| Supervisory Committee Defined | Within the first year of the program (by September of 2nd year) | Supervisor and student agree on committee members; members are contacted and agree to serve |
| Initial research meeting (informal with committee – student presents tentative plan) | Shortly after committee defined (by December of 2nd year) | Student gets a chance to try out their ideas, present some pilot work (if already done), and benefits from committee’s expertise |
| … subsequent meetings | As required to provide student with sufficient guidance; could be in the form of departmental seminars, with committee members attending, or as lab meetings | Student should have some continued interaction with the committee members (the form may vary) |
| Prospectus Defense | By end of 2nd year (e.g. August) | Program Requirement (formally scheduled meeting) |
| Informal consultations/meetings with committee members (no limit, at least 1 or 2 recommended per year) | As required; again, could take the form of lab meetings or departmental seminars; a yearly progress update is minimal | To ensure project benefits maximally from committee expertise |
| Penultimate draft of document to committee | About 4 months before projected defense date (to allow for revisions and comments) – Feb to March of 4th year of program | Committee members may focus on different aspects of the thesis, especially if multiple methodologies are involved |
| Final version approved by Supervisor | | |
| Intent to Submit | 8 weeks before the projected defense date, the candidate informs the Department that he or she intends to submit the dissertation for defense | University Requirement |
| Final version [6 examinable copies] to graduate administrator | 6 weeks before projected defence date | University Requirement |
| Final version circulated to committee, including external examiner | 4 weeks before schedule defense | University Requirement |
| Thesis Defence | End of 4th year of program | University Requirement |