Partner with your supervisor for a successful grad journey
Working closely with your graduate supervisor is essential, as they provide guidance on research direction, academic standards, and professional development. A strong supervisor-student relationship can significantly impact the success and quality of your thesis, as well as future career opportunities.
Supervisory committee
Graduate students in thesis programs must have a supervisory committee.ÌýSupervisory committees should meet at least twice a year during the thesis research period and more often in the writing stages of a student's program.
- The supervisory committee is normally composed of a primary supervisor and/or co-supervisor, and a minimum of two other members.
- At least one of the other committee members must be from the student's academic unit, i.e. the department or Faculty.Ìý
- The other committee member(s) may be from other academic units or other institutions, but must have Faculty of Graduate Studies membership.
- There is no maximum number of supervisory committee members, however, at least 50% of the membership of a supervisory committee must be either Regular Members or Adjunct (Retired) Members in FGS.ÌýVisit theÌýÌýpage (login required) for the more information.
- The student and supervisor will agree to the membership of the supervisory committee.
- See Section ofÌýthe academic calendar for more information.
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Supervisor concerns
The FGS website has some helpful information about establishing .
If issues do come up, you should first try and discuss them with your supervisor. If no resolution can be reached or if you are not comfortable discussing an issue with your supervisor, there are a number of people you can consult:
- Other members of your supervisory committee;
- The Graduate Studies Coordinator;
- The Chair of your department;
- The department representative on the Graduate Studies Committee