Roadmap for PhD Students
| Event | Timline (recommended) | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Course Work (5 courses, 0.5 credit ea) | By end of year 1 | Courses are complete by end of year 1. A grade of B- or higher required in each course. |
| Methodology rotations (2 rotations, 0.5 credit ea) | By end of year 2 | Methodology rotations are complete by end of year 2. A grade of Satisfactory required in each rotation. |
| Supervisory Committee defined | By end of year 3 — earlier is strongly recommended. | Supervisor and student agree on committee members; members are contacted and agree to serve. Form is submitted. |
| Pre-prospectus meeting | Before prospectus defense (end of year 3) | We recommend scheduling at least one pre-prospectus meeting with the committee prior to prospectus defense. |
| Prospectus Defense | By end of year 3 | The defense requires a formal document of 50+ pages submitted to the committee 2 weeks prior to the date of the defense followed by a formal defense of that document. |
| Additional committee meetings | Before final defense (before end of year 6) | We recommend scheduling at least one pre-defense meeting with the committee. |
| External Examiner information submitted | 8 weeks before the defense date the Supervisor will provide the name and CV of the External Examiner to the Chair | The student must not have contact with the External Examiner. Supervisor coordinates this stage. |
| Defense date and time form submitted to the Department | 6 weeks before final defense | The form must be submitted on time as it is required to identify the Chair of the defense. Failure to do so may cause delays in the defense. |
| Final thesis version submitted to Carleton Central | 5 weeks before defense date | Examination ready thesis approved by the Supervisor is submitted to Carleton Central. |
| Thesis defense | Before end of 6th year of program | The defense date should allow time for any post-defense revisions required by the committee. |
| Final committee-approved thesis post-defense is uploaded to Carleton Central | Before end of 6th year of program | All required revisions identified during the defense are implemented; final thesis is uploaded to Carleton Central. |