Master's Degree Requirements
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Master's Degree with Thesis
A student enrolled for graduate work in an academic unit of the Colleges of Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine becomes a candidate for the M.Sc. degree in the discipline designated by the name of the unit. A student enrolled in an academic unit of the College of Arts & Science usually becomes a candidate for an M.A. degree in the discipline designated by the name of the unit, if the baccalaureate for admission is a B.A. degree; an M.Sc. degree, if a B.Sc. degree. Special conditions may apply for admission to selected programs. These are mentioned in the Programs by Area section of the Calendar.
Consult specific programs for the minimum number of credit unit requirements. Other requirements are a thesis on a subject permitting the student to make some contribution to knowledge, and seminars, colloquia and related activities as the student's academic unit may require. Other Master's degrees with thesis which are available are: M.F.A., M.C.Ed., M.Ed., LL.M., M.Mus., M.N. Prospective students interested in these degrees should consult the relevant section in the Calendar for course and program requirements. The thesis work for a Master's degree seldom takes less than one-half year, and is usually carried out in parallel with the course work.
After an applicant has been admitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research, the principal academic unit submits, on the student's behalf, a recommended Program of Studies. This should be done as soon as possible on the Graduate Student Information System (GSIS), and not later than twelve months after the time of first registration.
If an applicant has been admitted as a candidate for a Master's degree subject to the satisfactory completion of selected preparatory courses either prior to or in parallel with the required graduate courses, the preparatory courses are designated as such on the Program of Studies. In such cases, the student should not anticipate completion of the requirements for award of the degree in less than two years of residence during regular sessions, or the equivalent. A qualifying examination on the field of specialization may be required by an academic unit either as a means of evaluating the student's ability to proceed with work for the degree or for the award of the degree.
Research for the thesis and its preparation is usually supervised by a member of the academic unit to which the student is attached. An Advisory Committee is appointed, consisting of at least three members, including the academic unit Head or designate who acts as chairperson, the research Supervisor and other members as deemed appropriate. If the student's work for the degree involves other academic units, the Advisory Committee includes the student's research Supervisor and representatives of the units concerned. The Committee is responsible for periodic reviews of the candidate's progress toward the degree and must meet at least annually for this purpose. The Chair of the Advisory Committee will report on the progress of the student to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research once annually. A report indicating unsatisfactory progress will result in further action being taken by the Dean. The role of the Advisory Committee may be filled by a graduate committee of the academic unit.
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Master's Degree with Project
Project programs leading to the M.Agr., M.B.A., M.C.Ed., M.Ed., M.Eng., M.Math., M.Mus., M.N., M.P.Acc., M.Vet.Sc., and to the M.A. degrees in Economics and Sociology are also available. These degrees are intended to serve the needs of students who wish to obtain advanced knowledge in a specialized field, but who do not require traditional research training. All project degree programs include as a requirement the project course (992) or publishable paper (993). In most programs the project course (992) is in addition to the usual 30 credit units required. Other special conditions are mentioned within the Programs by Area section of the Calendar.
After an applicant has been admitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research, the principal academic unit submits on the student's behalf a recommended Program of Studies. This should be done as soon as possible on the Graduate Student Information System (GSIS), and not later than twelve months after the time of first registration.
The project course (992) must be completed in one or two graduate terms depending on full-time or part-time status. Students who are registered full-time in the project course without coursework will be required to complete the project in one graduate term; those students who are registered full-time in the project course with coursework or are registered part-time will be required to complete the project within two Graduate Terms. Master's project students register in the project course (992) or publishable paper (993) only when they begin work on it.
These time guidelines for the project course do not pertain to M.Vet.Sc., M.B.A., or M.P.Acc. students.
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Special Case Admissions
All faculties tenured in academic units which do not have approved graduate programs may be involved in graduate education by supervising a special case student. Candidates for Special Case admissions should be excellent students as demonstrated by a weighted cumulative average of at least 75% over the last two years (60 credit units). The Special Case Master’s students are administered by the Master’s Committee of the College of Graduate Studies & Research. Instructions for Special Case applications are found on form GSR 405. Students follow regular admission procedures using forms GSR 100 and 101. The academic unit is responsible for completing the remainder of the Special Case application.
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Transfer from Master's to Ph.D.
