Transfer from the MSc to the PhD

The Transfer Exam is a 2-part exam used to evaluate an MSc student’s depth of knowledge and research skill, and therefore suitability for the PhD program.

The exam consists of both a written component (a research proposal) and an oral examination.

If an MSc student fails one of the components of the Transfer Exam, the MSc student will be asked to complete an MSc degree.

A second examination is not permitted.

If successful, the transfer exam will be accepted in lieu of the PhD comprehensive examination.

Note: Courses completed during the master's program will not count towards the PhD program requirements.

The transfer exam will evaluate whether a candidate has the knowledge and research skills required to successfully complete a doctoral program, such as:

• General and project-specific scientific knowledge
• Knowledge of the scientific literature in the proposed field of study
• Ability to generate a research question and to propose an experimental plan
• Ability to use research methodologies and to interpret results (generated during the first year of studies)
• Ability to communicate science both written and orally
• Ability to put the proposed work in the context of the broader field of research
• Potential to identify limitations of their chosen approaches and make informed judgments in their specific field of research

Each of these learning objectives will be tested both at the time of the submission of the written report (the research proposal) and at the oral exam.

Writing a research proposal through the generation of a research question and an experimental plan to address it, will:

• develop scientific writing skills;
• develop critical thinking skills;
• develop scientific creativity;
• expand knowledge in the field of research.

At the second meeting of the TAC committee, normally in the 4^th term after first enrolment, the student’s research project and the Transfer Exam should be discussed.

The transfer exam must be successfully completed before the end of the 5^th term.

At least six weeks prior to the transfer exam, you need to inform the Graduate and Postdoctoral Office (GPSO) by email of the date chosen by the supervisor and the evaluation committee for the examination, or of your preferred date if your supervisor and committee members haven’t yet agreed on a specific date.

To your e-mail you must add your supervisor in cc and co-supervisor if applicable and attach the following documents:

• your research abstract
• The Transfer Exam (Fast-track) Examiner nomination Form (PDF) (names of potential examiners should be chosen by the supervisor)

The Program Director will approve the nomination of the committee members.

As soon as the GSPO has the approval of the director we will assist with the scheduling of the event by confirming the time and location of the exam.

At least 3 weeks prior to the exam, you must circulate your research proposal by e-mail to the examination committee with the GSPO in cc.

The candidate will prepare a PhD research proposal on their thesis project.

This research proposal cannot be a summary of a grant proposal submitted by the research supervisor, but rather, must be specific to the research questions to be investigated by the candidate and reflective of research progress made in the first year of studies.

The committee must be composed of 3 members:

• Two TAC members, and
• One additional examiner who will be nominated as the chair for the exam.

At least one of the committee members should be from the home graduate program.

Following submission of the written component, the members of the examination committee will be granted 1 week to complete its evaluation.

All examiners and supervisors are required to be present during the oral examination.

The thesis supervisor must support the student's request to transfer to the PhD program.

The transfer exam is intended to be an independent learning process.

The proposal is to be written by the student as an independent exercise. The supervisor will not edit the proposal, but should provide feedbacks on the scope of the research and the hypotheses.

The supervisor may also be consulted on matters of methodology or format of the proposal.

The exam is evaluated as Pass/Fail. The student can fail either the written or oral component. Each component (written and oral) is evaluated by the examination committee.

A minimum of 2 satisfactory votes are required to successfully pass the Transfer Exam.

Following a Verdict 1
The student will be asked to prepare for oral defense.

Following a verdict 2
A student whose performance on the written component is deemed to be not satisfactory (more than one not satisfactory vote) will be asked to write a Master’s thesis.

General requirements

The research proposal is a formal document that will be prepared based on your proposed research plan for the PhD.

While you will have already discussed your research direction with your supervisor and TAC, the research proposal required for the Transfer Exam is neither a TAC report nor a re-submission of your supervisor’s grant proposal.

Rather, the research proposal will cover the direction of your work from the time of the exam through to thesis submission and its scientific rationale will be based on your knowledge of the field as well as your own results.

You must, therefore, decide your topic in a very narrow scope and ensure that all of your experimental aims are sufficiently independent enough to allow you to make a significant contribution to scientific knowledge in your field by the end of your studies, a requirement for the completion of a doctoral degree.

