Supervisory Assignments

Upon admission into a thesis-based program, a student is assigned an interim supervisor by the Graduate Program Director, either based on prior communication between the student and a prospective supervisor, or chosen from the research field the student has specified. A permanent supervisor (usually the interim supervisor) is normally appointed within two months. Supervisory committees for doctoral students are selected by consultation between the permanent supervisor and the student.

Research Proposal Requirements

PhD students will submit a more substantial thesis research proposal within 18 months of registration. The thesis proposal will be judged a pass or fail by the Supervisory Committee. The thesis research proposal must be passed before the FOS oral examination can be scheduled. Details about the thesis research proposal and the Department of Geoscience's Doctoral Candidacy Requirements can be found at https://science.ucalgary.ca/earth/current-students/graduate/procedures-policies-and-forms.

Required Examinations

Candidacy

Doctoral students have a two-hour Field of Study (FOS) oral candidacy examination that must be completed by the twenty-eighth month of the program. The FOS oral examination cannot be attempted until the written thesis research proposal has been passed by the Supervisory Committee.

Questions on the research proposal may be included in the FOS oral candidacy examination. Details of the Department of Geoscience's Doctoral Candidacy Requirements can be found at https://science.ucalgary.ca/earth/current-students/graduate/procedures-policies-and-forms.

Thesis Examination

Master of Science thesis-based and doctoral students have final thesis oral examinations that are open to the public, with a public presentation on the same day.

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements for Thesis Examinations, the Department requires:

Scheduling of the Examination

All members of the Supervisory Committee must have reviewed the student's research, including a relevant written sample of the materials related to the thesis, before an examination can be scheduled.

Composition of the Committee

The Internal Examiner may be internal to the home program.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Geoscience

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General Program Information