MSc Thesis and Defense
Each MSc candidate must present a thesis and pass an oral examination on his/her research and related aspects of biochemistry in order to complete the degree. The University and the Department accept the statements that the Master’s degree should be considered as certification to two attributes: familiarity with a body of knowledge, and acquaintance with the methods of research which will permit at least a beginning of systematic and independent inquiry. The MSc thesis should not be required to contain a finished piece of research, but should be a competent report of the student’s mastery of certain relevant techniques and their application to a specific problem.
Students Finishing their Degree should also consult the page on Final Year Fees and Funding.
Process Overview
The following outlines the general process students will follow to complete their MSc Thesis and Examination. Additional information on each step may be found in the tabs below. Please also consult the SGS Guidelines on Program Completion for further detail and formal policy wording, and consult with the Graduate Program Team as you progress.
All forms are available through request to the Graduate Program Administrator, Carrie Harber, carrie.harber@utoronto.ca.
- Obtain Permission to Write from the Supervisory Committee.
- Within 4 months, Write, Revise, and Submit the Thesis (~3 months); Request, Schedule, and Complete Examination (~1 month).
- Schedule the Examination. Students must allow for 4 weeks between Submission of the Thesis and Request for Examination Form and the Examination Date.
- Minimum 10 days prior to Examination: distribute Thesis to Examiners.
- Examination Date: 20 minute Presentation and Questions from Examining Committee.
- Post-Exam Requirements: Submit any corrections as requested by the Examining Committee.
- Submission of Final Thesis.
Permission to Write
Permission to Write
When nearing completion of experimental work (typically at 20-24 months), the student must schedule a Supervisory Committee meeting to obtain approval to write his/her thesis. Permission to Write must be indicated explicitly on the Final Committee Meeting Report Form and via a signed and dated Permission to Write Form. This signifies that the student, Supervisor, and Supervisory Committee members agree that the experimental work required for the thesis has been completed.
Writing and Revising
Format and Structure of the Written Thesis - Please see Guidelines below
The Process
A student will have four months between receiving Permission to Write the thesis and the date of the MSc Oral Examination. This includes three months to write, revise, and obtain approval from the supervisor and committee members via Thesis Approval and Exam Request Forms, and one month for the exam to be scheduled and completed.
Except under exceptional circumstances and provided that the SGS time limit has not been exceeded, all students will be expected to maintain their full-time (on campus) status in their respective laboratories until their thesis is complete. Completeness means that the thesis has been approved by the Supervisory Committee and has been submitted to the members of the Senate Oral Committee.
Time frames will vary depending on the number of revisions required, the availability of committee members, and the student’s writing skills. However, if the MSc Oral Examination and any required corrections/modifications to the thesis (including final submission to the SGS) have not been completed within four months of receiving Permission to Write, the graduate stipend may be withdrawn.
If the student feels that additional time will be required to complete the thesis (i.e. the four month deadline between Permission to Write and MSc Oral Examination is approaching), the student should discuss this with his/her supervisor well before the deadline and apply to the Chair and/or Graduate Coordinator for an extension. The supervisor may agree to continue funding if there is clear evidence of continued progress towards completion of the thesis.
In the event of unusual delays (e.g. health problems, family crisis etc.), the student should consult with the Graduate Coordinator.
Editorial Input from the Supervisor
It is expected that the student will consult with his/her Supervisor and, where appropriate, with Supervisory Committee members throughout the planning and writing of the thesis. The student should include in his/her discussions with his/her Supervisor the time frame expected for completion of various stages of the thesis as well as the total time required.
Throughout the preparation of the written document, the student should be in regular consultation with his/her Supervisor. It is not unusual for a student to submit individual chapters to his/her Supervisor once they have been completed. Indeed, the editorial input of the Supervisor during the writing of the MSc thesis is considered to be an essential part of the student’s training.
It is reasonable for the student to expect to receive comments from his/her Supervisor and Supervisory Committee members within two weeks after providing them with the thesis. If agreeable with the Supervisor and Supervisory Committee members, it may be more expeditious to seek approval on a chapter-by-chapter basis rather than waiting until the entire thesis is written.
Thesis Approval Form
When the student has completed about three-quarters of the thesis, the student should pick up the MSc Defense Package, which contains the Thesis Approval Form and Exam Request Form from the Graduate Program Administrator. The Supervisor will read the complete draft of the thesis and discuss the necessary changes/corrections with the student.
Once the Supervisor has approved the thesis by signing a Thesis Approval Form, the student gives a copy to each member of the Supervisory Committee. The Supervisory Committee members must read and approve the thesis by signing the Thesis Approval Form before an exam can be scheduled.
Organizing the Examination and Examining Committee
As the Thesis Defense examination reflects the culmination of the student's full program, the examination will not be scheduled until:
- the student has completed all course and seminar requirements;
- the thesis has been approved to go forward to an oral defense;
- the Graduate Program Administrator has received the fully signed Permission to Write (via Final Committee Meeting Report or Permission to Write Form), Thesis Approval Form, and Exam Request Form;
- and the Graduate Program Administrator has received an electronic version of the thesis abstract.
The student will have a maximum of 4 months from the Permission to Write date to prepare his/her thesis and undergo the Defense. Scheduling of the exam will take approximately 1 month, so the Thesis Approval Form and Exam Request Form must be submitted within 3 months of Permission to Write.
