Typically for the MA the committee will comprise of the primary advisor and 1 faculty member from the area. The creation of the advisory committee is the responsibility of the student’s primary advisor. After the committee is formed, it is recommended that the student, their Advisor, and the committee member(s) meet to discuss the expectations for that particular committee (e.g., does committee plan to have regular meetings, when does the student expect to have a proposal meeting, when does the student expect to have a finalized proposal).

Additional regulations specific to the Applied Social Psychology MA program:

As reminder, in the case of disputes, students should inform the Graduate Program Coordinator of the situation

Students are assigned a primary advisor (or co-advisors) upon admission. In rare cases a student may wish to change his or her primary advisor (or co-advisors). If a student wishes to change his or her primary advisor (or co-advisors) the student must notify the AS graduate studies coordinator. The coordinator will provide assistance to the student who seeks to transfer. In those cases where the advisor is also the AS graduate studies coordinator, the student should contact the departmental graduate studies coordinator.

Please note that transfers will be at the discretion of the faculty member(s) being asked to become the student’s primary advisor (or co-advisors).

If a faculty member agrees to become the student’s new primary advisor (or co-advisor), then typically a new advisory committee will be constituted under the direction of the newly appointed advisor.  Normally, at least one of the members of the existing advisory committee will continue as a member of the new advisory committee.  The decision to continue as an advisory committee member is at the discretion of the faculty member.

All MA students of the Applied Social Psychology program are expected to submit a Thesis research proposal to their advisory committee and get the committee’s approval before proceeding with their thesis research work.

Normally the proposal will contain the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Method
3. Analytical approach
4. Expected results (in the case of hypothesis driven work)
5. References
6. Appendices

Appendices normally contain:

• Materials for the intended study (e.g., questionnaires to be used)
• A schedule of the research program that the candidate will follow, including a sequence of milestones and objectives.
• Other relevant information at the discretion of the student

Proposals are typically 15 to 30 pages in length, excluding references and appendices. Proposals should follow the most recent APA formatting guidelines.

Typically, students will submit multiple drafts of their proposals to their advisor prior to submitting it to their committee.

A minimum of two weeks will be allowed for any Advisory Committee member, including the advisor, to evaluate any work submitted to them.

When the MA candidate’s Advisor has deemed that the candidate’s proposal is ready to be circulated to the committee the student will send an electronic copy to members of the advisory committee.

Students are encouraged to review the Department of Psychology Statistical Methods in Theses: Guidelines and Explanations with their committee (if applicable).

Once the committee has read the proposal, a meeting of the advisory committee will be scheduled to hold a proposal examination. Typically, the examination consists of an oral presentation by the student summarizing the proposed thesis (approximately 20 minutes) followed by questions from the Advisory Committee based on the research proposal. Evaluation of the proposal will be done holistically. Numeric grades are not required; instead the work is reported as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

The proposal should strive to evince critical and creative thinking skills, literacy skills and communication skills and a global understanding. Proposals must be professional and adhere to the highest ethical standards. Approval of the thesis proposal also entails consideration of the feasibility of the study in terms of time limitations, expenses, and availability of participants, as well as its theoretical and applied value.

Normally a MA thesis will contain the following sections:

1. Introduction
2. Method
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. References
6. Appendices

Appendices normally contain:

• A copy of the REB certificate (if applicable)
• Materials for the study (e.g., questionnaires that were used)
• Other relevant information at the discretion of the student
• A print out of Department Statistical Methods in Theses: Guidelines and Recommendations document with notes from the committee meeting (if applicable).

During the preparation of the written thesis the student should be receiving feedback from the advisor as well as the advisory committee (what form that takes (e.g., drafts, meetings) will be up to each committee to determine). Students are encouraged to have a carefully planned out timeline for this process, as it will likely take longer than they expect.

Thesis length can be highly variable depending on the nature of the MA thesis project; typically varying between 30 to 100 pages in length, excluding references and appendices. Students are strongly encouraged to discuss a plan of the structure of their thesis (including approximate length of the different sections) with their advisor prior to writing their thesis.

The style of the thesis (e.g., based on chapters; similar to a manuscript) should be confirmed with the advisory committee. The committee is encouraged to consider thesis styles and format amenable to scholarly publications when appropriate.

Theses should adhere to the most recent APA formatting guidelines.

