I. Defense Guidelines

1. Committee Composition

1.1 Membership
The MSc Thesis Defense Committee consists of members approved by the MSc Program Director and will normally include:

  • Supervisor
  • All Supervisory Committee Members
  • External Reviewer
  • Divisional Representative

1.2 External Reviewer
The External Reviewer:

  • must be external to the University as well as to its affiliated teaching hospitals and their research institutes;
  • must be at arm’s length from the Candidate and the project;
  • must be a recognized expert in the field; and
  • must be approved by the MSc Program Director.

1.3 Divisional Representative
The Divisional Representative:

  • must be at arm’s length from the Candidate and the project; and
  • must hold a faculty appointment in the Division of Biostatistics.

2. Role of the Examination Committee

The MSc Thesis Defense Committee is responsible for:

  1. examining the Candidate on the substance and implications of the thesis;
  2. assessing whether the thesis meets appropriate standards of scholarship; and
  3. voting, following the oral defense, on the acceptability of the thesis and its defense.

3. Chair of the Defense

All MSc Thesis Defenses are chaired by the MSc Program Director. The Chair is responsible for ensuring the proper conduct of the defense and does not participate directly in questioning the Candidate.
The Chair’s responsibilities are to:

  1. ensure that the Candidate is given a reasonable opportunity to defend the thesis;
  2. ensure that it is the Candidate alone, and not the Supervisor or any other Committee member, who defends the thesis; and
  3. ensure that the examination proceeds in a respectful and professional manner, free from harassment.

4. Attendance and Participation

  • The presence of the Candidate’s Supervisor, External Reviewer, and Divisional Representative is mandatory. If any of these members is absent, the defense cannot proceed and must be rescheduled.
  • In addition to appointed Committee members, and at the invitation of the Chair, any member of the Graduate Faculty may participate in the defense but does not have voting rights.
  • With the permission of the Candidate, observers (including non–Graduate Faculty, qualified external guests, graduate students, and members of academic staff) may attend.
  • All non-Committee members must leave the room after the defense and prior to Committee deliberation.

5. Remote Participation and Confidentiality

  • Remote participation is permitted for members of the Defense Committee only. All other participants are expected to attend in person.
  • The virtual meeting link is confidential and must not be distributed beyond the Committee. Recording of any kind is strictly prohibited.

6. Resources

7. Contact Information

Name Email Address
Tony Panzarella, MSc Program Director tony.panzarella@utoronto.ca
Yeonkyung Namkoong, Biostatistics Administrative Assistant biostat.dlsph@utoronto.ca
PHS Graduate Office grad.dlsph@utoronto.ca

II. Deadlines and Procedures

1. Approximate Deadlines

Planning for the thesis defense should take into account the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) deadlines for convocation and fee payments. Approximate timelines are provided below; please refer to the SGS Sessional Dates for the current year’s exact deadlines.

Last Scheduled Defense Thesis Submission Expected Convocation
Late August Late September October/November
Mid-December (Before Winter Break) Mid-to-late January March (in absentia) or June
Early-to-mid March Early-to-mid April June

