sfu thesis defence

Simon Fraser University Engaging the World

School of engineering science.

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Thesis and Defence

Keep in mind to submit any forms in the correct signature convention . 

On this Page

• Exam Committee

Defence Process

• Thesis Publication Postponement
• Archived Thesis at SFU Library

Composition of   Exam Committee

Exam Committee is not equivalent to Supervisory Committee .

According to General Graduate Regulation  1.2 , supervisory committee helps the student define and develop a program of studies and reports on the student’s progress to the graduate program committee. The supervisory committee forms  part of  the student’s final examination committee.

The examining committee is to ensure that the student receives a fair and rigorous examination and that the University's policies and requirements are met. 

Please ensure you have updated your supervisory committee by  submitting the paperwork  before requesting for defence. Any inconsistency of the exam committee with the supervisory committee WILL CAUSE DELAY in processing the defence request.

Click to expand section.

Masters defence exam committee.

According to General Graduate Regulation 1.9.1 , The masters examining committee for examinations shall have the following minimum composition :

• A non-voting chair who is a faculty member at SFU, while is not a member of the student’s supervisory committee.
• All members of the student’s supervisory committee.
• An examiner who is a member of faculty, or a person suitably qualified, who is not a member of the student's supervisory committee. 

PhD Defence Exam Committee

According to General Graduate Regulation  1.9.3 , the PhD examining committee for examinations shall have the following  minimum composition :

• A  non-voting chair  who is a faculty member at SFU, while is not a member of the student’s supervisory committee.
• All members  of the student’s supervisory committee.
• An external examiner who shall be specifically qualified in the field of the thesis and not be a faculty member at SFU.

The minimum composition for the supervisory committee consists  the supervisor (or co-supervisors)  and  at least one committee member  chosen in consultation with the student. The committee member must be internal to Simon Fraser University serving as a faculty member, adjunct professor or research associate. A suitably qualified individual who is not in those positions (eg. professors external to SFU) may be eligible to serve as an additional committee member (i.e. you must have an internal committee member to include an external committee member) . 

Scheduling defence is a rigorous process with lots of deadlines. Please allow at least 3 business days of turnaround time for the graduate program committee chair's signature for any forms. Therefore, we encourage you to include the turnaround time into the deadlines mentioned in this section, or submit any finalized paperwork and forms as soon as they are ready. 

SUBMIT PAPERWORK

If you wish to defend, discuss with your supervisor and the following documents should be  submitted by your supervisor on behalf of you. 

• Form for Masters Defence 
• Form for PhD Defence
• Finalized Version of Student's Thesis for PhD, or Thesis Abstract for MASc
• A full, comprehensive external examiner CV if the examiner is not from SFU; or
• A bio for non-faculty committee members being added
• All research plans involving human or animal subjects must receive ethics approval. Read more on GS' website .
• A project will be scheduled for Research Ethics Board (REB) review only when the Office of Research Ethics (ORE) determines that the information and materials submitted are sufficient to enable the REB to make an informed review of the ethical acceptability of the research.
• The letter should expire after proposed defence date, or else the request will not be approved. 

For MASc students, completed paperwork must be provided to the Graduate Program Assistant  a minimum of 4 weeks  prior to your defence. 

For PhD students, completed paperwork and your thesis must be provided to the Graduate Program Assistant  a minimum of 6 weeks  prior to your defence.

*The deadline for PhD defence is a HARD DEADLINE ; we will need to allow as much time as possible for the external examiner to review the thesis since their participation is voluntary. 

There is no guarantee your request will be approved if the request is submitted less than 4 - 6 weeks prior to your proposed defence date. We encourage you to submit the paperwork early for admirative processing. For more information, please visit GS’s website:  Masters Defence    PhD Defence .

Do not forget to  apply for graduation . The deadline to apply for graduation can be found on  GS's website .

AFTER SUBMITTING THE PAPERWORK

The request will follow the process below:

• Graduate Studies (GS) will the review and approve the request and confirm the thesis is ready to be defended.
• The Graduate Program Assistant will proceed with room booking if the defence is held in-person.
• For PhD defences, GS will distribute the thesis to the exam committee. 
• For MASc defence, the supervisor should distribute the thesis. 
• Graduate Program Assistant will send reminder to exam committee and advertise the defence to the School one week prior to the defence. 

