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| Division of Anatomy & Cell Biology |
For the MSc degree, the usual period of training in the Department is 2 to 3 years. The Faculty of Graduate Studies states that the maximum number of years in a Master's program is 5 years although, under exceptional circumstances, an extension can be requested for up to 12 months. During a Master's program, a student is expected to take courses, undertake a research project under the guidance of a Faculty member, and to write and defend a research thesis. At the end of the first year in the Master's program, a student will be eligible to transfer to the PhD program, subject to: a) agreement from the student's research supervisor and Supervisory Committee; and b) meeting the Faculty of Graduate Studies' requirement that they have obtained 18 credits with a first class average of which normally at least 10 credits are at the 500 level or above and at least 10 credits are of first class standing. Transfer must be completed within 2 years from the initial date of registration in the MSc program.
Courses
Students must successfully complete a total of 30 credits, including a minimum of 18 credits of course work (12 of which should be at the 500 level) and a thesis (which counts for 12 credits). All course work should normally be completed within 2 years from the date of initial registration and must be completed within a period of 3 years. It should be noted that the Faculty of Graduate Studies states that to maintain good standing, the minimum average per year is 68% (or B-) and only 6 credits below 68% (i.e. a "Pass" standing) can be accepted. A student's course load is normally determined in consultation with the student's research supervisor and Supervisory Committee. Courses may include those offered not only by the Division of Anatomy and Cell Biology but also by other Departments and Graduate Programs at UBC (see Courses). Students are also expected to participate in the Cellular and Physiological Seminar Program by attending all seminars.
Eligible students will be encouraged to gain teaching experience, which usually takes the form of laboratory demonstrations or formal tutorials in one of the undergraduate courses offered by the Department. As noted above, financial support in the form of a teaching assistantship may be available from Departmental funds only if a student has completed at least one of the departmental 'core' anatomy courses or its equivalent. Under normal circumstances, no student should take a course and teach the same course or a parallel course at the same time.
Research
The MSc candidate's research project, culminating in the writing and defence of a thesis, is an extremely important component of the training program. The planning, design and implementation of the research project should be done under the continual guidance and approval of the research supervisor in consultation with the other members of the student's Supervisory Committee. The student's provisional thesis research proposal should be approved by the student's Supervisory Committee by the end of the first year in the program. During their training, Master's students will be encouraged to present aspects of their research at national or international scientific meetings; some financial support for attendance at scientific meetings is available from The Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Anatomy & Cell Biology Graduate Student Travel Fund.
Thesis Defence
The Graduate Studies Committee is responsible for overseeing the final MSc Examination, which includes a formal oral defence of the student's research thesis. The Examination Committee will consist of a Chairperson (to be a member of the Graduate Studies Committee) and three others, at least one of whom must not be on the student's Supervisory Committee and at least one of whom must be external to the Department; the latter criteria can be satisfied by a single examiner. The examiners are responsible for grading the thesis and defence after consultation with the student's research supervisor, and will normally assign a pass or fail that takes into account the quality of the thesis and the defence.
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| Division of Physiology |
MSc Program
During the Master's program, a student is expected to take courses, undertake a research project under the guidance of a Faculty member, and to write and defend a research thesis. At the end of the first year, a student will be eligible to transfer to the PhD program, subject to: a) agreement from the student's research supervisor and Supervisory Committee; and b) meeting the Faculty of Graduate Studies' requirements (see Admission to the PhD program, section 2). Students must complete 12 months in the MSc program before transferring, FOGS does not permit transfer after 24 months.
The usual period of training for the MSc is 2 to 3 years. The maximum allowable is 5 years, although under exceptional circumstances an extension can be requested for up to 12 months. The Faculty of Graduate Studies requires that the student complete a minimum of 30 course credits, of which at least 24 must be numbered 500 to 699. Twelve credits will come from the thesis (PHYL 549) and 6 from the required course (PHYL 511). The remaining 12 credits are at the student’s discretion. A maximum of 6 credits at the undergraduate level in courses numbered 300 to 499 may be counted toward the requirements of a master's degree.
FOGS allows 6 credits of Pass standing (60-67%) with a minimum of 68% for all other courses. These are minimum standards set by FOGS. All other courses must have a minimum 68% standing. Where there is any indication of poor academic or research performance the Chair should call an immediate meeting to assess the problem. Higher academic standards are required for students in the MSc program who wish to transfer to the PhD (see Admissions to the PhD program, section 2).
Research Proposal
The research proposal is a five page document that includes a literature survey, the hypothesis to be tested, the aims that will be pursued, the methods that will be employed and any preliminary data that has been collected. It is prepared under the supervision and guidance of the research supervisor, and presented to the Advisory Committee a week in advance of the first meeting. The first meeting will be held in the spring of the first year of graduate studies and begins with a verbal summary of the proposal (15 minutes) followed by up to one hour of questions from the committee. The committee then meets, in camera, to discuss the student’s knowledge of the relevant literature and experimental techniques. A numerical evaluation of the proposal and its defense forms half the grade for the required course, PHYL 511.
Thesis Defence
Students are strongly encouraged to consult the Faculty of Graduate Studies web pages for the thesis format (Masters and Doctoral Thesis Preparation and Submission).
The MSc thesis defence is conducted in the Department. The examining committee for the defence of the MSc thesis shall include a minimum of:
a) the supervisor
b) a member of the advisory committee;
c) one faculty member not on the advisory committee;
d) the Chair.
The Chair is not required to read the thesis or to ask questions, but is not excluded from doing so. The examining committee must include one member from outside the Department (also not a committee member). The exam consists of a 20-30 minute presentation by the student of the principal findings of his/her research work, followed by questions from the examiners (15-20 min each). Following the defence, the examining committee will assign a pass or fail based on the thesis, the presentation, and the defence. The MSc defense is open to the University Community.
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