The thesis should strive to evince critical and creative thinking skills, literacy skills and communication skills and a global understanding. The thesis and the work it includes must be professional and adhere to the highest ethical standards. The thesis must also demonstrate the candidate's capacity for original and independent work, and should include a critical evaluation of work which has previously been done in the candidate's field of research. The thesis should emphasize any new conclusions which may be drawn from the candidate's own research.

Typically, students will submit multiple drafts of their thesis to their advisor prior to submitting it to their committee.

A minimum of two weeks will be allowed for any Advisory Committee member, including the advisor, to evaluate any work submitted to them.

Additional regulations specific to the Applied Social Psychology MA program:

Once you are close to having a draft of your thesis prepared, you should follow the procedures below. You may also find the Master’s Thesis Submission and Defense Schedule Guidelines prepared by Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies to be a useful complement to the instructions below.

1. When the Master’s candidate’s Advisor has deemed that the candidate’s thesis draft is satisfactory, the Advisor will provide an email to the student indicating that the thesis is satisfactory and ready for submission to the Advisory Committee members for evaluation.

At this point:
a. The advisor will notify the Graduate Program Assistant that the thesis is being evaluated by the advisory committee, allowing the Graduate Program Assistant to prepare necessary forms and provide additional instructions to all.
b. The advisor will forward a nomination for Chair of the Examination Committee to the chair of the department. 
c. The advisor will inform the Graduate Program Assistant of a date and time convenient to all committee members, including the confirmed chair, so that the Graduate Program Assistant can book appropriate space and equipment.
d. The student shall provide an electronic copy of the thesis to each member of the Advisory Committee and request email receipt to ensure that the Advisory committee members have received the thesis in a timely fashion. A minimum of two weeks will be allowed for Advisory Committee members to evaluate the thesis.
e. The student will review and implement the Electronic Formatting Requirements for theses provided on the Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies website.

2. When an Advisory Committee member has read the draft of the thesis, he/she is required to complete an Evaluation of Draft of Thesis form (a departmental form prepared by and obtained from the Graduate Program Assistant) to provide feedback on the thesis and indicate whether or not the thesis is ready for defense. This form should also indicate whether edits are requested predefense or post. The Evaluation of draft of Thesis form will be submitted to the student with a copy to the candidate’s Advisor. Normally, this feedback includes a number of changes designed to improve the thesis prior to the defense. The student then considers the recommendations in the evaluation forms, and, in consultation with the Advisor, makes changes specified by the committee members. Note that these changes may be done quickly or take a substantial amount of time (e.g., days or weeks). Consequently, students should remember to budget sufficient time for these revisions.

3. If necessary, the student will submit an electronic copy of the corrected thesis to each Advisory Committee member. The Advisory Committee members will typically review the revised draft within two weeks.

4. Following this, the Advisory Committee members will indicate whether the thesis is ready for defense by signing the Summary of Advice to Student form (a Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies form) and submitting it to the Graduate Program Assistant (who makes a copy for the student). All members should sign the same Summary of Advice form.

5. Once required edits have been addressed as per the committee members’ Evaluation of Draft of Thesis forms, the student should immediately send an electronic copy (PDF) of the thesis to the Graduate Program Assistant for distribution to the Final Oral Examination Committee members. If any member requires a hard copy, the student should also provide hard copies to the Graduate Program Assistant. All members of the examination committee must receive the final version of the thesis at least two weeks before the date of the Final Oral Examination.

6. Regardless of the recommendation of the Master’s Advisory Committee, a student may submit a request for an examination.  Requesting an examination without the approval of all of the members of the Master's Advisory committee is not recommended. 

Additional regulations specific to the Applied Social Psychology MA program:

Typically, the Oral Examination Committee will consist of at least four members: the defense chair, two members of the advisory committee, and one additional graduate faculty who is not a member of the student’s advisory committee. Together, the two advisory committee members and the additional member provide the three voting members required for Oral Examination Committee (the chair is a non-voting member).

**All members of the Examination Committee must receive a copy of the final draft of the Master’s Thesis (i.e., which include the corrections requested by the Advisory Committee) at least two weeks before the date of the Final Oral Examination. One month is preferred.

Additional regulations specific to the Applied Social Psychology MA program:

Maximum Duration of Oral Examination

Master’s Examination: 2.5 hours

Master’s Examination Procedure

Introduction by the Chair - 5 minutes

Presentation of research findings/scholarly work by candidate - 30 minutes (maximum)

Public Question Period - Audience - 10 minutes

Break - 5 minutes (members of the public are free to leave)

Examination Period (questions only from examiners) - 1 hour and 40 minutes

The Chair
The chair of the examination committee is the official representative of the Assistant Vice- President (Graduate Studies). The chair serves to administer the examination according to the approved format of the program. The chair does not serve as an additional examiner.

