PhD Thesis procedures

During Stage II of the doctoral degree, the student selects a Thesis Supervisor and a Thesis Supervisory Committee consisting of two additional faculty. Full-time permanent faculty in Art Education at Concordia University, holding a terminal degree, and who hold the rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor are eligible to supervise student. The Thesis Supervisor and at least one other member of the proposed thesis committee should be full-time art education faculty members holding a doctorate. The third (and additional members if warranted) may be another full-time art education faculty member or a faculty member from outside the Art Education Department or from outside of the University. The Supervisory Committee must consist of a minimum of three members.

When the dissertation is ready for examination, additional external members will be required for the oral exam as per guidelines from the School of Graduate Studies.

On a case by case basis, committee membership may be adjusted with justification of expertise required for the research project undertaken by a graduate student. For Art Education, this membership could include a host of experts with or without terminal degrees, such as a professor emeritius, a First Nations Elder, a master teacher, and/or related artist, researcher, teacher experts. Appointment requires approval from the Department and SGS.

It is expected student will follow the appropriate protocols when forming an expert committee with a First Nations Elder: https://www. concordia.ca/indigenous/resources/elder.html. 

Expert committee membership requires an email from the Supervisor to the Graduate Program Director outlining the following justification on why the expert is needed:

• How the expert will contribute to the research thesis
• What role the expert will perform on the committee
• The expert's background/qualifications as it relates to the research study

Once confirmed by the GPD, the request is forwarded to the School of Graduate Studies. The School of Graduate Studies approves all such requests.

Note: No honorarium is provided for supervisory committee service.

In consultation with the Thesis Supervisor, the student schedules a meeting with the entire Thesis Supervisory Committee to evaluate the thesis proposal. The student must provide a recording device to record the meeting in order to accurately summarize the Committee's recommendations. At the close of the meeting, the supervisor and committee members complete and sign theThesis Proposal Form, officially recording the committee's membership and its decisions on the thesis proposal.

All research must conform to the University’s policy on the ethical standards for conducting research with human subjects. If applicable, it is the responsibility of the student to submit a completed Summary Protocol Form (SPF) (long version) to the Thesis Supervisory Committee along with the Thesis Proposal. Once the committee approves both the Thesis Proposal and the Summary Protocol Form, the thesis advisor will submit a summary Protocol Form to the University Human Research Ethics Committee (UHREC). Once the UHREC has approved the SPF the thesis research involving human subjects may begin.

Using the recording and notes from the proposal meeting, the student formulates a written summary of the results of the thesisproposal meeting and makes the required modifications to the written thesis proposal. When this is accomplished, the student emails the completed form and all required attachments to arte.gpa@concordia.ca and larissa.yousoubova@concordia.ca.

It is the student's responsibility to make sure that a copy of the:

1. Accepted Thesis Proposal
2. Completed Thesis Proposal Form
3. Summary Protocol Form and
4. A written summary of recommendations and/or modifications are delivered to the Graduate Program Office.

It is expected that this be done within 2 weeks of the committee meeting.

The student is expected to keep in regular contact with the thesis supervisor throughout the period of thesis research and writing. Holidays, summer vacations, professional travel and sabbatical leaves may restrict the availability of the supervisor and/or committee members, so students should plan accordingly. When the student and supervisor agree that the completed draft is ready, it is then distributed to the other members of the thesis supervisory committee for their review. This review requires approximately one month if it occurs during the Fall or Winter terms, and longer at other times during the year. When the committee agrees the thesis draft is ready, the student and thesis supervisor initiate the University's procedures for the thesis submission and final examination ("the defense").

Students must follow the procedures detailed in the booklet entitled Thesis Preparation and Thesis Examination Regulations available from the Graduate Studies Office.