Transfers from Master’s to Ph.D. should take place after the first year and no later than the end of the second year of the Master's program. In order to transfer, a Master's student must first pass a qualifying examination, and fulfill other criteria as outlined in the College of Graduate Studies and Research Policy and Procedure manual. This examination can only be taken once. A student failing the qualifying examination or any part thereof shall not be recommended for transfer and must complete the Master’s program. After completion of the Master's, the student can then be considered for admission into a Ph.D. program.
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Residency Requirements
| On-campus residency is a valuable part of a graduate program. The University of Saskatchewan encourages students to spend time on campus interacting with faculty, researchers and other students and participating in the academic life of the university. The College of Graduate Studies and Research has no minimum residency requirements. Individual graduate programs, however, are required to establish their own residency guidelines. Students should check with the individual programs for these guidelines. |
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Time Limit
Candidates for Master's degrees are expected to complete their work with reasonable continuity over a period not exceeding five years. This time is measured from the date of first registration in a course credited toward the program.
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Transfer Credits
Graduate work of high quality done in a recognized graduate school elsewhere and coming within the five-year time limit may be accepted. Such credits will be transferred only after the student has established a satisfactory record in residence here for at least one-half of a regular academic session, and then only if the academic unit concerned recommends to the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research for approval of the transfer of such credits. Normally a student should expect to complete at least 60% of the program requirements at this university. Work already applied toward another degree cannot be accepted. Transferred credit will not reduce the residency requirement at this university.
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Academic Standards
Students taking courses required to remove deficiencies in their general training or for preparation prerequisite to the chosen field of graduate work must obtain a cumulative weighted average of at least 70% in these courses. A minimum of 70% is required in each undergraduate course. Students must obtain 60% in each graduate course required specifically for the degree and a cumulative weighted average of 70% for all their courses in this category. Under exceptional circumstances, on recommendation of the academic unit, and with the approval of the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, a student may be permitted to write a supplemental examination in a graduate course for which a grade of less than 60% was obtained or an undergraduate course for which a grade of less than 70% was obtained. With permission of the Dean, students may repeat the course to raise their standing, or substitute an additional course recommended by the academic unit.
If, in the opinion of the Advisory Committee and the academic unit concerned, a student is not making reasonable progress with any aspect of the program, a recommendation may be made to the Dean that the student be required to discontinue as a candidate for the degree. The Dean will take prompt and appropriate action.
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Languages
The Advisory Committee may require the candidate to demonstrate ability to read publications related to the candidate’s special field of study, in one or more languages other than English.
Successful completion of a course in a language (other than English) recommended by an Advisory Committee usually meets the minimum requirement for a reading knowledge of a foreign language. This language requirement may be met by a course, or courses, taken at another university, or by knowledge of the language acquired in other ways. In such cases, supporting evidence must be submitted to the appropriate language department at this university. The language department may set a special examination. The decision of the department is final in such cases.
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Ethics
Ethics approval is required for all research involving animals or humans. A copy of the
Ethics approval letter must be submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research prior to the defence for a thesis-based program and prior to application to graduate for a project-based program.
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Thesis and Project Requirements
A thesis or project presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree must:
- Deal with a specific topic related to the major field.
- Demonstrate ability on the part of the candidate to do independent study and investigation.
- Be written in good scholarly style and conform to the requirements of a style manual approved by the department.
- Comply in mechanical features with specifications as described in the Guidelines for Preparation of a Thesis.
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It is expected the student will follow the academic unit regulations and the advice of the Supervisor and the Advisory Committee in developing the thesis or project proposal and in establishing whether the thesis or project is ready for examination. In exceptional circumstances the student may request that the Dean of Graduate Studies and Research arrange for an examination without prior academic unit approval. The rules for such an examination are determined by the Dean in consultation with the unit.
The adequacy of the project is decided by an examining committee consisting of the Supervisor, members of the Advisory Committee and other persons as appropriate. Academic units are required to inform students in a timely fashion about the criteria to be used and the procedures to be followed in the examination of Master's project work.
