Supervisory Committee Policy:
The role of the Supervisory Committee is to support graduate students in their graduate research. Though some graduate students are assigned a Supervisor with admission, each graduate student in a research based program must declare a supervisory committee. The composition of graduate committees must follow, at minimum, the parameters of this policy. All members of the committee must be Nipissing University Graduate Faculty (NUGF) Members within the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) with the exception of External Examiners and external Committee Members.
|
Office of Accountability |
Graduate Studies & Research |
|
Office of Administrative Responsibility |
School of Graduate Studies |
|
Approving Body |
Graduate Studies Committee/Senate |
|
Approval Date |
February 19, 2021 |
|
Renewal Date |
February 19, 2026 |
Major Research Paper (MRP) Committees:
The MRP Committee, at minimum, must consist of the following members:
- One Supervisor
- One Committee Member (who is not also one of the supervisors)
At the time of the oral defence/examination, the committee will add:
- One External Examiner (except in the MA Sociology, MEd and MES/MESc programs where an external examiner is not required at the MRP level)
The Supervisor must be a Nipissing University Graduate Faculty (NUGF) Member. Overall, two members of the MRP Committee must be NUGF Members. In an MRP committee, that would be either Co-Supervisors both from NUGF or one Supervisor and one Committee Member from NUGF.
If the MRP Committee wants to include a Committee Member external to Nipissing University, a CV of the external committee member must be submitted to SGS along with the Request to Declare a Supervisory Committee Form for approval.
In the case of the MRP Committee, the External Examiner may be a faculty member at Nipissing University but external to the student candidate’s degree program department. The External Examiner must not present a conflict of interest as defined in the External Examiner Policy.
Thesis Committees:
The Thesis Committee, at minimum, must consist of the following members:
- One Supervisor
- One Committee Member (who is not also one of the supervisors)
At the time of the oral defence/examination, the committee will add:
- One External Examiner
The Supervisor must be a (NUGF) Member. Overall, two members of the Thesis Committee must be NUGF Members. In a Thesis Committee, that would be either Co-Supervisors both from NUGF or one Supervisor and one Committee Member from NUGF.
If the Thesis Committee wants to include a Committee Member external to Nipissing University, a CV of the external Committee Member must be submitted to SGS along with the Request to Declare a Supervisory Committee Form for approval.
In the case of the Thesis Committee, the External Examiner must be external to Nipissing University. The External Examiner meet the criteria and must not present a conflict of interest as defined in the External Examiner Policy.
Dissertation Committees:
The Dissertation Committee, at minimum, must consist of the following members:
- One Supervisor
- Two Committee Members (who are not also one of the supervisors, one of whom must be a Full Member of the PhD Program Members within the NUGF).
At the time of the oral defence/examination, the committee will add:
- One Internal Examiner
- One External Examiner
One Supervisor and one Committee Member must be NUGF Members. Additional Committee Members may be external to Nipissing University. The external Committee Member(s) must belong to a Canadian university. A CV of the external Committee Member(s) must be submitted to SGS along with the Request to Declare a Supervisory Committee Form for approval.
The Internal Examiner must be a NUGF Member who has not been involved with the supervision and direction of the dissertation and is in a position to render an objective and impartial assessment of the quality of the work.
In the case of the Dissertation Committee, the External Examiner must be external to Nipissing University. The External Examiner meet the criteria and must not present a conflict of interest as defined in the External Examiner Policy.
External Examiner Policy:
| Office of Accountability | Graduate Studies & Research |
| Office of Administrative Responsibility | School of Graduate Studies |
| Approving Body | Graduate Studies Committee/Senate |
| Approval Date | May 15, 2020 |
| Renewal Date | May 15, 2025 |
The External Examiner must hold a doctorate degree related to the candidate’s field of study, or, have equivalent field/work experience in the candidate’s field of study. For Major Research Papers, the External Examiner may be a faculty member of Nipissing University but outside of the candidate’s degree program department. For Theses and Dissertations, the External Examiner must be external to Nipissing University. In addition, the External Examiner must be at arm’s length from the candidate’s thesis, the candidate, and the supervisor(s) and must not be in potential conflict of interest with regards to the outcome of the thesis examination. There is a conflict of interest if:
- There is an administrative or family link between the proposed External Examiner and the supervisor(s) or candidate;
- A proposed External Examiner is currently directly involved in collaborative activities with the supervisor(s) or candidate (i.e. co-investigators on a research grant);
- A proposed External Examiner is a former research supervisor or graduate student of the supervisor(s) or candidate in the last three years; or
- A proposed External Examiner has collaborated or published with the supervisor(s), or candidate within the past three years; or
- A proposed External Examiner is a confirmed future research supervisor or employer of the candidate; or
- The proposed External Examiner is uncomfortable with reviewing the thesis due to previous conflicts or any other reason; or
- The Graduate Program Coordinator/Chair or the Dean, Graduate Studies and Research has reason to believe that a specific proposed External Examiner should not be involved in the review.
If a supervisory committee wishes to appoint an External Examiner who presents any of the conflicts above, the supervisor(s) must provide a written rationale to the Graduate Program Coordinator/Chair and the School of Graduate Studies explaining:
- Why a different External Examiner cannot be appointed.
- That the conflict of interest will not impact the External Examiner’s ability to provide an impartial review of the thesis.
Based on the rationale provided, the Graduate Program Coordinator/Chair and the Dean, Graduate Studies and Research will make a final decision.