Required sections

1. Title Page

The title page should include the title of your proposal, your name and student number, your supervisor’s name, the date you began the PhD program, the date of submission of the research proposal and the following statement: Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Comprehensive Exam.

2. Abstract

A 350 word summary of the proposed research proposal. This abstract should include:

• a statement of the problem
• a rationale for the proposed research
• the hypothesis and experimental aims
• a brief description of the experimental plan
• a statement about the significance and/or implications of the proposed work

3. Introduction

The Introduction section should include the necessary information and context to understand your research question. The introduction should aim to summarize the literature in the field as well as your own research progress in a concise fashion with the objective of setting the stage for the hypothesis (next section). The Introduction should inform the reader about the important facts while also hinting at the significance of the field.

4. Rationale and Hypothesis

This short section should briefly summarize the known information that serves as the foundation for your research question, followed by your specific (and testable hypothesis). This section should not be more than one paragraph.

5. Experimental Aims and Methods

In this section, you will typically describe 2-3 experimental aims that will test your hypothesis. These aims can be formulated as smaller research questions (eg. Is protein X necessary for process Y?). For each aim, you will develop an experimental approach that is modern and feasible, and that will answer your research question. There should be sufficient detail to allow an independent researcher to complete the work. Also, it is best to think of multiple ways to validate your findings and to test your hypothesis to demonstrate scientific rigor. Ask yourself “If I do experiment A and get result B, what else, other than a correct hypothesis, could cause this result?” Asking yourself this question will reveal important control experiments that will make your approach more comprehensive.

In this section, you should also summarize for the reader what results you expect to see based on your hypothesis and literature review. While this section will cover the experimental approach that you think is ideal for answering your question, it is possible, perhaps even likely, that you will have to find another strategy to address your hypothesis. Also use this section to briefly point out pitfalls to your approach and to suggest alternative ways to answer your research questions.

6. Significance

Use this section to convince your reader of the potential impact of your research. It should be brief, but should put your expected findings into the broader context of the field of research you work in.

7. References

Each reference should be numbered sequentially as it appears in the text. The numbers should be placed in the text as a superscript. The Reference section should follow the format for the journal Nature, as shown below:

39.  Schmidt, D., del Marmol, J. & MacKinnon, R. Mechanistic basis for low threshold mechanosensitivity in voltage-dependent K+ channels. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A109, 10352-7 (2012).

General Format

1. Page Length and Margins

The Research proposal should not exceed 15 type-written pages including figures but excluding references. Margins must be set to a minimum of 1 inch (2.54 cm).

2. Acceptable font

The document should be prepared using Times New Roman 12 pt. The document should be prepared single spaced.

3. Figures

Figures should be prepared in PowerPoint, Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator and saved as image files (jpg, tif) and inserted into the text with tight text wrapping using Arial 10 pt as a minimum font size in the final version.

Each figure should include a concise legend using the acceptable fonts in 3.2 that describes the experiment performed similar to what is appropriate for scientific publication.

Figures can be integrated into the text or added at the end of the proposal, provided that they meet the formatting guidelines.

Assessment and evaluation

• The Transfer Exam is evaluated as (S) Satisfactory or (NS) Not Satisfactory.
• Each component (written and oral) is evaluated by the examination committee including the Chairperson.

Following submission of the written component, the examination committee will be granted 1 week to complete its evaluation with two possible verdict outcomes:

• Verdict 1: The research proposal is ready to proceed to oral examination, the candidate will be asked to prepare for oral examination.
• Verdict 2: The candidate will be asked to complete an MSc degree.  A second examination is not permitted.

A minimum of 2 satisfactory votes are required to successfully pass the written component of the Transfer Exam.

Description

For the oral exam, the MSc student will be asked to present a short 15 minute summary of their research topic and their proposal, followed by two rounds of questioning in which the student’s basic scientific and technical knowledge will be evaluated.

Specific questions relating directly to the research proposal will be asked.

At the end of the Oral Exam, the student will be asked to leave the room and the Supervisor will be given the opportunity to express his/her opinion of the student’s performance to the Committee.

The Supervisor will then be asked to leave the room and members of the Examining Committee will deliberate in the absence of the student and the Supervisor.

At the end of the examination, each examiner, including the Chair, will vote (satisfactory or not satisfactory).

A minimum of 2 satisfactory votes are required to successfully pass the oral exam. A student whose performance is deemed to be not satisfactory (more than one not satisfactory vote) will be asked to complete an MSc program.

