University of Windsor - Graduate Calendar, 1998-2000

Ph.D. and M.A.Sc. degrees are offered in Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Engineering Materials, Environmental Engineering, Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering. The M.A.Sc. degree is offered in Geological Engineering.

Requirements common to these Programs and supplementary to the general requirements of the College of Graduate Studies and Research are listed below.
The Faculty of Engineering offers a Bachelor's - Master's Integrated Engineering Degree program which allows students with outstanding academic ability to achieve both a B.A.Sc. and M.A.Sc. degree in a time period as short as five years. This program treats the educational process through the B.A.Sc. to the M.A.Sc. degree as a single coherent integrated whole, while ensuring that the requirements for both degrees are fully satisfied. This structured program represents a complementary alternative to the existing separate undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

8.1.1 THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Areas of Specialization

The areas of specialization are listed by Program.

Admission Requirements

An applicant for admission to a course of graduate studies leading to the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Engineering must normally be a graduate of a recognized university with a Master's degree in Engineering or Applied Science. Applicants with degrees in related fields will be considered but will normally require strengthening of their background in engineering. At the discretion of the Program Graduate Committee, Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) may be required.

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to satisfy the English proficiency requirement as described in 1.3.

Possession of the minimum requirements does not automatically ensure acceptance.

Candidacy: Admission to graduate study does not imply admission to candidacy for a degree. The candidacy of a student normally will be determined within the second year after initial registration in the doctoral program.
Candidacy will be granted to students who meet all of the following requirements:

(a) satisfactory completion of the comprehensive examination;
(b) demonstration to the doctoral committee of ability to conduct independent research;
(c) acceptance by the doctoral committee of the research proposal.

The doctoral committee will assess the student's competence to continue research on the basis of (a), (b) and (c), and make a recommendation to the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee.

Program Requirements

The specific minimum program requirements for the Ph.D. include the successful completion of:

1) Course Requirements: Satisfactory completion of at least four courses, comprising a minimum of eight term hours, beyond the courses required for the Master's degree.

2) A comprehensive examination.

3) Satisfactory progress in research within each review period. The doctoral committee will establish by periodic review, which will include at least one formal seminar a year, that adequate progress in research has been accomplished by the candidate. The doctoral committee will also grant permission to write the dissertation when it decides the candidate has achieved sufficient competence in carrying out research, and when the candidate has done substantial research.

4) A dissertation on the research. Each candidate will be required to make an oral presentation of the dissertation research and will be examined orally on the subject of the dissertation and related fields.

Residence and Time Limits: Every student will undertake a full program of study for a minimum of three years beyond the Baccalaureate of Engineering or its equivalent. Credit for one of these years may be given for the time spent in proceeding to a Master's degree. Credit for one of these years may also be given for work done at another institution. However, in no case shall the student spend fewer than two of the three required years of residence in full-time attendance at the University of Windsor.

A student admitted to a Ph.D. program requiring the student's attendance for a minimum of three years must complete all requirements within seven years. Students admitted to a program requiring a minimum of two years' residence must complete all requirements within six years.

Committees: Research undertaken as part of a doctoral program is normally directed and supervised by a doctoral committee. Whereas the student's advisor provides day-to-day guidance and direction, the committee is ultimately responsible for the overall supervision to ensure that adequate progress is being maintained. The doctoral committee will consist of at least four members, with the student's advisor as chairperson. At least one member shall be from a program area within the University of Windsor other than the one in which the student is majoring.

The student's advisor will propose the names of members for the doctoral committee, and these will be subject to the approval of the Program Graduate Committee and the Executive Committee of the College of Graduate Studies and Research. Within one month after initial registration, each student will be assigned to a doctoral committee.
The final appraisal of the dissertation and the conduct of the final oral examination of the dissertation will be carried out by an examining committee. The examining committee will consist of the doctoral committee, the Executive Dean of Graduate Studies and Research or designate as chairperson (non-voting), and an external examiner.

Examinations: At the discretion of the doctoral committee a qualifying examination may be required. A qualifying examination is one in which the student is asked to demonstrate a reasonable mastery of the fundamentals in the major subject; it is designed to test the student's preparation for advanced graduate work. If such an examination is required, it must be administered and passed before the student registers for the second year of Ph.D. work.

