Genetics Graduate ProgramGuidelines for students and faculty

1. Supervisory Committees(a) Membership(i) M.Sc.: the Thesis Supervisory Committee will consist of the supervisor, and two other members, at least one of whom must be a member of the Genetics Graduate Program (GGP).(ii) Ph.D.: the Thesis Supervisory Committee will consist of the supervisor, and three other members, at least one of whom must be a member of the GGP.

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/supervision-advising/supervisory-committee

(b) Purpose of the CommitteeThe student and the Thesis Supervisory Committee share responsibility to ensure that the structure of the student’s program meets the requirements of Faculty of Graduate Studies (FoGS) and the GGP. The final responsibility for meeting all requirements rests with the student. The purpose of the committee is to provide guidance to the student on the progress of his or her research, what should be done, what should be dropped, how it should be done, and to set timed goals for completion of given aims. The committee should also protect students from unreasonable expectations of supervisors regarding type, amount, quality of work, or against being asked to do anything in conflict with UBC policies. Similarly, committees often provide a way to resolve disagreements between students and supervisors, and can provide an outside voice, distance, and experience to bear should difficulties arise. Finally, committees are also there to maintain standards, and to ensure that the student meets the requirements needed to put a thesis forward for examination. If a committee is doing its job, a student should not fail a thesis defence. The exception to the latter statement is when a student demands that his or her work be put forward for examination over the advice of the committee (which is their right). A student has the privilege to change research supervisor and/or members of his/her committee after consultation with the supervisors and committee members involved. In case of disputes between the student and supervisor, either party is encouraged to consult with the Director, GGP.

(c) Format of Committee Meetings(i) Initial Meeting:The timing of the first committee meeting may vary according to the needs of the student but must be held no later than 15 May of the first year, for all students, regardless of their starting date. A signed report of the committee meeting must be received by the Graduate Program Manager by 15 May. Students not meeting this requirement will not be permitted to remain registered in the Program.

(ii) Subsequent Meetings:Each student must have one committee meeting a year. Additional meetings may be called when necessary due to changes in the program or for any reason which may affect the candidate’s progress. It is expected that students will circulate a written progress report well in advance of the meeting (1-2 weeks), that contains all the data to be discussed, plus a

short synopsis of future plans. The supervisor normally chairs the meetings. Students may give a short talk. The talk is not a substitute for the written progress report, and should be brief and to the point (20 minutes should be ample). Cancelling the meeting is recommended if the progress report is not prepared in advance, if the student is unprepared for the meeting, or if the talk is poorly prepared. Unpreparedness should be noted on the meeting report. The committee may assist the student in keeping to time by giving a three minute warning at the 17 minute mark, and then just cutting the student off. The rest of the time available (rarely more than an hour is necessary) should be directed at discussing the data, its interpretation, what should be done next, and in setting any deadlines. Committee members could and should protest if their time and patience are being abused.

(iii) Records:At the end of the meeting, the supervisor writes a synopsis of what was agreed on at the meeting, using the Thesis Committee Meeting Report form available on the GGP website:

http://www.genetics.ubc.ca/documents.html

All members of the committee and the student should sign the form. No one should sign a blank form. The student, supervisor, and each committee member should receive a copy of this form. A copy should be faxed or emailed to the Graduate Program Manager on the day of the meeting, and the Supervisor should also ensure that a copy is filed with the candidate’s documents in the local department. If any committee member or student does not get a form, or gets a form at variance with the tenor of the meeting, please inform the Director, GGP, who will arrange to meet with the committee to ensure that the wishes of the committee are reflected in the write-up. This is a self-policing system; the Director will not know of any problems that go unreported. Anyone, student, supervisor, or committee member is encouraged to contact the Director if they have any concerns at any time while they are in the GGP.

2. Course RequirementsStudents who do not have the appropriate background for their proposed course of study will not be admitted to the GGP. Students lacking the necessary background in (for example) genetics, cell biology, statistics, or biochemistry are expected to remedy these deficiencies prior to or concurrent with application for admission to the GGP, by taking a year of unclassified studies at UBC or an equivalent institution. Students admitted to the GGP may be required by their thesis supervisory committee to take undergraduate courses offered by the University to fill specific gaps in their background. All students are advised to enroll in a graduate level seminar course, available in many departments including MEDG, ZOOL, BOTA, MEDI, MICB, BIOC, departments. All students are required to enroll in Genetics 501/502 during their first year of study. This course aims to acquaint students with advances in genetics, teach analytical skills, speaking and presentation skills, experimental design, and preparation of research grants. Students are strongly encouraged to regularly attend the GGP Seminar series, and their local departmental Seminar Series throughout their years of registration in the program. There is no foreign language requirement for the GGP. Course requirements will normally be taken in the first year of the Program. Students should note the deadlines for course changes, which are listed in the University calendar.