The candidate and Supervisor will be invited back into the room and will be informed of the Committee’s decision and will, if necessary, suggest areas where the student needs to improve his/her background knowledge.

The forms included in the chair package (Report of Comprehensive Examination and an Oral Evaluation Form from each examiner) (which will be given to the Chair prior to the defence), along with additional recommendations, will be submitted to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office (RGN2016) immediately after the exam.

Assessment and evaluation

• Each component (written and oral) is evaluated by the examination committee including the Chair.
• The Transfer examination is evaluated as (S) Satisfactory or (NS) Not Satisfactory.

A minimum of 2 satisfactory votes are required to successfully pass the oral exam. A student whose performance is deemed to be not satisfactory (more than one not satisfactory vote) will be asked to complete an MSc program.

Roles of the supervisor

The Transfer Exam is intended to be an independent learning process.

It is expected that the supervisor will be present for the exam but will only participate as an observer.

The thesis supervisor may not ask or answer questions during the exam.

The supervisor will be asked by the chair of the examining committee to comment at the end of the exam, after the student has left the room (in particular the supervisor will be requested to describe his/her involvement in the preparation of the exam).

The thesis supervisor and the candidate are not to be present during deliberation following the exam.

The Chairperson’s responsibilities

• Distribute and collect the completed evaluation forms from the Examiners;
• Fill out the Report on Comprehensive Examination; ensure to obtain the signatures from all committee members;
• In the case of an unsuccessful comprehensive examination, provide a detailed report in writing to [email protected] addressed to the Director of the Graduate Program

The documents must be returned to the Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Office (RGN2016) once the oral exam is completed.

The Chairperson must also:

• Ensure the efficient conduct of the exam and a respectful examination environment.
• Assure that the exam is conducted within the guidelines;
• Ensure the thoroughness of the assessment of the candidate according to the format of the examination;
• Oversee the order, nature and timing of the questioning
• Invite the supervisor to comment at the end of the exam, after the student has left the room (in particular the supervisor will be requested to describe his/her involvement in the preparation of the exam).

The Chairperson may intervene:

• In the questioning, if needed to maintain the appropriate level or conduct of the Exam;
• In the discussion and assessment by examiners, if the vote or consensus does not accurately reflect the results of the questioning during the Exam;
• To deny the privilege of voting, and thus participating in the formation of a consensus, to any member of the Examining Committee who is absent from any part of the Exam.

Additional information is required to support your request to transfer from the MSc to PhD (fast-track).

The following documents must be submitted to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Office of the Faculty of Medicine through a Service request in uoZone:

• Disclosure Form
  • For students enrolled in an PhD in BCH, CMM, MIC or NSC (PDF, 147KB)
  • For students enrolled in EPI (PDF, 193KB)
• Annual Research Progress Report (PDF, 1,458KB)
• Modification/Cancellation of Registration form (PDF, 128KB)
• Registration of thesis topic / Appointment of thesis supervisor (PDF, 139KB)

Please submit 3 separate Service Requests and inform your supervisor that his approval is required to process the requests.

In your uoZone, under Request Category:

• Select Research Related / Modify a supervisor
  Attach the PhD Disclosure Form and the Registration of thesis topic / Appointment of thesis supervisor form to your request.
  This request will document that your supervisor has agreed to take you on as a PhD student, that you will be properly funded and confim your thesis topic.
• Select Research Related/ Progress Report
  Attach the Annual Research Progress Report.
  This will document your annual requirement, in the event the Transfer Exam replaced your annual Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting.
  If a Progress Report has been submitted this year, with a TAC report, this request can be waived.
• Select General/ Modification or Cancellation of Enrolment
  Attach the Modification/Cancellation of Registration form:
  • Note the change from MSc to PhD, for the upcoming term
  • Drop THM7999 (left hand side of the form)
  • Add THD9999 (right hand side of the form) and other relevant courses required to meet the PhD program requirements, such as the PhD seminar course and PhD Comprehensive Exam.

Note: Students must be enrolled to the MSc (THM7999) to request to fast-track to the PhD.
If not enrolled to THM7999 for the upcoming term, attach a Graduate Registration form to add THM7999 for the upcoming term.

Once all levels of approval are received, your request to fast-track will be complete.

The Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office will process the change within 2-4 weeks; the student will be enrolled for his/her PhD courses and receive a confirmation e-mail.