Regulations: Master of Management Studies

Admission:

Admission to a master's degree program as a regular student may be granted, on recommendation of the School of Hotel and Food Administration, to:

• the holder of an honours baccalaureate or its equivalent as set out in 1.1; or
  
• a student who has satisfied the requirements for transfer from provisional student.
  

   Applicants are required to submit results of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) in addition to the normal documentation required for evaluation.

Minimum Duration

   At least three semesters of full-time study must be devoted to the master's program if the student is admitted as a regular student. Credit may be allowed for up to one semester of previous graduate study. For a student registered part time, the minimum duration period is based on the equivalence of three part-time semesters to one full-time semester. A minimum program fee is applied when a part-time student applies to graduate.

Completion

   Normally, the thesis must be formally submitted or the program otherwise completed within forty-eight months of the completion of the minimum duration. Candidates must understand, however, that announced school policy may require completion of the degree requirements within a briefer time.

Advising

   The student's program is established and progress kept under review by the school. The day-to-day responsibility will rest with the adviser. There will be an advisory committee of at least two graduate faculty members. The chair of the committee is normally the adviser of the student's program. The school is encouraged to involve graduate faculty from other academic units as members of advisory committees.

Courses

   Students may pursue the MMS degree either by a research-based thesis option or by major paper and coursework.
   The MMS degree of the University of Guelph requires the demonstration of a reasonable mastery of a concentrated field of study. This is attested by achieving satisfactory standings in a number of courses.

Prescribed Studies: The research-based thesis option requires at least nine graduate courses (4.5 credits) plus the thesis. At least five of the graduate courses must be taken in the school. The coursework-and-major-paper option requires ten graduate courses (6.0 credits) plus a 1.0-credit major paper. At least six of the courses must be taken in the school. The courses selected must be acceptable to the school and the dean of Graduate Studies for graduate credit. These substantive courses comprise the candidate's prescribed studies, in which the student must obtain an overall weighted average grade of at least 'B-' in order to qualify for the degree (see the sections on Establishment of Programs and Prescribed Studies).

Additional Courses: In addition to these prescribed studies the candidate may take ancillary courses supportive of the special discipline. These courses may be at either the undergraduate or the graduate level. The standings obtained in them will not affect the average grade of the prescribed studies.

Research

   In the total program of the research-based thesis option, the equivalent of at least one full-time semester must be devoted to research in fulfilment of the thesis requirement. In order to avoid undue prolongation of the student's program, the research topic should be identified early and approved by the advisory committee.

Thesis

See thesis section of the MA and MSc degree descriptions.

External Examiner: To advise on the thesis and to participate in the master's examination of students in the thesis option, an external examiner from outside the university may be appointed by the school director, in consultation with the adviser and the graduate co-ordinator. The external examiner will submit a written appraisal of the thesis to the school director. The external examiner is expected to attend the master's examination and to assist in evaluating all aspects of the candidate's performance.

The Master's Examination: The final oral examination, devoted chiefly to the defence of the thesis, is a school examination identified as the master's examination. The master's examination committee normally consists of three or four members appointed by the school's director, as follows:

• A member of the External Examiner: of the school who is not a member of the advisory committee, to act as chair of the master's examination committee and to make arrangements therefor;
• A member of the candidate's advisory committee (normally, the adviser);
• A member of the associated graduate faculty or of the graduate faculty who may be a member of the advisory committee;
• A fourth member may be appointed from among graduate faculty from another department, from the school or from the advisory committee, according to school and/or examination requirements. The fourth member may be an external examiner.

   If possible, a member of another department should be included on the committee.
   The department chair is responsible for notifying the dean of the composition of the committee and for reporting to the dean the outcome of the examination.
   The examination is open to the public; members of the audience may question the candidate only upon invitation of the chair of the committee.
   The examination is passed and the thesis approved if there is no more than one negative vote. An abstention is regarded as a negative vote. The report to the dean of Graduate Studies will record the decision as unsatisfactory or satisfactory. If unsatisfactory, the candidate may be given a second attempt. A second unsatisfactory constitutes a recommendation to the Board of Graduate Studies that the student be required to withdraw (see the sections on Unsatisfactory Progress and Appeal of Decisions).

School Regulations

   The school may have specified regulations in addition to those described in this calendar. The student is responsible for consulting the school concerning any such regulations. University regulations, as specified herein, take precedence, and may not be overruled by any school regulation.