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Faculty of Science
UNB Fredericton

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Faculty of Science

Report and Thesis Preparation


Work with your Supervisor until your Report/Thesis draft is ready for review by the Supervisory/Advisory Committee.

The Committee may request an "internal examination", i.e. the thesis is read by two full faculty members who have not served on the student's committee.


The Supervisory/Advisory Committee reviews the thesis and suggests/requires changes, as appropriate.

Get a copy of the Step-by-Step Defense Process for your degree (MSc/PhD) and your GAU (Biology/Chemistry/Earth Sciences/Math&Stats/Physics) by emailing the Graduate Studies Coordinator.

Supervisory/Advisory Committee and the Reading Committee (if applicable) approves the thesis and choose potential Internal examiners.

The Committee Approval form is available from the Graduate Studies Coordinator, an email confirmation in lieu of the form is acceptable. 

Supervisor would email the DoGS (cc Graduate Studies Coordinator and ALL Committee members) advising of their “unanimous approval of the thesis” and listing the Examiners chosen by the committee:(the supervisor can confirm the Internal examiners only)

  • MSc = 1 Internal Examiner from students GAU; 1 External Examiner from another GAU at UNB.
  • PhD = 1 Internal Examiner from students GAU; 1 Internal Examiner from students GAU or another GAU at UNB; 1 Internal Examiner from another GAU at UNB. Send 3-4 potential External examiners to DoGS and Graduate Studies Coordinator including contact info and brief description of their expertise.  Students/Supervisors should NOT contact potential External examiners!

Student should send their thesis title; a 150-300 word abstract and CV to the Graduate Studies Coordinator.


Student provides a PDF version of their Report/Thesis to Graduate Studies Coordinator.

Graduate Studies Coordinator sends examiner letters and thesis to Examiners; compares student transcripts to Program of Study form to confirm degree requirements completed.

The Examining committee reviews the thesis (2-3 weeks) and discuss whether or not it may proceed to defence. 

Internal Examiner sends an email to the DoGS (cc Graduate Studies Coordinator; Supervisor(s) and External Examiner) agreeing they found the thesis: acceptable; or acceptable with minor changes. Indicate the date and time for the defense, agreed upon by all relevant parties.

Graduate Studies Coordinator verifies defense date with DoGS, and secures a defense chair. Drafted defense brochure will be sent to the student for review.

The defense notice is sent out 1 full week in advance to the GAU grad listserv, and Andrea & Kyle at SGS.

The student/supervisor send the TEAMS link to the Graduate Studies Coordinator


Student/Supervisor submit 3 potential External examiners, include full contact details and link to faculty website.  Supervisor notifies Graduate Studies Coordinator if they have funds to pay for the External to attend the defense in person.

Supervisor and each Internal Examiner sign a Conflict of Interest form (valid for all 3 potential External Examiners) send forms to the DoGS for signature.  Completed forms go to the Graduate Studies Coordinator. 

Graduate Studies Coordinator prepares the GAU Requirements form (green) and the SGS Nomination form for DoGS signature.

Graduate Studies Coordinator sends GAU Requirements form (green); SGS Nomination form and Conflict of Interest forms to Andrea Ruehlicke.

Graduate Studies Coordinator will notify PhD student to provide a PDF version of their Report/Thesis and Word version of their abstract and CV to Andrea Ruehlicke.

SGS will send thesis to the examiners and arrange booking the defense.


Defense & Submission

Graduate Studies Coordinator prepares the GAU Requirements form (yellow) and the MSc Report form (blue), sends to defense Chair the day before the defense.

Graduate Studies Coordinator sends reminder notice of the defense, with the TEAMS link the day before the defense.

Defense day Graduate Studies Coordinator will email student Important reminder list and copies of student forms.

Student should make all edits/corrections given by the Examining Committee.


Supervisor/Examiners approve final thesis edits and corrections, DoGS signs the GAU Requirements (yellow) form and Supervisor/Examiners/DoGS sign the MSc Report (blue) form, submit completed forms to Graduate Studies Coordinator and Andrea Ruehlicke.

