Supervisory Committee & Committee Meetings

The student’s supervisory committee is composed of:

• The Supervisor
• Two other faculty members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Department of Biochemistry.

The membership of the committee is determined in discussion between the student, supervisor, and prospective committee members. Its composition must be approved by the Graduate Coordinator. Any change to the composition of the committee must also have the approval of the supervisor and the Graduate Coordinator.

When selecting committee members, please note

• It is preferable, but not required, that one member is from a geographical node of the department that is distinct from that of the student.
• Students will find it helpful if at least one member of their supervisory committee is a “senior” faculty member who knows departmental and School of Graduate Studies policies.
• If the student’s project involves a collaboration within the University of Toronto, at least one member of his/her committee must be at “arms length” from the project.
• If a faculty member whom the student would like to have on his/her committee is actively engaged in the student’s research through collaboration with his/her supervisor, this individual should be listed as a co-supervisor and an additional committee member selected (for a total of four committee members).

When selecting their committee, students should keep in mind the requirements and recommendations outlined in the above section on the Composition of the Committee.

It might be quite clear to the student whom he/she would like to invite to serve on his/her committee. In this case, the student may just get approval from his/her supervisor and then ask these faculty members if they are willing to serve.

If the student is not sure whom he/she would like to invite to serve on the committee, he/she may solicit suggestions from his/her supervisor and other students in the lab or cognate labs. The student should make a list and discuss these potential committee members with his/her supervisor to decide on the most appropriate faculty members to ask to serve.

The student must obtain approval of the committee membership from the graduate coordinator prior to the first committee meeting.

Before scheduling the first committee meeting, students must ensure they have obtained approval of the committee membership from the graduate coordinator.

Once a committee meeting date has been confirmed, the student should contact carrie.harber@utoronto.ca, who will prepare the Supervisory Committee Meeting Report Form that the student will also need to bring to the meeting.

First Meeting:

Within 6-8 months of initial registration
September Entrants: Year 1 March-May
January Entrants: Year 1 July-September

Second Meeting:

14-16 months into the program
September Entrants:Year 2 October-December
January Entrants: Year 2 March-May

Pre-Transfer Meeting (For MSc students who wish to Transfer to the PhD program):

17-20 months into the program
The Department will contact students to determine if they are planning to transfer. This Committee meeting will also include the Chair of the student's Transfer Exam as assigned by the department.
September Entrants: Year 2 January-April, Transfer Exam scheduled May/June
January Entrants: Year 2 May-August, Transfer Exam scheduled October/November

Subsequent Meetings (MSc and PhD):

Students completing the MSc must meet at least once every six months after the second committee meeting until the degree is completed.

Students who have successfully completed a Transfer Exam or Qualifying Exam must meet at least once every 12 months.

Beyond year five, PhD students must have a committee meeting every six months until the student has been given permission to write their dissertation to help ensure that the degree is completed in a timely fashion. The committee meeting held at the 48-month mark must clearly address the issue of what remains to be done to complete the PhD degree. The Committee Meeting Report must spell out the expectations and time lines for completion explicitly.

FINAL Committee Meeting and Permission to Write (MSc and PhD):

For both MSc and PhD students, the Supervisory Committee gives the student permission to write up the thesis at the final committee meeting.

All students who have approval to begin writing their thesis must complete and submit a Permission to Write Form. The Permission to Write Form should be completed no later than three months after a committee meeting IF AND ONLY IF it is explicitly written in the last committee meeting report that the committee will give ‘Permission to Write’ upon completion of a small number of specified experiments. Students must attach a copy of the last committee meeting report and a summary of the results of the requested experiments prior to obtaining signatures. Beyond three months, the Supervisor must also include a letter of explanation of the delay.

Forms will not be accepted beyond 5 months of the last committee meeting. Another Committee meeting must be scheduled.

Progress Report

The purpose of the committee meeting Progress Report is to effectively and efficiently update your committee with your progress to date.

As such its content will reflect the stage of your work. For example, the first report will likely have more introductory material to present the scientific problem and the reason for your project, while subsequent reports may include a more limited introduction but enough to understand the aims and progress. Reports should also mention proposed experiments for the future.

The report should be provided to your committee no less than 2 ‘working’ days before the meeting. Most PIs prefer electronic versions, but offer to provide a paper copy.

Please adhere to the following format:

No more than 4 pages of single spaced text
No more that 4 figures of data appended (they can be multi-panel if appropriate)
No more than 1 page of references, but the report should be referenced.

Committee Meeting Form

Once you have confirmed a committee meeting date, please contact the Graduate Program Administrator, carrie.harber@utoronto.ca, who will prepare your Supervisory Committee Meeting Report Form that you will need to bring to the meeting.

After your Committee Meeting, you will need to return the original completed Committee Meeting Report Form and a hard copy of your Progress Report to the Graduate Program Administrator.