(a) M.Sc.A minimum of 18 credits of course work are required for a M.Sc. degree, plus a 12 credit thesis. Twelve credits of required course work must be at the 500 level, and the rest at the 300 level or above. Other courses may also be required if recommended by the student’s Thesis Supervisory Committee.

(b) Ph.D.Students entering Ph.D. studies from a first-class B.Sc. degree are required to take course work as outlined for M.Sc. students. Students entering Ph.D. studies with a M.Sc. will take courses as recommended by their Thesis Supervisory Committee.

3. Thesis Preparation

All students should consult the FoGS guidelines Masters and Doctoral Thesis Preparation and Submission. Ph.D. students should also consult the Final Doctoral Examination guidelines. These can both be accessed via the FoGS website:

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/dissertation-thesis-preparation

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/final-doctoral-examination

Before proceeding with writing the thesis, the student should meet with the Thesis Supervisory Committee to review the proposed contents of the thesis with respect to scientific adequacy, and receive their formal approval. The supervisor MUST read the complete thesis in draft form, and the appropriate revisions be made before the rest of the committee reads the thesis. The examination copy of the thesis should not be prepared before the revisions suggested by the rest of the committee have been incorporated. Members of the Thesis Supervisory Committee should normally return their comments to the student within three weeks of receiving the thesis. The thesis must first be approved on the GGP Approval of Thesis for Defence form by the Thesis Supervisory Committee before it is forwarded to the Examination Committee. Please note that there are separate forms for M.Sc. and Ph.D. students. These are available on the GGP web site.

“Genetics Graduate Program” must appear on the title page of the thesis.

4. Thesis Examination(a) M.Sc. Examination CommitteeThe Examination Committee will consist of a minimum of a chair (the Director ofthe GGP or his or her designate), one member from the student’s Thesis Supervisory Committee; and one member from outside the Thesis Supervisory Committee. The examiners are responsible for grading the thesis and defense after consultation with the supervisor, and will normally arrive at a combined mark that takes into account the quality of the thesis, and the defense. The Chairperson must forward a report signed by all the examiners and stating the grade recommended (PASS/FAIL), to the Graduate Program Manager.

Further details are available in a separate document, Completion of M.Sc. Procedures, available on the GGP web site:

http://www.genetics.ubc.ca/documents.html

(b) Ph.D. Examination Committee

The Examination Committee will be selected by FoGS after consultation with thestudent’s supervisor and the Chair of the GGP. The minimum composition of theExamination Committee will consist of two members from the student’s ThesisSupervisory Committee including the supervisor, two University Examiners (both canbe from within the GGP, but one must be clearly external to the candidate’s and the supervisor’s Department and research institution), and one External Examiner (not always present at the examination). There may be a maximum of four examiners from the student’s Thesis Supervisory Committee, but these members cannot form the majority of the Examination Committee.

5. Exit SeminarStudent seminar presentations are a requirement of all students in the GGP. The Exit Seminar is designed to benefit the student, and inform their colleagues. The length of the seminar is more governed by the seminar series the student is speaking in than by the GGP. Many students use the occasion to rehearse their thesis talk and use the rest of the time to rehearse oral exams: the audience asks questions they think might be asked by the examiners. The Exit Seminar can be given in the student/advisor’s home department seminar series as a joint Genetics Program/Departmental Seminar. Presentation in lab meetings or conferences does not fulfill this requirement. Details of the date, time and location of the Exit Seminar should be sent to the Graduate Program Manager at least two weeks before the date of the Exit Seminar.

6. Thesis SubmissionBoth M.Sc. and Ph.D. students are encouraged to submit their theses electronically, rather than on paper:

http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/final-dissertation-thesis-submission/submission-requirements

Fran Hannabuss Dr. Hugh BrockGraduate Program Manager Director, Genetics Graduate ProgramUBC College for Interdisciplinary Studies Life Sciences CentreRoom 168-1855 West Mall 5501 – 2350 Health Sciences MallVancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3

Tel: 604-822-6578 Tel: 604-822-2619Fax: 604-827-4439

Email: fran.hannabuss@ubc.ca Email: brock@zoology.ubc.ca