Each MSc student will have a supervisory committee consisting of the student’s supervisor and one other faculty member. For general regulations on supervision, please refer to section 3.1 of the Graduate Calendar. The committee meets regularly and students are encouraged to seek advice between meetings as well.  Once you know who will be on your committee, please let the Chemistry Graduate Program Administrator know as soon as possible (chemgrad@mcmaster.ca); this needs to be done within the first month of your arrival at McMaster.

Your first meeting should be held after 8-9 months (usually in April or May of your first academic year if you started in September).  For this first meeting, prepare a 6 page report that introduces the research topic and research goal, and describes the experimental approach as well as experimental results. Please make sure to include a summary at the beginning of your report. The summary should not exceed one page. The report should be double-spaced, 12 point font, 2.5 cm margins. Figures, tables, references, and appendices do not count in the page limit. The report should be submitted to committee members one week in advance of the meeting. Any presentations or publications arising from the student’s research should be included in an appendix.

The purpose of this first meeting is to give the student an opportunity to present their research topic and early results, and to receive feedback from the committee. The meeting will start with a 20-30-minute oral presentation by the student, with about 30 minutes of questions and discussion (often questions are asked as the student proceeds through their presentation). The supervisory committee will want to assess whether the research objectives are clearly laid out, whether the student understands the research objectives and the background chemistry, and whether there are reasonable signs of effort and progress.

Your second meeting should be held after 16-18 months (usually in December-February of your second academic year if you started in September).  This timing ensures that the the meeting is well placed to discuss the possibility of a transfer to the PhD program or the MSc thesis outline.  You will also discuss remaining research and the timing of remaining lab work and thesis writing.

At this second meeting, the student will again present a brief overview of the project’s goals and will outline their experimental results; they will typically have publishable data, whether or not they plan to transfer to the PhD program. There should also be some discussion of relevant literature, and evidence that the student is participating in the design as well as the execution and interpretation of experiments. The student’s report for this meeting will be about 20 pages to give room for experimental results.  Please make sure to include a summary page at the beginning of the report. The report should be double-spaced, 12 point font, 2.5 cm margins. Figures, tables, references, and appendices do not count in the page limit. The report should be submitted to committee members one week in advance of the meeting. Any presentations or publications arising from the student’s research should be included in an appendix. There will be a 20-minute oral presentation, with questions and discussion (meetings are typically ~90 minutes long and room bookings should be for 2 hours).

For students planning to graduate with an MSc degree, the committee will look at the student’s progress to date and, if necessary, make recommendations on what work must be accomplished for completion of the MSc thesis. The student must present a plan to finish all experimental work, submit drafts, and complete their thesis on time; i.e., within 2 years of beginning the MSc program

For students planning to transfer to the Ph.D. program, the committee will look at whether the student is on track for a transfer. Alternatively, for MSc students who intend to transfer to the Ph.D. program and have strong support for this from their supervisor and committee, the transfer exam (see below for more details) can double as the 2nd MSc committee meeting.  In this case, please be aware that:

• all transfer exams must take place within 22 months of your start date in the MSc program (this deadline is from the School of Graduate Studies and is not flexible), and
• if you want the transfer exam to double as an MSc supervisory committee meeting, please make sure you bring and complete both sets of forms (those for the transfer exam and those for an M.Sc. committee meeting).

MSc students must defend their thesis within 24 months from the start of their Master’s program

Students should consult the Guide for the Preparation of Masters and Doctoral Theses and the helpful guidance on the Completing your Masters Degree – Thesis site. These explain the style and format preferred by the School of Graduate Studies.  An archive of MSc and PhD theses from McMaster is available for download in PDF format on MacSphere. You can also access a list of MSc and PhD theses from our department in reverse chronological order going back all the way to 1946.

The submission of MSc theses is arranged within the Department according to the following process:

• The student is given permission to write the thesis when they have conducted sufficient research to justify preparation of a thesis. Permission to write may be conditional (i.e., permission to write after a defined list of experiments are complete).

• Drafts of chapters of the thesis should be provided to the supervisor for review and comments/corrections as thesis writing progresses. A first complete draft of the thesis document is also submitted to the supervisor for review and critical comments. After suitable revisions and approval by the supervisor, the revised version of the thesis may be submitted to the Examination Committee, which consists of the supervisory committee and one other qualified faculty member selected by the supervisor. The final version of the thesis must not exceed 150 pages (at least 12 pt. font, double-spaced letter-size paper), including all figures, and tables, but excluding table of contents, title page, references and appendices.