In addition to the usual examinations on course work, all students must meet the following requirements:

1) Review of Progress on Research: Within the first year, the student will present in the form of a seminar an outline of his or her proposed thesis research. This will be presented to the doctoral committee who must approve, with or without modifications, or reject the proposal. Thereafter, at least once a year the student will report his or her progress in the form of a seminar.

2) Comprehensive Examination: Students who have previously obtained a Master's degree must attempt this examination within twelve months of registering for the Ph.D. program. Other students must take it within twenty-four months of registration for the Ph.D. program. This set of examinations requires the students to demonstrate an adequate background in the general discipline of engineering, and an advanced knowledge in their fields of specialization. The comprehensive examination will be conducted by a program comprehensive committee in one or two sections at the discretion of the Program Graduate Committee:

(a) a scheduled, supervised written portion, of at least three hours' duration, designed to test the student's general knowledge on core subjects in the field of study, with questions set and answers evaluated by the program comprehensive committee;
(b) an oral examination to be evaluated by the program comprehensive committee. The objective of this part of the examination is to test the student's ability to integrate general knowledge from different areas of the field of study in order to solve problems the student has not previously encountered.

The student's overall success in the comprehensive examination will be determined by the program comprehensive committee. If the student is unsuccessful, the committee may require:

(a) that the student repeat all or part of the comprehensive examination at a specified time,
(b) that the student take and pass remedial coursework before repeating all or part of the examination, or
(c) after consultation with and approval by the doctoral committee, that the student withdraw from the program.

3) Final Examination: The passing of the final oral examination of the dissertation requires both an adequate dissertation and a satisfactory defense of the dissertation. This examination will be conducted by the examining committee. Following the acceptance and provisional approval of the dissertation by the doctoral committee, and a satisfactory preliminary report from the external examiner, a date for the oral examination can be set. Except under very unusual circumstances, the external examiner must be present at the oral examination. If the examining committee cannot arrive at a unanimous decision to award a passing grade, the majority decision will be accepted provided that there is no more than one dissenting vote. However, if the dissenting vote is that of the external examiner, a new external examiner may be appointed and another oral examination will be required. If the new examiner also gives a dissenting vote, the dissertation will not be accepted.

8.1.2 THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF APPLIED SCIENCE

Areas of Specialization

The areas of specialization are listed by Program.

Admission Requirements

A candidate for the degree of Master of Applied Science shall hold the degree of Bachelor of Applied Science from this University or an equivalent degree in Engineering or Applied Science. In addition, the applicant must have at least second-class standing or its equivalent in the final year and be recommended by the Program Graduate Committee in which the candidate plans to undertake studies.

Applicants with degrees in related fields will be considered but will normally require strengthening of their background in engineering. At the discretion of the Program, Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) may be required.

All applicants whose native language is not English are required to satisfy the English proficiency requirement as described in 1.3.

Possession of the minimum requirements does not automatically ensure acceptance.

Degree Requirements

The specific minimum program requirements for the M.A.Sc. include the successful completion of:

1) Course Requirements: Satisfactory completion of courses comprising between twelve and twenty-four term hours, depending on the term hour equivalence assigned to the mandatory thesis or major paper. A thesis may be equivalent to as many as eighteen term hours, and a major paper to as many as six term hours of the total minimum requirement of thirty term hours.

2) Either a thesis or a major paper as specified below:
(a) Thesis: A thesis incorporating the results of an original investigation is required of all candidates except those students who are doing non-thesis research toward a major paper. Before writing the thesis the student must meet with the Master's committee to obtain permission to write the thesis. The Master's committee will grant this permission when the student has shown sufficient competence and has accomplished substantial research. After completion of the thesis, each candidate will be required to make a satisfactory oral presentation and defense of the thesis as described below.
(b) Major Paper: For those candidates doing non-thesis research, a major paper is required. The topic of the major paper is normally research based on the existing literature in the field of study. The candidate will be required to make an acceptable oral presentation to the Master's committee based on the major paper (see below).

