Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Kinesiology

In addition to Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the Faculty of Kinesiology requires:

A minimum of 9 units at the graduate level selected according to the student's background research focus and approved by the graduate supervisor and supervisory committee.

Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade)

The Faculty of Kinesiology will not permit the Flexible Grade Option (CG Grade) for students enrolled in the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees.

Students may choose the CG grade for a course taken extra to load.

The use of the CG grade will not affect students' eligibility for internal awards.

Credit for Undergraduate Courses

Graduate credit may be granted for courses offered at the 500 level at the discretion of the Associate Dean (Graduate).

Time Limit

Expected completion time is four years. Maximum completion time is six years.

Supervisory Assignments

Supervisor(s) must be identified at the time of admission for thesis-based programs. Within six months of admission, the student and supervisor(s) must select a supervisory committee according to the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ procedures. The composition of the supervisory committee must be approved by the Associate Dean (Graduate).

Research Proposal Requirements

Students whose research involves human subjects must receive approval from the University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board before beginning data collection. Research with animals must receive approval from a University Animal Care Committee.

Doctoral students are required to prepare a written thesis proposal and obtain approval from the supervisory committee. For complete details of the proposal requirements, see KNES Candidacy Requirements.

Required Examinations

In addition to the Faculty of Graduate Studies requirements, the Faculty of Kinesiology requires:

Doctoral Candidacy

Doctoral students must pass oral and written Field of Study examinations. For complete details of the examination format and other candidacy requirements, see KNES Candidacy Requirements document.

Thesis Examinations

Thesis Oral Examinations are administered according to the Faculty of Graduate Studies’ procedures and are open examinations.

Composition of the Committee

The Internal Examiner must be external to the home program.

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.

Prior to a doctoral or a Master’s thesis oral examination being scheduled, the following program requirements must be met:

The student must provide a relevant written sample of their research which is comprised of the following:

a) Table of Contents from the thesis;

b) Thesis chapter or manuscript (prepared, submitted, accepted) for publication. In cases where a thesis chapter may consist of a literature review, it must be from the thesis and not the research proposal.

The supervisor must schedule a supervisory committee meeting where the student will present their results to the supervisory committee. The meeting may take place in person, via tele- or videoconference, or as a discussion via email. The supervisor and supervisory committee members must unanimously:

a) agree the student has conducted sufficient work on their research project;

b) approve the relevant written sample of research;

c) approve the student to write their thesis and schedule a Thesis Oral Examination.

A final copy of supervisory committee meeting minutes (or relevant emails) must be submitted to the Graduate Program Office confirming that the above requirements have been met. Thesis examinations will not be approved by the Associate Dean (Graduate) until these are received.

Students in thesis-based graduate programs will receive a graduate stipend as outlined in the Kinesiology funding policy and can be found at https://kinesiology.ucalgary.ca/future-students/graduates/fees-funding.

Thesis students are expected to apply to external agencies for financial support from scholarships or studentship awards and for University of Calgary Scholarships (see Awards and Financial Assistance section of this Calendar). Possible sources of financial support are listed on the Faculty of Graduate Studies website: grad.ucalgary.ca/awards. For information on other awards, please contact the Faculty of Kinesiology Graduate Program.