Supervison and Supervisory Committees

Contents

Selection of Supervisory Committee

 

 

Selection of Supervisory Committee

In some academic units, a student will have a supervisor from the beginning of their program. In other academic units, the supervisor may not be known until the student has been in the program for a short time and has become acquainted with the faculty members and their research interests. In either case, students should have both a supervisor and a supervisory committee before they register in thesis or project hours. For Doctoral candidates, it is expected that the committee will be established within the first four semesters of the student’s program.

The selection of a supervisor is by mutual agreement between the faculty member and the student, and usually requires approval of the head of the academic unit. In some instances, it may be to the student’s advantage to also have a co-supervisor. The selection of the supervisory committee is also by mutual agreement between the student and supervisor/co-supervisor.

Supervisors, co-supervisors and committee members must be accredited with FGSR.

Below are the minimum requirements set by FGSR for a supervisory committee. Additional committee members may be added, and individual academic units may have additional requirements for the structure of graduate committees.

A Master’s Supervisory Committee consists of at least the following members: 

1. Student’s supervisor.
2. Student’s co-supervisor, if applicable.
3. One additional member of the academic unit delivering the program (this member cannot be an external adjunct member of FGSR, unless there is a pre-existing formal agreement or permission has been granted by the Dean of FGSR).
4. For students in an interdisciplinary Master’s degree program, at least two committee members must be members of different academic programs or units.

A Doctoral Supervisory Committee consists of at least the following members: 

1. Student's supervisor.
2. Student's co-supervisor, if applicable.
3. Additional members to bring the total number of committee members to a minimum of four (no more than one member can be an external adjunct members of FGSR, unless there is a pre-existing formal agreement or permission has been granted by the Dean of FGSR).

At least one member of the committee (not necessarily the supervisor) must be a full member (not an adjunct member) of the academic unit delivering the student’s program. At least one committee member must be a member of a different academic unit at the University of Regina from the one delivering the student’s program.

Additional Comments on the Structure of Committees: 

• Supervisors, co-supervisors and committee members may change over a student's program. Changes must be agreed to by the student and the members of the committee. Change of supervisor or co-supervisor must also be approved by the head of the academic unit.
• For Doctoral students, a list of the committee members is included in the Annual Progress Report. For Master’s students, the list of committee members is only sent to FGSR when the student submits their thesis. Any concerns about the structure of a student's committee will be addressed at this this time.
• On every committee there must be a member who is an internal member of the academic unit delivering the program (this is the intent of item 3 of each list).
• Individuals from other universities, or from external agencies or groups with specialized knowledge of the research field, may be invited to serve on the Committee. However, no more than one committee member can be an adjunct member of FGSR. FGSR accreditation is required for all committee members.
• There cannot be a conflict of interest (or even a perceived conflict) between members of a supervisory committee and the student. (See U of R policy GOV-022-010 for details.)
• The Dean of FGSR may reject a recommended Committee for any reason that the Dean believes will compromise the academic integrity of the student's program.