Chapter 13 - Thesis Defense Format & Time Line

Please refer to the Master's Student Thesis Completion Instructions for step-by-step guidelines and timelines to prepare for your thesis defense.  This information is AVAILABLE HERE 

The thesis defense occurs as follows:

  1. After the Candidate, the Examiners and the Chair have all been introduced to each other, the Candidate is asked to leave the room.
  2. The Chair reads the reports on the thesis written by each Examiner, asks for any clarification, and discusses the procedures that will be followed during the exam.
  3. The Candidate is asked to return to the room. MSc students are then asked to give a brief (10-20 minutes) presentation about their thesis. This is not a part of the MA defense for students in Socio-Cultural Studies.
  4. Questioning then begins. Each Examiner takes 15-20 minutes to ask their questions. The order of questioning is: external examiner, internal examiner, head or delegate, supervisor.
  5. There may be two rounds of questioning.
  6. When all questions are completed the Candidate will be asked to leave the room.
  7. The Chair will ask the examiners to discuss the candidate’s thesis and performance during the defense. Examiners will be asked to choose one of the three categories of results: passed, referred, failed.
  8. The Candidate will be asked to return to the room and will be told the result.
  9. The Candidate and the Chair will sign the necessary forms as provided by the SKHS Graduate Assistant and required by the Grad School.
  10. The Chair will provide all completed documentation to the SKHS Graduate Assistant for final processing to SGS.