Program Changes and Program Transfers

Program Changes. Requests for changes to an approved program of studies must come from the program coordinator and be supported by the student’s supervisor. A memo requesting changes to a student’s program is forwarded to the Dean of FGSR for consideration. All program changes must be approved by the Dean of FGSR and in some instances vetted by an FGSR committee before they are considered official. If a student wishes to take a course outside of the approved course outline, it must be judged relevant to the student’s research focus and not compromise the program in any way. The minimal percentage passing grade in all courses is 70% irrespective of whether the course is considered a formal course requirement.

Program Transfers. Students are to complete a Request for Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Reinstatement or Program Transfer Form. Requests for program transfers may be made on behalf of the student by the program coordinator, with the support of the student’s supervisor. A memo requesting a program transfer is forwarded to the Dean of FGSR by the program coordinator for consideration. Program transfers include:

  • transfer of program route (thesis, project, practicum, course based, internship),
  • transfer from one area of study to another within the same degree
  • transfer in level (Master to Doctoral or vice versa)

Students seeking to change from one degree to another, or to a different academic unit, must submit a new application and pay the associated fee.

Transfer from a Thesis-based Master's Degree to a Ph.D. Program
Academic units are expected to reserve this option for only those students with demonstrated superior scholarly performance at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The request is to be vetted through the appropriate graduate committee in the academic unit and the recommendation is to be made by the Head (or Dean as appropriate). Only after an academic unit is satisfied that a prospective Ph.D. student has demonstrated a standard of excellence in study and research consistent with the requirements for the degree will a recommendation be forwarded to the Dean of FGSR.

The following conditions are to be met before a transfer request will be considered:

  1. The request will normally be made between 12 and 24 months of full-time study towards a thesis-based master's degree. This is to allow sufficient time to evaluate both the course work and thesis research progress of the candidate.
  2. The student's academic performance in undergraduate and graduate classes must be of uniform first class (i.e. 80% or more) standing. It is normally expected that such candidates would be at the level sufficient to obtain, or be in very serious contention, for a national award, if eligible.
  3. The student's research progress during the period of the master's program under consideration must exceed normal expectations. Typically, a research report written by the student will be provided to support this claim.
  4. The proposed Ph.D. research topic should be a natural extension of, or be closely related to, the master's research topic. Therefore, it is expected that in most instances the already completed master's research will form part of the Ph.D. thesis.
  5. The request must receive the approval of the candidate's supervisor(s) as well as the Head of the academic unit.

The completed recommendation for transfer will be sent to the Dean of FGSR for consideration. The proposed supervisory committee should be identified at the time the request is forwarded.
Graduate Studies and Research
Graduate Studies and Research