POST DEFENCE

• You will revise your thesis and get approval from your supervisor about the revision completion.
• Your supervisor will sign the  Results, Approval & Degree Recommendation (RAD)  from and return the form to the Graduate Program Assistant for the Graduate program Committee chair's signature. The assistant will send a copy of the signed form to you afterwards.
• You will submit the finalized version of your thesis to the library's  Thesis Registration System by   deadline , along with the RAD form. For the Fall term, the deadline is the last working day before the holiday closure (usually December 23 or 24) at 12 noon (PST). 

PREPARING THE RAD

• The RAD form will be prepared and send to the exam committee chair by the Graduate Program Assistant prior to the defence.
• The student completed the defence. The exam committee shall provide comments to the student thesis and vote for the result.
• The  exam committee chair shall collect the signatures of all exam committee members  during the defence on the RAD form "examination result" section, then  return the signed form to student's supervisor . 
• The  supervisor  shall sign under "approval & degree recommendation" section and send the RAD to Graduate Program Assistant at  [email protected] .
• The Graduate Program Assistant will return the RAD form signed by the graduate program committee chair to the supervisor and the student.
• The student makes the subsequent changes to the thesis with the exam committee's comments and submit the finalized thesis.

As per the Library and Graduate Studies' update, the graduate program committee chair's signature is NOW REQUIRED upon students' thesis submission. 

For assistance with defence procedures, please email the Graduate Program Assistant at  [email protected] .

Thesis publication postponement 

A  postponement  will delay the inclusion of a thesis in the institutional repository for a period of 12 months from the end of the term in which the thesis is submitted to the Library, in order to protect confidential commercial information, patentable material, pending application, or where immediate commercial publication in a restrictive venue is anticipated. 

A postponement request should be made in writing at least 30 days  prior  to submission of the thesis to the Library.  The submission process and timeline remains the same, however, a copy of the thesis or project shall not be made available in the Library institutional repository during the restricted period.

In order to receive a postponement, please complete the  Thesis postponement of publication request form  and email it to  [email protected] . If approved, this form needs to be included in your submission to the library thesis registration system and “Postponement being requested” must be selected to “yes.” Please also email  [email protected]  with your approved postponement form attached so that the library can set the postponement.

Note: If these steps are not followed, your thesis will be published and accessible online.

Simon Fraser University Engaging the World

Mechatronic systems engineering.

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Please read this page in full before submitting a request.

Mse thesis defence guide.

⌚ 15 min read 📆 Last updated: August 2024

💻 Make sure you are enrolled in your thesis course

Students need to be enrolled in their thesis course every term, including the term in which they are defending their thesis .

MSE 898 - MASc Thesis

Upon admission to the MASc program, students must enroll in this course each term until they defend their thesis.

Graded on a satisfactory/unsatisfactory basis.

Prerequisite: N/a

MSE 899 - PhD Thesis

Upon completing their Qualifying Examination, all PhD students must enroll in this course each term until they defend their thesis. 

Prerequisite:  MSE 890 - PhD Qualifying Examination (PhD students must pass their Qualifying Exam before defending their thesis.)

💻 Finish writing your thesis

The Library's Theses Office assists students with formatting their theses for submission to the Library and for publication. Students must follow the formatting rules outlined on the Library's Thesis Resources page prior to submitting their thesis to MSE.

You can find information on copyright, ethics approval, and thesis intake appointments on the Library's website.

Another good resource is Graduate Studies' website:

• Doctoral degree thesis
• Master's degree thesis

✅ Send your thesis to your supervisory committee

Once you have completed your thesis, please share it with your supervisory committee as soon as possible. Your committee members will need time to review your thesis and confirm with you that it is ready to be defended.

Examiners (internal or external to SFU) are not a part of your supervisory committee. Supervisory committee members cannot serve as examiners on examining committees as per GGR 1.9.1c .

Students are not allowed to contact their external examiners. If you are a PhD student, your thesis will be shared with your external examiner by the Graduate Studies office.

📅 Schedule your defence consulting your committee

Finding a date when all your examining committee members are available could be a difficult task. Please make sure to discuss possible dates with your committee as soon as possible. It is common for external examiners (applicable to PhD students only) to join from another time zone.

The defence should be scheduled at least 5 business days before the library deadline. This will allow you to have enough time to work on potential revisions.

Defences should be scheduled at least 5 business days before the library thesis submission deadline.

