DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL AND PETROLEUM ENGINEERING

Recommendations on Candidacy Examination and Supervisory Committee

This document summarizes the recommendations approved by the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering regarding the roles and duties of the Supervisory Committee and the procedures for scheduling and running the Candidacy Examination. The recommendations entered into effect on March 16, 2007. Supervisory Committee: As per the Faculty of Graduate Studies guidelines, the supervisor should recommend a Supervisory Committee for the student thesis as soon as possible and no later than three months after the student enrolment in the Ph.D. program. The Supervisory Committee consists of three members, one of whom is the Supervisor. If a Co-supervisor and a Supervisor are appointed, the Supervisory Committee will require two other members. All members of the Supervisory Committee should be accessible to the student for consultation and advice. It is recommended that the members of the Supervisory Committee participate in periodic meetings with the student. All members of the Supervisory Committee must review and approve the thesis research proposal before scheduling the Candidacy Examination.

Candidacy Examination Students are strongly recommended to take the Candidacy Examination no later than 16 months after enrolling in the Ph.D. program. The rationale is to give the student and the supervisor the possibility of exploring other reasonable alternatives in case of failure. Note that the FGS guidelines set a maximum time of 28 months for students holding a Master degree and 36 months for those with a Bachelors degree.

Prepared by J. Azaiez (March 2007, July 2010)

Prior to scheduling the Candidacy Examination, the student must ensure that all course requirements have been met and that the thesis research proposal has been approved by all members of the Supervisory Committee. The checklist form below should be filled and signed by the student and all members of the supervisory committee. The filled form should be submitted to the Associate Head Graduate Studies before scheduling the exam. The Candidacy Examination is an oral examination. The proposed stages leading to the examination are as follows: o The student must submit a research proposal to the Supervisory Committee who will review it. The student may be required to make revisions before the proposal can be approved. o The research proposal must be formally approved by the Supervisory Committee prior to scheduling the Candidacy Exam. o The Supervisory Committee will define a list of topics relevant to the students research and area of specialization. The student must be familiar with these topics as well as engineering fundamentals (e.g. undergraduate common core courses). o If possible, the Supervisory Committee may provide the student with a list of textbooks or relevant references that can help in the preparation for the examination. o The topics must be communicated to the student at least one month before the date of the examination. o It is the responsibility of the supervisor to communicate the list of topics to all members of the examination committee once the examining committee is formed. o At the beginning of the examination, the student may give an oral presentation not exceeding ten minutes. The presentation is followed by a question period. o Questions may start by testing the basic fundamental knowledge, and progress into how this knowledge is applied to the students proposed research area. o The members of the examining committee should bear in mind that the main objective is to test the students fundamental knowledge required to successfully conduct the proposed research. The Candidacy Examination should not take more than two hours. The Neutral Chair should read the main guidelines before the start of the examination. It is the responsibility of the members of the examining committee and the neutral chair to ensure that these guidelines are followed.

Prepared by J. Azaiez (March 2007, July 2010)

Candidacy Exam Check List

(Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering)

Student Information
Student Name Date of enrolment in PhD program* (mm/yyyy)

(*) For students transferring to the PhD program after being first admitted as MSc, the date of enrollment is that of first admission as MS student.

Thesis Information
Thesis Title (tentative)

Supervisor Co-supervisor (if applicable) Specialization (cross Biomedical inapplicable) Engg. Supervisory Committee members Name 1 2 3 4

Chemical Engg.

Energy & Environment

Environmental Engg.

Petroleum Engg.

Supervisory Committee and Research Proposal

(Must be appointed within 3 months of admission or transfer into the PhD program)

(Please sign after approval of the research proposal and areas of the Candidacy Exam)

Signature

Date the committee was formed (mm/yyyy)

Courses Completed (Enter all courses completed or for which background knowledge was credited)
Required Courses ENCH701 ENCH703 Core Courses Other Courses Other Courses Other Courses

Areas of the Candidacy Exam approved by the supervisory committee

Areas Engineering Fundamental (common Core) Areas

Students Signature:

Date:

Supervisors Signature:

Date:

Prepared by J. Azaiez (March 2007, July 2010)