Master's Milestone - Thesis Guide
In the master’s thesis, a student designs and conducts independent research in Environmental Applied Science and Management under the guidance of a faculty supervisor. The thesis process requires that a student develops a thesis proposal for the research which will be submitted to the faculty supervisor and to the supervisory committee, and then to the Program Director for approval. See (google form) MASc Thesis and Professional Project Paper Proposal Form (external link) .
After the Proposal is approved, the research is guided by the student’s faculty supervisor in concert with the supervisory committee. Upon completion of the thesis work, the student will defend the thesis before an examination committee. The examining committee must include at least one faculty member who has not been involved in the student’s research (i.e. not a member of the supervisory committee). However, the examination committee may include one or two members of the supervisory committee in addition to the faculty supervisor.
The completed thesis will include a clear topic statement, the purpose for the research, a comprehensive review of the literature that supports the research, and it will document the development of the study data by experiment, survey or other means, and the conduct of the study using the proposed method. Where research involving animal or human subjects is planned, ethics review approval is mandatory before a student undertakes any research. Do note that ethics review applications take time to process so it is wise for students planning such research to build this into their scheduling. Visit the Research Ethics website for details. In consultation with the faculty supervisor and the supervisory committee, students must establish a timeline for research and writing. Students should recognize that producing multiple drafts is a normal and expected aspect of writing a thesis.
The role of the faculty supervisor is to provide academic advising, monitor the student’s progress toward the completion of the program, and ensure that a Plan of Study is submitted at the end of each term while a student is actively enrolled in the program. For details, refer to the Plan of Study. Students actively enrolled in the program are required to meet with the faculty supervisor and the supervisory committee to review the academic progress in the most recent term and submit the Plan of Study to the EnSciMan program before the grading deadline for that term. In the event that a student does not present a Plan of Study for review, A UNS (unsatisfactory) assessment in the student’s Research Milestone in RAMSS may be assigned for the term’s progress and the student’s academic standing will be adjusted accordingly (as per (PDF file) Senate Policy #164, Procedures, Section 18). The first UNS assessment in a progress report or failure in a course will put a student on Provisional academic standing. A second UNS and/or course failure will result in involuntarily program withdrawal. Refer to (PDF file) Senate Policy #164, Section 7 Academic Standing.
The “Master’s Thesis/Professional Project Paper Proposal Guide” is available on our program website here.
Thesis Proposal Approval and Submission
The Master’s Thesis Proposal approved by the faculty supervisor, supervisoty committee & GPD.
- Full‐time students: BEFORE the beginning of the 3rd term in year 1 and before ES8930 Seminar enrollment.
- Part‐time students: BEFORE enrolling in the 6th course, and before ES8930 Seminar enrollment.
A thesis proposal approved by the student’s faculty supervisor and the program director is the prerequisite to request enrollment in the ES8930 Seminar course.
Submit the Thesis Proposal using the (google form) Thesis/Project Paper Proposal Approval form (external link) .
Enrollment in the master’s thesis milestone forms part of the student’s official academic record. Students are able to see the Milestone enrollment in the unofficial academic transcript in RAMSS. Refer to the (PDF file) Senate Policy #164, Section
A part‐time graduate student may enroll in a maximum of two courses in a term. After enrolling in the master’s thesis milestone in RAMSS, a part‐time student may register in one course in a term.
A student who fails to submit an approved thesis proposal on time may receive an "unsatisfactory" designation in the program and placed in provisional standing.
Master’s students will be guided principally by the faculty supervisor while a supervisory committee will provide guidance and support to a student in developing and conducting research. The committee will be formed prior to the start of the student’s second semester of study. In addition to the principal faculty supervisor(s), the supervisory committee will comprise two additional YSGS faculty members, at least one of whom is an EnSciMan faculty member.
Master’s theses are subject to formal oral examinations. The faculty supervisor will determine that the written work is ready to stand for defence; subsequently, in consultation with the student and the supervisory committee, the faculty supervisor will establish an Examining Committee and schedule a defence (refer to the (PDF file) Senate Policy #164, Procedures, Section 19).
As per Senate Policy #164, Procedures, Section 21.2, a master’s thesis examining committee is composed of a minimum of four members: the student’s supervisor(s), the GPD or designate, one faculty member from the student’s program who is a member of YSGS, and one faculty member who is not involved in the student research and is a YSGS member from any graduate program. The GPD or designate will serve as Chair of the examining committee. One or two members of the supervisory committee can serve on a student’s thesis examining committee. However, at least one faculty member who has not been involved in the student’s research, must be added to the examining committee.
When the student’s thesis is deemed ready to go forward for a defence, the supervisor will assemble an Examining Committee (see above). This should happen at least four weeks before the planned defence date.
The principal faculty supervisor will email the program director the planned defence date and time, names of the examiners and the title of the student’s thesis not less than three weeks before the proposed date of the defence (and copy the same email to ensciman@torontomu.ca).
Normally a master’s thesis is two hours’ long. It is typically scheduled at 10 am‐12 noon or at 2‐4 p.m.; the schedule may vary subject to the availability of the members of the Examining Committee and the student.
Distribution of the thesis: The student will provide the final thesis for examination to each examining committee member at least two weeks prior to the defence. No examinations will be held any sooner than two weeks (ten working days) after the thesis is distributed. Examining committee members may request digital or hard copies as necessary.
