We value your opinion and request a written evaluation of the thesis. Please provide a short report, typically no longer than one page, including a summary of your judgment of the thesis, an assessment of the significance of the student’s research, and an indication of the line of questioning you may pursue at the examination. Note that Queen’s does not have a required form or evaluation guide to structure your report. You may choose to provide the committee with a more detailed report at the examination.

Your written evaluation of the thesis is to be sent by email to thesis@queensu.ca at least 5 working days before the defense. This report is not to be shared with the candidate or the supervisor(s) prior to before the oral examination. You should address any concerns or questions directly to the School of Graduate Studies and not the candidate or the supervisor(s).

This report will be read aloud at the examination.

In the event that the examination is cancelled due to two or more negative reports, and one of the negative reports is from you, your written comments will be distributed to the supervisor(s) and candidate.

i. Passed: A thesis is passed if it is acceptable in its present form or pending minor revisions, and its defence at the oral thesis examination was satisfactory. A thesis may be passed if no substantive changes are required. Changes in the form of corrections of typographical or grammatical errors, minor modifications to the thesis, editorial revisions to improve clarity and revisions to clarify results, findings or conclusions, or the like, may be recommended with a thesis classified as passed. A list of the required revisions must be provided by the Chair to the student and the supervisor, and the completion of the revisions must be certified to the SGSPA by the thesis supervisor or other designated person.
 

ii. Passed with Major Revisions: A thesis is passed with major revisions if it is not acceptable in its present form or pending minor revisions but could be acceptable pending major revisions. Major revisions could include, for example, rearticulation and repositioning of research purpose, substantive integration of new literature, major additions or revisions to conceptual framework, methodology, results, and/or discussion. In cases of portfolio or manuscript theses, a passed with major revision outcome may be assigned if one or more of the manuscripts requires major revisions. A passed with major revisions may not require revaluation of the written thesis by the whole examining committee. Revisions must be certified to the SGSPA by those whom the examining committee deem responsible for oversight of revisions.

iii. Referred: A thesis is referred if it is unacceptable in its present form and/or requires re-examination by the PhD oral thesis examining committee. For example, a thesis will be referred if it requires substantive changes such as rewriting a chapter, reinterpretation, reanalysis or recalculation of data or findings, or additional research in order to attain acceptable standards of coherence and integrity in argument and presentation. The committee may decide to reconvene the examining committee and hold another oral thesis examination of the revised thesis.

The examining committee may also use the referred category if it determines that the oral thesis examination itself, either separate from or in conjunction with the written thesis, is unsatisfactory. This means that the student did not adequately present and defend the thesis and its underlying assumptions, methodology, results and conclusions in a manner consistent with the degree being sought. In such cases, a second oral thesis examination must be held, and the committee must then return a decision of either “passed” or “failed".

In all cases of referral, the nature of the revisions and/or additional work, and/or the deficiencies associated with the oral thesis examination, must be specified in writing by the Chair to avoid dispute or ambiguity. When outlining the revisions and/or additional work required, and/or the holding of a second oral thesis examination, the Chair must be as specific as possible. These comments will be passed on to the candidate in a letter from the SGSPA as revisions and/or improvements that must be met for the thesis to be reconsidered.

Any outlined revisions in relation to a referred outcome must be certified by the Chair or delegate as having been completed satisfactorily. Usually, this certification is delegated to at least two members of the Committee. In all cases of referral, the examining committee continues to exist until it has agreed that the thesis outcome is either passed or failed. The decision of Passed with Major Revisions is not an option once the thesis and/or oral examination has been placed in the Referred category.

Notes on the Referred Category

1. Candidates have up to twelve months from the date of the first oral thesis examination to complete revisions to their thesis but should be encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
2.  A thesis that has been defended by oral thesis examination can be submitted once more only in revised form. A candidate whose thesis and/or defence of the thesis at the second oral examination, does not satisfy the examining committee on the second submission will be failed.

iv. Failed: Failure can occur in 2 ways:

1. A thesis is failed if the document is unacceptable to the discipline even with substantive revisions. If the committee returns two or more votes of Failed on the basis of the document, this means that the committee recommends that the student be required to withdraw on academic grounds.
2. Failure may also result from an unacceptable second oral thesis examination, where the student was manifestly unable to adequately present and defend the thesis and its underlying assumptions, methodology, results and conclusions in a manner consistent with the degree being sought. A decision of Failed on the basis of the second oral thesis examination requires agreement by the majority (more than half) of the examining committee.

It is preferred that all examiners be physically present for the oral thesis examination. However, in certain extenuating circumstances, it is acceptable for the oral thesis examination to be scheduled so that the external examiner from outside of Queen's University can participate in the oral thesis examination remotely.

Arrangements for the use of remote access services must be made by the graduate department/program. Remote participation of the external examiner must be agreed to by the Department Head and/or Graduate Coordinator, the student, and supervisor(s) of the student, being examined.

The external examiner will receive a $100.00 honorarium and be reimbursed for travel, meals and accommodations up to a maximum of $800. Departments may cover additional costs for examiner travel.

• The most reasonable and affordable means of travel and accommodation should be sought as per the University’s travel policy (note: business travel costs are not normally covered)
• Meals/per diems are reimbursed up to maximums specified in the Treasury Board of Canada Joint National Council guidelines (Travel Directive-Appendix C). Please see their website for current rates. Please note that alcohol purchases will not be reimbursed
• Itemized travel receipts (including meals) are to be scanned and submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs at sgspa.admin@queensu.ca along with the examiner’s home mailing address
• Out-of-country examiners are reimbursed in USD, on par with CAD

The examiner will receive an email following the exam with instructions for receiving their honorarium.