• The MSc thesis defence is organized by the supervisor at least two weeks after submission of the thesis. The MSc defence requires an examination committee composed of your two-member M.Sc. supervisory committee (see above) and an additional examiner who serves also as chair. The defence is open to the public. The chair will usually start the defence by asking all persons except the Examination Committee to leave the room, in order to discuss the format of the examination and the responsibilities of the examiners. The examination will consist of an oral presentation (15 – 20 minutes) by the student, followed by a series of questions asked by the members of the Examination Committee in turn. The defence should not normally exceed two hours in duration. At the end of the defence, the Examination Committee will consider their verdict in closed session. The Chair will then call the student into the room to give the committee’s decision.

• The defence report form is to be completed by the examining committe at the end of the oral defence. The committee chair will have other paperwork for you to complete including the final thesis submission sheet and the McMaster University license.  Submit the completed forms to the Grad Admin (chemgrad@mcmaster.ca).
  • MSc Defence Report
  • Final Thesis Submission Sheet
  • Licence to McMaster University Form

• As the final step, the student submits the corrected thesis to the School of Graduate Studies by uploading to MacSphere (instructions on how to do so can be found here). The MSc degree will be awarded on receipt of the thesis; students are considered to have completed their degrees as of the date of upload to MacSphere (this is the same date that McMaster stops charging tuition).

We encourage graduate students registered in the MSc program, and interested in pursuing a PhD degree, to transfer to the PhD program without completing all of the formal MSc requirements. Transferring is an attractive route to the PhD degree, as it removes the need to write and defend an MSc thesis, and allows you to use your research results obtained to date as part of your PhD thesis.

The Transfer Exam is designed to make sure you have the skills needed to succeed in the PhD program. In addition to evidence of significant experimental progress, this includes a good understanding of the scientific principles of your research, and the ability to discuss your research in a broader context. Our graduate program offers multiple opportunities to hone these skills, including courses, meetings with your supervisor and committee, as well as TA duties and informal discussions with other graduate students and local and visiting faculty – we encourage you to take advantage of these opportunities!

Your supervisory committee will formally consider you for the transfer process around the time of your second supervisory committee meeting, and after you have completed most of your MSc courses and have made good progress in your research.

The transfer exam MUST be held within 22 months from your start date in the MSc program.  The two transfer forms below are to be completed by the examining committee: one for the departmental records, the other to be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS).  Submit the completed forms to the Grad Admin (chemgrad@mcmaster.ca).

• Department Report on Transfer Examination (for the Chemistry Department)
• Request for Program Change (for SGS)

If your supervisor and supervisory committee agree, the transfer exam may double as the 2nd M.Sc. supervisory committee meeting, so long as the transfer exam form, the change of status form and the M.Sc. committee meeting form (see above) are all completed and submitted for this meeting. So, you will need a total of three forms, but only a single written report suffices when you combine your 2nd M.Sc. supervisory committee meeting and the transfer exam.

You will be asked to submit a Transfer Report (see below) summarizing your research results and outlining your plans for their extension into the PhD program. At the meeting, you will be asked to give a 20 min presentation summarizing your research, and then to field questions designed to test your background knowledge, familiarity with the research field, and research skills (~90 min).

Your transfer exam committee will consist of your MSc supervisory committee, one additional faculty member, and the chair of the exam (a member of the graduate oversight committee who may not also act as member of your transfer exam committee), for a total of four professors. The possible outcomes of the Transfer Exam are:

• Transfer approved
• Transfer approved with conditions, such as registration in specified courses, or required readings.
• Transfer not recommended. You would then be advised to submit and defend an MSc thesis by the end of term 6 (e.g. the end of August in year 2). You may subsequently apply to enter the PhD program.

Preparation Of The Transfer Report

The transfer report and the transfer exam differ from the earlier committee reports and meetings. Their purpose is to allow the transfer committee to assess your research progress and your level of scientific thinking as well as your future research plans. It is important that you structure your report and presentation according to these purposes.

The report should start with a review of the relevant literature, and then summarize the research questions you have addressed to date, supported by key results. It should not list every experiment you have carried out, but rather concentrate on results and the bigger picture. The report should go on to explain how you plan to extend this research into your PhD program. Again, your focus should include discussion of the big picture, with enough detail to permit your committee to appraise your plan.

A central goal of the transfer report and exam is to clearly communicate to your supervisory committee: (a) the key questions that you plan to address during your Ph.D.; (b) the main aims that you propose for your doctoral research; (c) the related experimental plan. If possible, also include a statement of the central hypothesis that you plan to test during your Ph.D. studies.

In format the transfer report is closer to an extended supervisory committee report than to an MSc thesis, which typically requires much more detail. Manuscripts may be appended to the report. Transfer reports are typically 20 pages, double spaced, font size 12, plus tables, figures and references. Additional material can be included as an Appendix. Any manuscripts and published papers should be appended to the transfer report.  In this case, the transfer report can be correspondingly shorter, briefly summarizing the highlights of that work, rather than reiterating the manuscript. Make sure to include a one-page summary at the beginning of your transfer report. We encourage you to show an early draft of the transfer report to your supervisor for feedback before the actual transfer meeting.