination
The following dates provide a guideline for students to complete the dissertation examination process, based on a successful examination and only minor revisions.
Students may initiate the process at any time, and have four periods to be considered for degree conferral (February, May, September, or November).
October 27: Last date for supervisor to submit the Request for Approval
of Proposed External Examiner
November 24: Last date for submission of documents/dissertation to initiate an examination
January 5: Last date for the exam
January 19: Last date for submission of final documents/dissertation for formatting review
January 30: Last date for the final dissertation to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
January 22: Last date for supervisor to submit the Request for Approval
of Proposed External Examiner
February 19: Last date for submission of documents/dissertation to initiate an examination
April 2: Last date for the exam
April 16: Last date for submission of final documents/dissertation for formatting review
April 30: Last date for the final dissertation to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
May 27: Last date for supervisor to submit the Request for Approval
of Proposed External Examiner
June 24: Last date for submission of documents/dissertation to initiate an examination
August 6: Last date for the exam
August 19: Last date for submission of final documents/dissertation for formatting review
August 30: Last date for the final dissertation to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
July 29: Last date for supervisor to submit the Request for Approval
of Proposed External Examiner
August 26: Last date for submission of documents/dissertation to initiate an examination
October 7: Last date for the exam
October 21: Last date for submission of final documents/dissertation for formatting review
October 31: Last date for the final dissertation to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
September 16: Last date for supervisor to submit the Request for Approval
of Proposed External Examiner
October 14: Last date for submission of documents/dissertation to initiate an examination
November 25: Last date for the exam
December 9: Last date for submission of final documents/dissertation for formatting review
December 18: Last date for the final dissertation to be approved by the College of Graduate Studies
Scheduling Considerations
Program completion:
When all program requirements are completed, including uploading your final thesis/dissertation to cIRcle, and thesis/dissertation formatting is approved by the College of Graduate Studies.
Degree conferral:
When your degree is officially conferred by Senate, when you can use your credential, and when your parchment will be available.
POINTS TO REMEMBER:
- You can complete your program at any time during the year as long as your coursework is completed and you have successfully defended a thesis/dissertation.
- Convocation is held in June of each year and you may choose to attend or not.
- In order to graduate/have your degree conferred, a student must apply online through Workday. Please note that application deadlines differ from the deadline dates above.
- More information on Graduation and Convocation
- Tuition and fees will continue to be assessed until your program is complete and closed out. If you have not paid the minimum number of tuition installments for the program, the remaining installments will be charged to you when your program is closed out.
- It is highly advisable to plan to schedule your defence/exam prior to or after the summer months of July and August given the unavailability of many faculty members. For the same reason, it is highly advisable to schedule your defence/exam prior to or after the month of December.
Defence and Examination Scheduling Forms
Timeline to Defence Graphic: Master’s Thesis
Request for Approval of Proposed External Examiner Form
Master’s examining committees typically include a University Examiner rather than an External Examiner. If the proposed University Examiner of a Master’s thesis is external to UBC, the External Examiner approval form must be submitted to the Dean of CoGS at least 6 weeks prior to the proposed exam date.
Notice of Master’s Thesis Oral Examination
This form is to be completed by the supervisor and submitted to the Graduate Program Assistant together with an electronic version of the thesis by the program’s internal deadline. The Graduate Program Assistant sends this Notice and the thesis to CoGS to initiate the scheduling of the defence no later than 4 weeks prior to the proposed defence date. Once the thesis has been distributed, the examination has formally begun and there should be no discussion of the substance or quality of the thesis among examiners or between the examiners and the student (or anyone else).
Master’s Thesis Oral Examination Announcement
All oral defences are public events at UBC Okanagan; as such, the Announcement form is used to generate promotional materials for the defence, including posting to the UBC Events Calendar. The supervisor must complete this form and submit it to the Graduate Program Assistant by the program’s internal deadline. The Graduate Program Assistant must send the Announcement to CoGS no later than 4 weeks prior to the proposed defence date.