Please schedule your defence during MSE admin staff's office hours , Monday to Friday 9am-4pm (excluding Canadian statutory holidays, when the University is closed). Should you wish to defend outside of this window, your Supervisor or defence chair will be responsible for facilitating the meeting.

🎓 Apply for Graduation

Students need to apply to graduate through the goSFU in order to graduate.

When to Apply?

You can apply for graduation before defending your thesis. Please refer to the Dates + Deadlines page for the current term's deadline.

Checking the status of your application

Please refer to the Completing + Graduation page for instructions on checking the status of a previously submitted application.

Graduation application deadline for the Fall 2024 term is  

December 13, 2024

Apply for graduation, 📘 postponing thesis publication, do you need the publication of your thesis to be postponed due to ip concerns or a pending patent.

If you wish to postpone your thesis publication, you must submit a request form at least 30 days before your defence . Please follow the instructions on the Thesis Regulations + Forms page.

"A postponement will delay the inclusion of a thesis in the institutional repository and from copying for a period of 12 months from the date of examination of the thesis. Postponement requests are normally approved if made for the following reasons: if there is real and immediate risk to researchers or collaborators; patent pending or protection of intellectual property; publication pending in restrictive venue. A postponement request must be made in writing prior to the submission to the Library." GGR 1.11.3

Submitting a postponement request does NOT change your library thesis submission deadline. Students who wish to postpone their thesis publication date are still required to submit their theses by the same library deadlines as students who do not wish to postpone their publication.

📥 submit your thesis defence request.

MASc students need to submit their requests at least

before the defence date.

MASc Thesis Defense Documents

• Examining Committee Form (will be submitted by your supervisor)
• Academic Progress Report
• Thesis (final version)
• Ethics Approval Letter (if applicable) If you need to change the thesis title after the ethics approval letter has been granted, an updated letter must be requested and submitted along with the original ethics approval letter.
• Thesis publication postponement form (if applicable)

PhD students need to submit their requests at least

PhD Thesis Defense Documents

• External Examiner's CV (submitted by your senior supervisor)
• Thesis presentation slides (will be shared with your external examiner)

Please submit your thesis defence request (including the required documents) via CourSys using the link below.  Requests and/or documents submitted via email are not accepted.

CourSys: Submit Thesis Defence Request

• Once you submit your thesis defence request on CourSys, your Graduate Program Assistant will make sure that the forms are filled out correctly. Signatures typed with a handwriting style font or missing information can delay processing.
• The GPA will forward complete thesis defence requests to MSE Graduate Program Chair for approval and signature.
• The GPA will then forward the GPC-approved defence request to Graduate Studies office. Students will receive email confirmation from MSE when the thesis defence request has been forwarded to GS.

👩‍🏫 Attending Your Defence

Remote defences.

The candidate will be added to the Zoom meeting as an alternative host, so you will be able to start your own meeting. Once the defence chair joins the call, they will be made "host" of the call.

In-Person/Hybrid  Defences

The room will be available to you 1 hour prior to your defence time. Please arrive early to claim your lapel mic and do a tech check. If you experience technical difficulties, you can call the IT department using the landline phone located near the classroom door.

Doors will be closed during your defence, so late comers may not be allowed in. Late guests may be allowed to enter the Zoom room on the defence chair's discretion.

Video and audio recordings of defence proceedings are strictly prohibited according to the Graduate General Regulations.  The public portion of the examination can be recorded if permission is sought ahead of time. All members of the examining committee and the student must agree. All the participants including the audience must be aware of the recording. Please email  [email protected]   for approval.

📝 Potential Thesis Revisions

• It is common for an examining committee to ask students to revise their thesis after the defence. Please account for the time you might need to spend on revisions prior to submitting your thesis to the Library.
• Your RAD form (filled + signed) will be emailed to you by your GPA once it has been signed by your examining committee members, your supervisor and the GPC. Note that your thesis revisions need to be complete in order to receive supervisory signature.

Results, Approval, and Degree Recommendation form is required to submit your thesis to the library and have your thesis course grade entered into the system.

📚 Library Thesis Submission

Make sure to defend as early as possible in the term to meet your library thesis submission deadline and avoid postponing graduation..

Students are required to submit a digital copy of their thesis and their RAD form to the SFU Library in order to fulfill part of their graduation requirements.  Thesis submission deadlines  and more information can be found on the Library's website.