2. Procedures for Arranging MSc Defense

Deadline Responsible Party  Required Actions
9 weeks before tentative defense date Candidate
  • Once the Supervisory Committee has agreed that the thesis is ready for defense, download your academic history as a PDF from ACORN (Print important documents on ACORN) and submit it to the MSc Program Director and the Biostatistics Administrative Assistant.
9 weeks before tentative defense date MSc Program Director and Biostatistics Administrative Assistant
  • Review the academic record and confirm to the Candidate, Supervisor, and Graduate Office whether all course requirements have been met and the defense may proceed.
8 weeks before tentative defense date Supervisor
  • Submit the External Reviewer’s name and CV, as well as the Divisional Representative’s name, to the MSc Program Director and the Biostatistics Administrative Assistant for approval.
  • Notify the Candidate once approvals are confirmed.
8 weeks before tentative defense date Candidate and Supervisor
  • Coordinate with the Defense Committee to schedule the defense date, time, and format (in-person or remote).
7 weeks before defense Candidate
  • Distribute the thesis to all Committee members and the MSc Program Director, excluding the External Reviewer (the Candidate must not communicate with the External Reviewer prior to the defense).
  • Submit the thesis and thesis abstract to the Biostatistics Administrative Assistant and the Graduate Office.
  • Complete the MSc Biostatistics Thesis Defense Form. 
7 weeks before defense Supervisor
  • Create the remote meeting link (if applicable) and provide it to the Biostatistics Administrative Assistant.
6 weeks before defense Biostatistics Administrative Assistant
  • Book a room for the defense.
  • Circulate a calendar invitation (including the defense program).
  • Request the External Reviewer’s appraisal (due 2 weeks before the defense).
2 weeks before defense Biostatistics Administrative Assistant
  • Distribute the External Reviewer’s appraisal to the Committee, Candidate, and Program Director.

3. Defense Procedures

  1. The Candidate and observers leave the room while the Chair reviews the procedures with the Committee. The Chair confirms that each member has sufficient familiarity with the thesis to assess its acceptability and reminds the Committee that:
    1. the defense evaluates both the thesis and the oral examination; and
    2. the work must represent independent scholarship. Where the thesis forms part of a larger project or involves co-authorship, the Committee must determine that the Candidate’s contribution meets MSc requirements.
  2. The Chair invites the Candidate to enter and present a summary of the research and its conclusions (maximum 20 minutes).
  3. The Chair invites each Committee member to question the Candidate. The Chair may intervene to ensure the discussion remains fair, focused, and balanced.
  4. The Chair may invite other Graduate Faculty present to ask questions. Observers may participate only with the Candidate’s permission.
  5. The Candidate is given the opportunity to make final remarks and respond to any outstanding points.
  6. The Candidate and all non-Committee members withdraw prior to deliberation.
  7. The Chair leads the Committee’s discussion and reminds members that:
    1. the thesis and defense should be discussed prior to voting;
    2. both the written thesis and oral defense are being evaluated; and
    3. deliberations will be followed by a vote.

The Chair further reminds the Committee that more than one negative vote and/or any abstention results in adjournment of the defense.

Following discussion of the defense, the Chair calls for votes on two motions:

    1. Acceptance of thesis and oral defense. This vote concerns the acceptability of the thesis and its defense.
    2. Level of acceptance of thesis. The Committee must vote on whether the thesis is acceptable as it stands, or requires editorial corrections or minor revisions.
      1. As it stands – the thesis is accepted in its present form.
      2. Editorial corrections – involves typographical errors, errors in punctuation, or problems in style.
      3. Minor revisions – more than changes in style and less than major changes in the thesis. A typical example of a minor revision is clarification of textual material or the qualification of research findings or conclusions.

The Chair completes the Chair’s Summary Form constituting an official result of the candidate’s defense.

4. After the Defense

  1. For an outcome other than “As it stands,” the Supervisor informs the Candidate of the necessary corrections or revisions and oversees and approves the required changes.
  2. The Supervisor certifies in writing to the DLSPH Graduate Office (grad.dlsph@utoronto.ca) and the Division of Biostatistics (biostat.dlsph@utoronto.ca) once the required corrections or revisions have been completed.

The Candidate submits the final thesis to ProQuest.

5. Adjournment and Reconvened Defense

If the defense is adjourned, a reconvened defense must take place within one year. The Committee determines an appropriate timeline, normally at the earliest feasible date. At the reconvened defense, the same procedures are followed. The thesis may be accepted only:

  • As it stands; or
  • With editorial corrections.

If more than one negative vote and/or any abstention occurs at the reconvened defense, the Candidate is deemed to have failed and will be withdrawn from the MSc Biostatistics program.