Exam Request Form
Once the Supervisory Committee members have read and approved the thesis via the Thesis Approval Form, the student can begin completing the Exam Request Form. This form will include the proposed membership of the Examining Committee. Once the Exam Request Form has been completed and signed by the student and supervisor, it must be brought to the Graduate Program Administrator who will seek approval by the Graduate Coordinator.
Membership of the Examining Committee
Although the student and his/her supervisor give suggestions for the composition of the Examining Commitee on the Exam Request Form, the composition is not final until approved by the Graduate Coordinator. Students must keep in mind that the Graduate Program Administrator must confirm the time and date of the examination with everyone on the Examining Commitee. If someone is unavailable, the Graduate Program Administrator will check with the student’s alternative choices for members of the Examining Commitee.
The Examining Commitee will normally consist of at least 6 faculty members and have the following composition:
- the Supervisor;
- the Co-Supervisor (if relevant);
- all members of the Supervisory Committee;
- one other Biochemistry faculty member or faculty member from a cognate department who has not been involved with the supervision of the thesis or collaborated on the work therein;
- and a Chair drawn from the faculty members of the Biochemistry Department.
Exam Day
The MSc Thesis Defense examination
At the beginning of the exam the student will give an oral presentation of 20-minutes length summarizing the work that has been done. This will be followed by questions from the committee members.
In addition to a high level of proficiency on his/her thesis topic, the student will be expected to show reasonable knowledge of the principles of general biochemistry. Generally, most questions deal with the background for the project, the design and interpretation of the experiments, and future directions.
The Vote
At the end of the examination, the student will be asked to leave and all members of the Examining Committee, including the Chair, will vote. A quorum is four, which must include one member of the Examining Committee who is not on the student’s Supervisory Committee. In recommending that the student be awarded the MSc degree, the committee will also decide on the student’s eligibility for entry into the department’s PhD program.
The vote takes into consideration the thesis research, the written document, and the defense.
A passing vote can include the requirement for minor corrections. The Chair of the Examining Committee will decide, in consultation with the Examining Committee, who is responsible for approving these corrections.
If there is more than one negative vote, the MSc degree will not be granted. The student may request one opportunity to present a revised version of the thesis. Such a re-evaluation requires that the student defend the revised thesis at a reconvened examination. The membership of a reconvened Examining Committee will normally be the same as the original one.
The Chair of the Examining Committee will provide the student with a verbal summary of the post-exam discussion and will provide the Graduate Coordinator with a Chair's Summary Form, a written summary of the examination proceedings.
After the Exam
Upon satisfactory completion of the student’s examination, the Graduate Coordinator will forward an MSc Degree Recommendation Form to the School of Graduate Studies. Before doing this, the Graduate Coordinator must have received the Chair’s Summary Form stating that the committee agreed that the student had passed the defense.
Also, if any corrections are required, the Chair of the Examining Commitee or her/his designate must confirm in writing that the corrections have been made satisfactorily.
Final Submission of the Thesis
Prior to final submission of the thesis, the student must ensure they have:
1. Completed any corrections or modifications required by the Examining Committee. The Chair of the Examining Committee or her/his designate must confirm in writing to the Graduate Coordinator that the corrections have been made satisfactorily.
2. Obtained confirmation that the MSc Degree Recommendation Form has been sent by the Graduate Coordinator to the School of Graduate Studies
3. Obtained any required copyright permissions. This may require inclusion of a line of text at the beginning of the Results Chapters, if they’ve been published.
4. Formatted the thesis according to SGS guidelines.
The student must submit the final thesis in an Electronic Thesis/ Dissertation (ETD) format to the School of Graduate Studies through T-Space the University’s digital library repository, along with payment of the required thesis processing fee. Students can register as a digital library repository user at any time, but to submit an ETD, the Graduate Program Completion Office must have written confirmation that the thesis is in final form and approved. If any restrictions to the release of the thesis content are required, please consult with procedures outlined here.
The department requests that the student also produce a bound copy of his/her thesis for addition to the departmental library of theses housed in the departmental seminar room.
Thesis Document
Guidelines for Sections, Style, and Format of Thesis
During the writing process, students may find it useful to consult previous theses from their labs or to check past theses collected in the departmental seminar room.
A Master’s thesis generally includes the following sections:
Preliminary Materials
- Abstract
- Table of Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- List of Abbreviations
Introduction (in which the pertinent literature is reviewed and the thesis problem, hypothesis, or rationale is stated)
Materials and Methods The thesis should include sufficient methodological detail to ensure that the work could be readily reproduced.
Results The student must obtain any required copyright permissions, which may be needed for work that has been published. Journals often require specifically-worded citations to be included on the first page of the relevant Results Chapter. The student will need to submit the copyright permissions to SGS when submitting the final thesis.If any one other than the student has contributed data to the thesis he/she should clearly state this on the title page of the relevant Results Chapter(s). The student should indicate the nature of the contribution (e.g. technical assistance under the student’s guidance; independent design and interpretation of specific experiments in the Chapter, etc.). Projects-in-progress and/or negative results may be presented. All figures should be presented as high-quality reproductions and should be accompanied by figure legends. The quality of halftone figures must allow for unambiguous assessment of the data.
Discussion
Conclusions or Summary
Future Directions
Bibliography Most examiners prefer that the bibliography include titles.
Appendices Appendices may be included to cover such topics as additional details pertaining to Methods; speculative ideas; projects-in-progress; and/or negative results.
Formatting
The student must ensure the final thesis is formatted according to SGS Formatting guidelines.
The student must not hard-bind the thesis prior to submission of the Final Thesis (coil-binding is acceptable prior to Final Copy).