Final Master’s Thesis Oral Examination – Neutral Chair’s Report
This form is sent to the Neutral Chair by the supervisor (or by the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) prior to the defence date. This form is used at the defence to record the voting outcome by the examining committee on the thesis and oral exam.
Master’s Thesis Approval and Program Completion Form
This form is completed and sent by the supervisor (or by the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) to the Neutral Chair prior to the examination. Decisions as to who will sign and who will withhold signatures on the form will be made by the examining committee once the outcome of the examination has been determined.
Master’s Thesis Oral Examination Neutral Chair Responsibilities & Procedures
This document is sent to the Neutral Chair by the supervisor (or by the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) prior to the examination. It explains the Neutral Chair’s responsibilities and lists the step-by-step procedures for the Neutral Chair to follow during and after the exam.
The supervisor (or the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) should send the Neutral Chair the link to the voting ballots prior to the defence. If attending the defence in person, the Neutral Chair should bring sufficient printed ballots to allow for several rounds of voting.
Final Oral Examination Committee Member Report
This form is used only in cases where the examiners are unable to achieve unanimity regarding the thesis and/or the oral defence, or if the examiners choose “fail” on either the written thesis or the oral defence; each examination committee member (including the University Examiner) must provide a confidential report to the College of Graduate Studies explaining the reasons for their recommendation within five business days.
Timeline to Defence Graphic: Doctoral Oral Examination
External Examiner Email Notification Request Example
This is a sample email that the supervisor can use when sending the invitation and the request for a c.v. to an External Examiner.
Request for Approval of Proposed External Examiner Form
This form is to be used by a supervisor who is requesting the approval of a proposed External Examiner, and must be submitted to the Dean of CoGS at least 10 weeks prior to the proposed exam date.
Notice of Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination
This form is to be completed by the supervisor and submitted to the Graduate Program together with an electronic version of the dissertation by the program’s internal deadline. The Graduate Program Assistant sends this Notice and the dissertation to CoGS to initiate the scheduling of the defence no later than 6 weeks prior to the proposed defence date. Once the dissertation has been distributed, the examination has formally begun and there should be no discussion of the substance or quality of the dissertation among examiners or between the examiners and the student (or anyone else).
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination Announcement
All oral defences are considered public events at UBC Okanagan; and as such, the Announcement form is used to generate promotional materials for the exam, including posting to the UBC Events Calendar. The supervisor must complete this form and send it to the Graduate Program by their internal deadline. The Graduate Program Assistant must send the Announcement to CoGS no later than 6 weeks prior to the proposed defence date.
Final Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination – Neutral Chair’s Report
This form is sent to the Neutral Chair from the supervisor prior to the examination date. This form will be used at the defence to record the voting outcome by the examining committee on the thesis and oral exam.
Doctoral Dissertation Approval and Program Completion Form
This form is completed and sent by the supervisor (or Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) to the Neutral Chair prior to the examination. Decisions as to who will sign and who will withhold signatures on the form will be made by the examining committee once the outcome of the examination has been determined.
Doctoral Dissertation Oral Examination Neutral Chair Responsibilities & Procedures
This document is sent to the Neutral Chair by the supervisor (or by the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) prior to the examination. It explains the Neutral Chair’s responsibilities and lists the step-by-step procedures for the Neutral Chair to follow during and after the exam.
The supervisor (or the Graduate Program Assistant, depending on the program’s internal processes) must send the Neutral Chair the link to the voting ballots prior to the defence. If attending in person, the Neutral Chair should bring sufficient printed ballots to allow for several rounds of voting.
Final Oral Examination Committee Member Report
This form is used only in cases where the examiners are unable to achieve unanimity regarding the dissertation and/or the oral defence, or if the examiners choose “fail” on either the written dissertation or the oral defence; each examination committee member (including the External Examiner and University Examiner) must provide a confidential report to the College of Graduate Studies explaining the reasons for their recommendation within five business days.