Student sends PDF copy of thesis to SGS (gradthesis@unb.ca) to check formatting.

Once SGS approves thesis formatting, students submits final approved copy to SGS (gradthesis@unb.ca). SGS does not require a paper copy.

Student submits signed defense paperwork to Andrea Ruehlicke: Library Deposit; Non-Exclusive License; Harriet Irving Library Archives; and ProQuest Subject Codes.

Note: Library Deposit form requires both Student & Supervisor signatures.
Forms can be found here: https://www.unb.ca/gradstudies/current/forms.html 


The timeline involved in final PhD Thesis Review, Defense and Final Submission involves the following major steps:

SGS PhD Defense timeline

There are a variety of steps entailed in preparing the final thesis and submitting it to the SGS and it is important that students understand these clearly in order to expedite the degree completion process. Sometimes delays in completion arise because of confusion (or mistakes) in completing the final steps. In order to help facilitate the process for students, the SGS website has a section that provides step-by-step instructions (see Resources tab above). In brief, the steps entail the following:

Prior to defending the thesis:

  • Student formats thesis according to standard guidelines for thesis presentation
  • Note that templates for this are maintained by the Library to assist students in this step

Following Thesis Defence:

  • Student revises thesis and review final thesis format
  • Student submits final approved thesis to SGS
  • Director of Graduate Studies submits supporting documentation that all revisions have been satisfactorily completed and all degree requirements are complete
  • Student submits application to graduate
  • Student submits request for thesis binding (optional)
  • Student submits paperwork to deposit thesis in University Library Archive (UNB Scholar)
  • Student submits paperwork to request embargo* (optional)

*Note: requests to embargo a thesis require a detailed rationale and subject to review and approval by the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies. An embargo may be for a short duration (often 1-2 years) to allow publication of a book or monograph from the thesis or to protect intellectual property for a period of time. In no case, can an embargo exceed 4-years in duration. Additional details concerning the process for requesting an embargo and the conditions surrounding it are contained on the Thesis Embargo Form.


Check SGS Important academic dates for exact dates

Tuition :

  • end of February - submit Completed Degree Requirements to pay ½ Winter tuition
  • end of April - submit Completed Degree Requirements to not pay Summer tuition
  • end of June - submit Completed Degree Requirements to pay ½ Summer tuition
  • end of August - submit Completed Degree Requirements to not pay Fall tuition
  • end of October - submit Completed Degree Requirements to pay ½ Fall tuition
  • end of December - submit Completed Degree Requirements to not pay Winter tuition

½ term tuition: students must be registered and pay full tuition until they’ve met the mid-term deadline, then FS will retro-actively adjust to ½ term fees.

SGS Submission:

  • To be eligible for May Encaenia you must submit Completed Degree Requirements by end of March.
  • To be eligible for Fall Convocation you must submit Completed Degree Requirements by end of August.

Graduation Ceremony:

  • To graduate in the May Encaenia you must apply by March 1st.
  • To graduate in the Fall Convocation you must apply by Sept 1st.

 

“Completed Degree Requirements” means:

  •  passed oral defense
  •  examiners/supervisor approved thesis corrections/edits
  •  SGS approved thesis formatting
  •  final thesis and all defense paperwork submitted to SGS 

Final Steps

UNB/SGS no longer handles personal thesis binding. SGS recommends Lehmann Bookbinding: https://pageforpage.com 

Students can request printing and binding directly from Lehmann. Any questions can be directed to Lehmann at info@pageforpage.com.


Remember to apply online to graduate, even if you don’t plan to attend the ceremony.
https://www.unb.ca/graduation/  

Deadlines:
  • March 1st to apply online to graduate in May Encaenia
  • Sept 1st to apply online to graduate in Fall Convocation

 Dont forget to order your Regalia!


Completed Degree Requirements:
  • passed oral defense
  • supervisor agrees all edits/corrections were made
  • SGS approved formatting
  • submitted 5 student forms
  • confirmed Andrea & Grad Coordinator received signed MSc Report (blue) and GAU Requirements (yellow) forms from your Supervisor/DoGS.
  • registered to graduate

CONGRATS!


Previous students' thesis defenses