Every thesis must go to oral defence. The adequacy of the thesis is decided by an examining committee. The committee will consist of the academic unit Head or designate, who chairs the examination, the Supervisor, at least one member who served on the Advisory Committee, and the external examiner from another academic unit of the university, who has not been a member of the student's Advisory Committee. The academic unit may recommend the appointment of additional examiners. The examining committee shall be appointed from the College Faculty by the academic unit in consultation with the Dean. The thesis Supervisor may not serve as the chair of the thesis oral examination. The character of the oral examination is decided upon by the Committee, but in general the examination is limited to work done by the candidate for the thesis and to knowledge of matters directly related to it. At the conclusion of the examination, the Committee decides whether the thesis work of the candidate and the subsequent defence of it meet the requirements for the degree. The Committee's decision is reported to the Dean on forms available from the College of Graduate Studies and Research office.
It is the responsibility of the student who may have any disability that could interfere with his/her conduct or ability to respond to questioning at an oral defence, to reveal the extenuating circumstances in sufficient time prior to the defence to allow the Examining Committee and the College of Graduate Studies and Research to take measures to mitigate the situation at the oral exam. The student must inform his/her Supervisor or Graduate Chair, who in turn must inform the College of Graduate Studies and Research office of any potential problems.
The External Examiner shall be appointed by the Dean prior to the thesis examination and shall not have been associated with the preparation of the thesis in any way. The Dean or designate verifies all program requirements are met before approval of the External Examiner and permission to proceed to defence. The External Examiner represents the Dean and shall provide the Dean with a written report following the conclusion of the examination. A form for this purpose is available from the College of Graduate Studies and Research office. Where the External Examiner does not share the majority view, the examination shall be adjourned and the Dean will review the situation and establish appropriate procedures to resolve the matter.
The period between the submission of the examination copies of a Master's thesis and the date of the examination is left to the discretion of the student's academic unit. After the Advisory Committee has agreed the thesis is acceptable for external examination, the graduate chair shall notify the College of Graduate Studies and Research. The College requires three weeks from the receipt of this notification until the date of the defence. After the oral defence, students are expected to make required thesis revisions within the time period determined by the academic unit. Final dates for oral defences, submission of documentation and bound copies of theses are found in the Graduate Academic Schedule in this section. No exceptions to these dates will be made.
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Copies of the Thesis
Electronic Thesis Submission (EDT)
A thesis may be submitted electronically. Instructions for submission of an ETD can be found on the College of Graduate Studies and Research website at http://grad.usask.ca/etd. The same deadlines as for bound theses apply.
Bound Thesis Submission
Three bound copies of the thesis in final form must be supplied by the candidate to the academic unit to which the candidate is attached. A copy must reach the College of Graduate Studies and Research Office by the appropriate deadline established for Spring or Fall Convocation. The remaining copies are placed in the unit files and given to the candidate's research Supervisor for reference purposes. The first copy is catalogued and placed in the University Library, if the mechanical features meet with the approval of the Dean and the Librarian. Otherwise, it is returned to the unit which shall require the candidate to make recommended changes. The Guidelines For Preparation of a Thesis is available at www.usask.ca/cgsr.
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Copyright and Subsequent Use of Theses and Projects
The author of a thesis or project claims copyright on the title page. As a condition for the award of a degree, the student is required to sign a form giving permission to the University Library to make the thesis available for inspection and to the Supervisor of the research and to the department in which the research was done to copy and to circulate the thesis for scholarly purposes only, and to make use of material and ideas included in the thesis in the preparation of papers for publication. Where circumstances warrant, theses may be withheld from circulation for up to 12 months. There are also several options available for limitation of circulation of electronic thesis.
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Recommendation for Award of Degree
The academic units concerned must file a Recommendation for Award of the Degree with the Dean on forms for this purpose, available on the College of Graduate Studies and Research website. It must show how the candidate has met the residence requirements, list the courses to be credited specifically for the degree (including transferred credits) and the exact title of the thesis. The title shown on the thesis cover must be identical to the title which appears on the recommendation form for the award of the degree. The recommendation for the award of the degree must be received in the College of Graduate Studies and Research Office on or before the date, available from the office or under the section "Graduate Academic Schedule" established in relation to Convocation. If the recommendation is approved by the College of Graduate Studies and Research, and the student has submitted an application to graduate, then the student's name will be forwarded to Convocation, Student and Enrolment Services, for inclusion in the Convocation Program.
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