It is the responsibility of the Chair to ensure that the oral examination is conducted in a professional manner. The Chair must ensure that proper forms from the Office of Graduate Studies are available and duly completed and signed by the Examination Committee. The Chair should ensure that adequate time is allotted to the candidate for presentation of research findings, and to the examiners for questions. The details on the time allocation to the candidate and examiners are given in the following paragraphs. It is also the responsibility of the Chair to ensure that examiners should adhere to the allocated time.

In unforeseen circumstances where a Committee member is unable to attend the examination (e.g., due to sickness) either in person or by video/teleconference, the Chair will attempt to receive questions to ask on behalf of the absent member, to be answered by the student to the satisfaction of the examiners present. 

If during the examination the behaviour of either the candidate or the examiner(s) is unprofessional, the Chair should provide a warning. If the unprofessional behaviour continues, the Chair should stop the examination and report to the Graduate Coordinator.

The Chair should ensure recommendations for revision of the thesis are completed, and should withhold their endorsement of the examination (through signing the Recommendation Form) until such time.

Role of the Examiners
The examiners have the responsibility to review the thesis as outlined in the University Guidelines for thesis evaluation. If an examiner feels that there is a major problem with the thesis, the examiner should inform the candidate in writing with a confidential copy only to the advisor and Graduate Coordinator. If the candidate and the examiner cannot resolve the problem before the oral examination, the Graduate Coordinator will act as facilitator. If there is no agreement, the examination can go forward at the student's request, or postponed on the advice of the Graduate Coordinator.

Ordering of Questions by the Examination Committee:
There will be two rounds of questions by the Committee. The questioning by the Committee will be in the following order:

1) Member of the Graduate Faculty (not on the Advisory Committee)
2) Member of the Advisory Committee
3) Advisor or second member of the Advisory Committee

Suggested time allotted to examination committee members:

Graduate Faculty (Round 1: 15 minutes, Round 2: 10 minutes)
Advisory Committee Member (Round 1: 15 minutes, Round 2: 10 minutes)
Advisor/Advisory Committee Member (Round 1: 15 minutes, Round 2: 10 minutes)

Deliberation (in camera) - 25 minutes

Evaluation of Thesis

As stated in the graduate calendar “The thesis must demonstrate the candidate's capacity for original and independent work, and should include a critical evaluation of work which has previously been done in the candidate's field of research. The thesis should emphasize any new conclusions which may be drawn from the candidate's own research.” The thesis should strive to evince  critical and creative thinking skills, literacy skills and communication skills and a global understanding. Theses and student must be professional and adhere to the highest ethical standards. Evaluation of the thesis and oral examination will be done holistically. Numeric grades are not required; instead the work is reported as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

The candidate is deemed to have passed if a simple majority of Examination Committee members vote to pass the student. An abstention is regarded as a negative vote. If the Examination Committee decides thesis and oral exam are unsatisfactory, the candidate may be given the opportunity for a second attempt. A second unsatisfactory report constitutes a recommendation to the Board of Graduate Studies that the student be asked to withdraw.

In addition to determining whether the candidate passes the exam, the Examination Committee members will also discuss the recommended and required changes to the thesis. After each  committee member recommends changes, the committee will come to a consensus about which changes the student is required to do. In the rare event of a disagreement, the Chair will decide if a requested change by a committee member can be overruled.

Following deliberations of the committee, the Examination Chair calls the student back to the examination room and verbally informs the candidate of the outcome of the Examination. If the defense is successful, changes will frequently be required. These changes may be minor or substantial.

Students should be prepared to make changes based on feedback received during the defense and must allocate sufficient time before final submission for this process. As noted above, those changes should be submitted to the Examination Chair for approval.

Following completion of the thesis revisions, the Examination Chair then submits the signed forms (i.e., Certificate of Approval, Report of the Examination Committee) to the Graduate Secretary, his/her Examination Chair report, and the Report of the External Examiner. The Graduate Secretary then contacts the student to complete graduation paperwork with the Department Chair. Once completed the student is responsible for the delivery of this paperwork along with the approved copies (2) of the thesis in its final form (following revisions) to Graduate Program Services.