Major Research Paper (MRP) Supervision Procedures

Guiding Principles for Assigning MRP Supervisors

The selection of a thesis supervisor is based on a variety of factors, including:

• Students’ interests and preferences;
• Faculty members’ interests and areas of specialization;
• Students’ participation in faculty members’ research projects;
• An equitable distribution of faculty members’ workloads (based, among other factors, on current and anticipated workloads).

Note that theses are evaluated solely on the supervising faculty member, without a committee of external evaluators. 

Co-Supervision

• Co-supervision (internal or external) for MRPs is not permitted, but the student can always consult another faculty member on an informal and occasional basis (for example, to seek clarification on a specific topic), in collaboration with the MRP supervisor.

Timeline

• The student must submit three (n=3) names of faculty members in no particular order of preference;
• The list of students’ choices and topics must be distributed to the faculty 24 hours in advance of the pairing meeting;
• The faculty meeting takes place after the first assembly in September. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss pairing proposals and make decisions regarding assignments based on the principles listed in the section “Principles Guiding Pairing Assignments."
• If students do not receive one of their indicated choices, the Director of the School will contact those concerned to present them with a proposal that was previously discussed at the pairing meeting;
• Once the matching process is fully complete, that is, once each student has been assigned a supervisor, the MRP supervisor will contact each student under their supervision via email. This email is sent within 24 hours of the completion of the matching process;

MRP Progress Monitoring 

• Students have only one term to complete their MRP, as the course is not in continuous nature. If it is not possible to submit the thesis by the scheduled date, students must submit a request for a deferred grade, as provided for in the academic regulations on the evaluation of learning.
• In the event of a failure (NS), the student may re-enroll in the MRP provided they have not previously failed another course in the program. In this case, the two-fail rule applies, and the student is then excluded from the program. In the event of re-enrollment in the MRP after a failure, the same supervisor continues the supervision, even if the supervisor is on academic leave.

Procedures for Resolving Disputes

A “dispute” refers to significant difficulties that hinder the progress of the work.

The procedure for resolving disputes during the supervision process is a two-way process. It can be used by both students and MRP supervisors. Thus, when significant difficulties arise, both parties meet to discuss the issues and possible solutions to make the supervision process more pleasant and efficient.

Two scenarios are possible:

1. Both parties wish to continue working together following this meeting to realign expectations;
2. Both parties do not agree on the terms or functioning of the thesis process.

If both parties cannot agree on how to proceed, another meeting is scheduled with the student, the MRP supervisor, and the person responsible for graduate studies. If the person responsible for graduate studies is personally involved, a Director of the School will take their place. This meeting may not take place if the person responsible for graduate studies deems it inappropriate for both parties to meet together (health issues, significant conflicts, ethical dilemmas, discrimination, inappropriate behavior, or harassment). In this regard, it should be noted that the School of Social Work adheres to the University of Ottawa's policy on the prevention of harassment and discrimination.

The purpose of this second meeting is to clarify each party’s roles and to try to find solutions that will allow the collaboration to continue (this involves explicitly agreeing on both parties’ mutual expectations).

Three possible scenarios remain:

1. Both parties reach an agreement and wish to continue working together following this second meeting to realign expectations;
2. Both parties still cannot reach an agreement;
3. The person responsible for graduate studies decides to assign a new supervisor. In this case, the student still has only one semester to write their MRP and must submit a request for a deferred grade, as provided for in the academic regulations on the evaluation of learning, if the deadline cannot be met.

Allocation of Credits Associated with MRP Supervision in the Event of a Change in Supervision

The following allocation of credits associated with MRP supervision applies both to changes resulting from a dispute and to those caused by the supervisor’s sick leave.

If the change in supervision occurs after the completion of seminars TSO 6515 and TSO 6530, the person who supervised the MRP retains one of the credits associated with supervision, and the new supervisor is awarded the other credit.

If the change in supervision occurs before the completion of seminars TSO 6515 and TS0 6530, the person who was supervising the MRP does not receive the credits associated with supervision; these are awarded to the new supervisor.

Amended and adopted at the Assembly on October 22, 2024

Amended and adopted at the Assembly on February 26, 2024

Amended and adopted at the Assembly on May 25, 2021

Amended and adopted at the Departmental Assembly on January 20, 2015

The Directed Readings course (SVS 6761) is an individualized course supervised by a faculty member of the School of Social Work. It is offered on an exceptional basis, based on:

1. The student’s needs;
2. The courses available at the University of Ottawa; and
3. The faculty members available at the School of Social Work

For Master’s students:

• They should prioritize elective courses offered by the School of Social Work.

For doctoral students:

• Those without a Master’s degree in social work should enroll in a Master’s-level elective course offered by the School of Social Work.
• Those who hold a master’s degree in social work should prioritize master’s-level courses offered by the School of Social Work or by other departments or faculties at the University of Ottawa.
• The course objectives must be distinct from those of the comprehensive exam.

Procedure for Enrolling in the Directed Readings Course 

Before the beginning of the term, the student must:

1. Prepare a one-page document outlining the reasons for choosing a directed reading course, the steps taken to identify another relevant course, the general objectives of the course, and the name of a faculty member who agrees to supervise this work. Doctoral students must also explain how the objectives of this work differ from those of the comprehensive exam.
2. Obtain approval from the thesis supervisor (doctoral students only).
3. Obtain approval from a faculty member to supervise this work.
4. Obtain approval from the Director of Graduate Studies
5. Register for the course.

Adopted at the Departmental Assembly on September 18, 2018.

Research paper presentation guide (PDF, 2.5 MB, French only)