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Students should be proactive in ensuring regular contact with their interim/senior supervisor. Securing the appropriate quality and quantity of feedback on a regular basis is a key factor in making good progress through the program. If the student’s research interests change, it is the student’s responsibility to initiate any required changes in the supervisory committee.

Student progress is measured in two areas

1. Coursework. Graduate courses require extensive critical reading and research. It is important to anticipate heavy time constraints and time management is therefore a crucial component of success. A typical course load for graduate students is one or two courses per term. Normally, students should not take more than two courses per term. Students are required to maintain a CGPA above 3.0 to remain in the program.
   
   
2. Research progress. The CMNS program is a research program. This means that a substantial part of the program is devoted to working on the research problem that culminates in the thesis or project. Students are expected to progress steadily in their research, from identifying a topic, developing it into research question(s), selecting and applying research method(s), generating or collecting data, analyzing and interpreting results, and writing and defending the thesis or project. For PhD students the process has additional important milestones such as comprehensive exams and the dissertation proposal.

Progress evaluation

Progress will normally be formally evaluated once per year at the end of the Spring term. The   annual progress report is online and should be completed by the end of April. It is essential that students’ progress is reviewed as satisfactory. Unsatisfactory progress evaluations have a negative impact on access to awards, appointments, and resources. Two unsatisfactory progress reviews may result in removal from the program. The following timetable should be used as a guideline. Note: On-Leave terms count when determining progress unless the leave is due to extenuating (medical/compassionate or parental) circumstances.

Consequences of unsatisfactory progress

Students whose progress has been reviewed as unsatisfactory:

• May not receive graduate fellowships or recommendation for the fellowships
• May not receive matching travel grants
• May be placed at the end of the priority list for TA or Sessional Instructor positions

MA students

• Senior supervisor should be selected (or the interim supervisor confirmed as the senior supervisor) by end of term 1
• A supervisory committee must be selected by end of term 2. Approval of Supervisory Committee Form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator
• Thesis Topic Declaration Form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator by the end of term 2 (the form should be updated if substantial changes occur).
• All required courses should be completed by the end of term 3

PhD students

• Senior supervisor should be selected (or the interim supervisor confirmed as the senior supervisor) by end of term 1
• A supervisory committee must be selected by end of term 2. Approval of Supervisory Committee Form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator
• Thesis Topic Declaration Form must be submitted to the Graduate Program Coordinator by the end of term 2 (the form should be updated if substantial changes occur).
• All required courses should be completed by the end of term 4
• Comprehensive exam field essays and reading lists should be approved by the end of term 5
• Comprehensive exam(s) are normally completed by end of term 6
• A detailed dissertation proposal should be presented and approved one term after comprehensive exam(s) or by the end of term 8 (whichever is sooner)

If students fail to meet the criteria listed above, the student and Supervisor are advised to provide a written statement to the Graduate Program Committee explaining the reasons for the delay and outlining a timetable for meeting those requirements. The Graduate Program Committee is the body that accepts or rejects such appeals.