• Make sure to account for any time that you may need to spend on revising your thesis after your defence.
• Students who do not submit their thesis to the SFU Library by the regular end-of-term deadlines will receive an "IP" (in progress) grade for their MSE898/899 MASc/PhD Thesis course, and will have to enroll in their thesis course again the following term (which implies being responsible for tuition and fees for this term).
• In this following term, you may be eligible for an early completion refund  if you submit your thesis to the library by the early deadline (usually at the end of the first month of term)

Upon a successful completion, the thesis must be submitted to the library no later than the end of the subsequent term . ( GGR 1.10.2 )

📜 Credential Completion Letter

A credential completion letter is an official document confirming that a student has completed all of their degree requirements, and they are ready to graduate. It is often requested by international students for immigration* purposes. CCLs will be available via your goSFU account once the following steps have been completed:

• Thesis + RAD form have been submitted to the library by the student
• Final grade for the thesis course (MSE 898 MASc Thesis or MSE 899 PhD Thesis) has been posted by Graduate Studies
• Graduation application has been approved by Graduate Studies

The credential completion letter is only available  after your graduation application has been approved by GS and before your degree is awarded by the Senate . Once your degree is awarded, the credential completion letter will no longer be available as your Senate letter and/or degree parchment will act as proof of degree completion.

*If you have immigration related inquiries, including but not limited to the Post Graduate Work Permit, please get in touch with SFU's International Student Advisors .

• Library Catalogue

Finding SFU theses and projects

On this page, digital theses and projects, find theses and projects by department or faculty, find theses by topic and department/faculty, find theses by topic and degree type.

• Using Summit - SFU's Institutional Research Repository

Using Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index

The Bennett Library (SFU Burnaby) has print, microform, and web-based copies of SFU PhD and Masters theses, final projects, and extended essays for programs that are required or have chosen to submit them to the Library.

Undergraduate honours theses are  not available in the Library. Some departments (e.g. English) keep bound honours essays in the department office. In some cases, the only possibility for finding an honours essay may be to contact the author or the faculty supervisor.

Digital theses and projects are available:

• To locate a newly submitted thesis or project (awaiting auditing), search the Thesis Registration System .
• To locate SFU theses and projects, search SFU's Research Repository, Summit .
• For theses between 1998 and 2002 search either Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index or Theses Canada .
• Go to the SFU Library Catalogue .
• Enter Theses followed by the name of the department, school, or faculty in quotation marks.

Theses Department of [Department name] e.g. Theses "Department of Psychology"

Theses Faculty of [Faculty name] e.g. Theses "Faculty of Education"

• Use Theses rather than Thesis .
• Use Faculty only for faculties without departments (eg. Business Administration, Education, Health Sciences).
• Search by Keyword .
• Type in the the department or faculty.
• Add a topic word :

Theses "Department of [Department name]" and [Topic word] e.g. Theses Department of Geography and Tourism

Theses "Faculty of [Faculty name]" and [Topic word] e.g. Theses "Faculty of Business Administration" and Bonds

• Use the asterisk (*) to search for all forms of a word e.g. femini* will find feminist, feminism, feminine, etc.
• To find Master's theses , type:

Thesis [Degree type] and [Topic word] e.g. Thesis M A and femini* e.g. Thesis M Sc and prosthe*

To find Doctoral theses , type:

Thesis [Degree type] and Simon Fraser and [Topic word] e.g. Thesis Ph D and Simon Fraser and femini*

• Use the asterisk (*) to search for all forms of a word e.g. femini* will find feminist, feminism, feminine, etc. e.g. prosthe* will find prosthetic, prostheses, prosthesis

Using Summit - SFU's Institutional Research Repository

• Visit the Summit homepage
• Facets include by author, resource type (thesis, essay, etc.), collection and more. 
• Alternatively you can browse the Collections by Theses, Departments and Schools, or SFU Community. 
• Faculty publications are also available.
• Summit can be accessed from the Library website under Help > Publish.
•  Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index is a searchable database containing both citations and full text of millions of theses.
•  We have created a subset of SFU theses within Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index which you can search.
•  Type a topic word, eg. prosthetics , in the search bar.                              
•  Use the available options to focus your search, eg. publication date, doctoral dissertation, advisor, etc.

Finding an SFU MBA Research Project

Finding Theses/Projects from other Universities

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