Students should recognize there are fewer days to schedule a defence in the month of December due to the year‐end holiday and the examining committee members are not obliged to read the thesis during the holiday.
*Note: Students who are unable to clear graduation requirements on time will be (a) enrolled in the program in the following term and is responsible for paying the program fees or (b) withdrawn from the program for those students who have reached the maximum term of program registration unless petition of an extension has been granted by the Program Director (for the 1st extension) or by the Dean of Graduate Studies (for a 2nd extension). Refer to the YSGS Significant Dates are available online.
Following the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, defences will be held virtually until further notice.
The program administrator is responsible for booking a venue for the defence. Normally 9‐10 days before the date of the defence, the committee members and the student will be informed by email the location of the defence.
The defence will be announced in the YSGS “Schedulled Oral Examinations” website. However, late defences may not be announced publicly. Presentation Equipment used during the oral defence: The student must bring his/her own lap‐top to the defence for power‐point presentation during the oral defence. The student is responsible for providing any non‐PC connecting cables necessary for laptop connection to a VGA or HDMI port on the PC Projector. If necessary, the student may contact the program administrator to access and reserve the program's laptop, microphone, and other technology. The student is responsible for setting up the presentation equipment before the defence begins. There is no computer technical support in YSGS. Before the date of the defence, students may contact the program administrator to book a time to practice setting up the presentation equipment to ensure compatibility.
The responsibility to submit a correctly formatted thesis according to the YSGS regulations rests solely with the author. A student will not be cleared to graduate on the basis of submitting a thesis not complying with the YSGS thesis format regulations. Students should review the YSGS thesis formatting regulations thoroughly before they start to write. Students should master the page numbering features in the word processing software at the early stage of writing when the paper is still short. It will be very frustrating and stressful to leave the formatting of a long piece of written work to the last minute. The manuscript‐based theses must comply with the YSGS formatting regulations and the EnSciMan guidelines for manuscript‐based dissertations/theses. As a courtesy, the program administrator may provide feedback on the format of a student’s thesis draft provided (i) the draft has all the major components (front matter, some part or a draft of the main body, back matter) and (ii) the two different page number systems have been set‐up according to the YSGS regulations (section 5.5 Numbering of Pages). The draft in pdf format may be sent by email to the program administrator at: ensciman@torontomu.ca. See also: (PDF file) Paper Formatting Sample - EnSciMan and (PDF file) Thesis, Major Research Paper and Dissertation Submission Guidelines (PDF file) .
Graduate students must maintain continuous program registration until degree completion. Graduate students are required to pay the appropriate program fee in every term including the term in which the completion of degree requirements is anticipated. Students are strongly advised to aim fulfilling all academic requirements to graduate AT LEAST ONE WORKING DAY BEFORE the applicable YSGS “final date to clear outstanding graduation requirements” published in the on‐line YSGS Significant Dates. To complete the Master’s Thesis requirements for graduation purpose, the following items must be fulfilled on or before an appropriate deadline:
Student Responsibilities:
- Complete the post‐defence corrections required by the oral examining committee members as soon as possible after a defence is over. The faculty supervisor needs sufficient time to review the post defense corrected thesis before he/she may verify that the thesis is acceptable for final submission.
- An electronic version of the final corrected version of the thesis must be provided to the faculty supervisor as this is required in the faculty supervisor’s verification email (see. 10.2 below).
- Complete, sign and submit the Ryerson NLC form (Non‐Exclusive License Form) as an email attachment in pdf format to ensciman@torontomu.ca before the deadline to clear graduation requirements. Refer to the YSGS Thesis/MRP/Dissertation Guidelines, section 4.3 Library, Archives Canada for information. A pdf fillable NLC form will be forwarded to the student after the defence by the program administrator.
Faculty Supervisor’s Verification
When the faculty supervisor is satisfied with the post‐defence thesis corrections completed by the student, the faculty supervisor will:
- Write to the program by e‐mail (EnSciMan@torontomu.ca) to attest the acceptability of the thesis as a final corrected version;
- Attach the student’s thesis (pdf format) to the attesting email; and
- Copy the same e‐mail to the students so the student knows that the verification and the thesis have been sent to the program.
If major revisions of the Master’s Thesis are required, the verification e‐mail will be sent by the Chair of the Oral Examining Committee instead of the faculty supervisor (Senate Policy #164, Procedures, Section 21.9).
The program administrator will not accept the thesis (pdf) from the student without the faculty supervisor’s verification. If any of the items mentioned above are not received in time or the format of the thesis does not comply with the YSGS thesis formatting regulations, the student will not pass the ‘degree audit’ for graduation. A student who has been denied to graduate will be enrolled in the program for another term; actively enrolled students are responsible for paying the program fees. The deadline to clear the degree requirements to graduate in each term published in the YSGS Significant Dates is an absolute deadline. The program administrator is not authorized to make any exception or to extend any deadline established by YSGS.
Other Information about the Master’s Thesis
The master’s thesis (pdf) accepted by the program administrator will be forwarded to the university’s Library by YSGS. The pdf file will eventually be publicly accessible including a student’s future employer(s) and associates. Revisions to the master’s thesis will NOT be accepted after the program administrator has accepted the ‘final’ version sent by the faculty supervisor.