Residence and Time Limits: The minimum period of study for a Master's candidate is twelve months. The maximum duration of full-time study as a Master's candidate is three years. Part-time Master's candidates will undertake the equivalent of a minimum of one year of full-time study. For a part-time Master's candidate the maximum time limit generally will not exceed five calendar years. Master's candidates who expect to require an extension of these time limits must petition the Executive Dean of Graduate Studies and Research, giving reasons for the request and plans for completion of the work. The Chair of the Program Graduate Committee will then make a recommendation to the Executive Dean of Graduate Studies and Research.

Committees: Research undertaken as part of a Master's program is normally directed and supervised by a Master's committee. Whereas the student's advisor provides day-to-day guidance and direction, the committee is ultimately responsible for the overall supervision to ensure that adequate progress is maintained. The Master's committee will consist of at least three members with the student's advisor as chairperson. At least one member shall be from a Program within the University of Windsor other than the one in which the student is majoring. The student's advisor will propose the names of the Master's committee and these will be subject to the approval of the Program Graduate Committee and the Executive Committee of the College of Graduate Studies and Research. Within one month after registration, each student will be assigned to a Master's committee.

The final appraisal of the thesis and the conduct of the final oral examination of the dissertation will be carried out by the examining committee. The examining committee will consist of the Master's committee and the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee or designate of the Executive Dean of Graduate Studies and Research as chairperson (non-voting).

Examinations: At the discretion of the Program Graduate Committee a qualifying examination may be required. A qualifying examination is one in which the student is asked to demonstrate a reasonable mastery of the fundamentals in the major subject; it is designed to test the student's preparation for advanced graduate work. If such an examination is required, it must be administered and passed before the student registers for the final candidate year of Master's work.

In addition to the usual examination on course work, all students must meet the following requirements:

1) Review of Progress on Research or Major Paper: Within the first year a full-time student will present in the form of a seminar an outline of his or her proposed thesis research or outline the content of his or her major paper. This will be presented to the Master's committee, who must approve, with or without modifications, or reject the proposal. Thereafter, at least once a year, the student will report his or her progress in the form of a seminar.

2) Final Examinations: The passing of the final oral examination on the thesis (or the major paper) requires both an adequate thesis (or major paper) and a satisfactory defense. The examination will be conducted by the examining committee and the thesis defence will be chaired by the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee or appointed designate. If the examining committee cannot arrive at a unanimous decision to award a passing grade, a majority decision will be accepted provided there is no more than one dissenting vote. If there is more than one dissenting vote, the student may be required to carry out additional work if the thesis is judged to be adequate in all other respects, or the student may be required to withdraw.

Grading: The grading system is outlined in 1.4.3.
The Faculty of Engineering requires that students maintain at least a B average at all times.
Courses in which a grade of B or higher is received will be accepted for graduate credit. In addition, upon the positive recommendation of the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee and advisor concerned, credit may be granted by the College of Graduate Studies and Research for not more than two term courses in which a grade of C or C+ has been obtained.

If a student fails to obtain credit in a course, the course may be repeated only once, at the discretion of the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee concerned and the Executive Dean of Graduate Studies and Research. No student may repeat, or replace with another course, more than two term courses in which credit was not obtained.
All research work for which a letter grade is assigned must be graded B or better to receive credit.

Make-up courses will not count for graduate credit.

Make-up courses are those courses required to compensate for deficiencies in the student's academic background.

In exceptional cases, at the discretion of the Chair of the Program Graduate Committee and the advisor, a graduate student may take one undergraduate course for credit.

8.1.3 RESEARCH IN OUTSIDE INSTITUTIONS

Research for the Ph.D. or M.A.Sc. degree, in part or in whole, may be carried out in an outside institution (e.g., industrial, governmental, or academic university). A student who does research at an outside institution must fulfil the same requirements as a student doing on-campus research. The only exception is that the time spent doing the off-campus research relevant to the thesis or dissertation will be credited toward the residence requirement. In addition to the general requirements, a student applying for permission to do research at an outside institution must provide:

1) A detailed statement of the research proposal, including arrangements for supervision, and of the circumstances under which the research is to be carried out;

2) Evidence that the institution has adequate facilities for the research; and that the applicant will be able to pursue independent research;

3) A proposed time schedule;

4) A letter of support from a responsible person in the outside institution giving approval of the proposal and accepting these regulations.

©1997 University of Windsor
Although care has been taken in preparing the information in this site the University of Windsor cannot guarantee its accuracy.