The regulations governing graduate studies at SU are outlines in the University Calendar at https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar. Students are expected to read the calendar carefully and consult it frequently, in particular the Graduate General Regulations at https://www.sfu.ca/students/calendar/2024/fall/fees-and-regulations/grad-regulation.html. You need to know when to declare your senior supervisor, when other committee members should be appointed, and wat the regulations are for a thesis defence.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requires you to actively pursue your studies while at SFU.  SFU is required to report on the enrolment status of international students twice a year.

Your enrolment at SFU affects your ability to work, study, and stay in Canada. To help you comply with the conditions of your study permit, review the information at covered at https://www.sfu.ca/students/isap/explore/enrolment.html. Contact an International Student Advisor, Immigration Specialist if you have any questions.

Please be sure to refer to the Department’s webpage on Exam Policies and Departmental Standards, which outlines expectations on academic integrity of all of SFU’s students.

Regular workshops are held on topics such as expectations and responsibilities, applying for funding, and the job market. These workshops are offered once a month during Fall and spring semesters as part of Ling 890 and Ling 891 Graduate Seminars. Both are required courses for all first-year students, but all are welcome to attend.

Coursework

1.      Consult with your supervisor in deciding which courses to take. Do well in those courses.

2.      Finish the required coursework by the end of the first year. Students generally take two to three courses per semester.

3.      After completing your coursework, you are encouraged to take additional courses which may be relevant to your research (e.g. Statistics) as well as other potentially relevant courses and seminars offered by the department.

Thesis General Progress Guidelines

Do research to your thesis on a regular basis. This includes literature review, pilot studies, or any other form of research leading to the thesis. By regularly doing this research throughout your program, it will not become a huge burden as your defence date nears. If necessary, be sure to apply for approval from the Office of Research Ethics early. Be aware of all deadlines for thesis preparation and submission, listed on the Graduate Studies website and on the SFU Library website. If you have a specific date by which you want to graduate, work backwards from that date taking into account all deadlines. Note that external examiners need to have the complete thesis roughly five weeks before defence date.

Thesis Timeline Guidelines – MA students

1.      Thesis topic: MA students should have a thesis topic by the end of the first year with some initial results.

2.      The topic should be approved by the student’s supervisor.

3.      Thesis should be defended by the end of the second year and no later than the third year. 

Thesis Timeline Guidelines – PhD students

1.      Thesis topic: PhD students should have a thesis topic by the end of the second year with some initial results.

2.      The topic should be approved by the student’s supervisor.

3.      PhD students should conduct preliminary research in their third semester.

4.      PhD students should complete two qualifying papers during their second year.

5.      PhD students should give a thesis proposal by the end of the third year.

6.      Thesis should be defended by the end of the fourth year and no later than the fifth year.

 

Students may take up to two courses outside of the linguistics department that can count towards their program requirements. These courses can be taken at another department at SFU or at another institution via the Western Deans Agreement. For example, a student may wish to take a graduate course offered by the Department of Education at SFU if they deem it relevant to their area of research.

Course offerings at a different department at SFU

1.      Visit https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/graduate-students/forms.html and download the COURSE ADD/DROP form by clicking on Registration/Change of Registration.

2.      Fill out your student information.

3.      In the COURSE ADD section, fill in information about the course you are going to take. You will need to contact the course instructor directly for permission and gather their signature.

4.      Get your supervisor’s signature.

5.      Sign the form at the bottom and send to the Linguistics Graduate Secretary at linggsec@sfu.ca who will then gather the GPC’s signature and send it off for processing.

 

Western Deans Agreement: Course offerings at other institutions

Start reaching out to institutions as early as possible. Deadlines to apply vary by institution. Some require applications to be filed months in advance of the course start date, so don't delay reaching out to instructors. Check the WDA website for a list of institutions and their deadlines, as well as who to contact at their department.

1.      Visit the WDA website and download the latest application form.

2.      Complete the form. Note that HOME institution is SFU, and HOST institution is the college or university outside of SFU that you will be taking a course at.

3.      Submit the form to the correct contact at host institution. This is found in the table on the WDA website.

Once per year, around late August or early September, the department requires an annual update on the student’s progress. These take the form of in-person meetings with the Graduate Program Chair, the student’s committee, and the student. You will get an email notification from the Graduate Secretary about scheduling an in-person meeting. Instructions on how to fill out a Graduate Progress Report can be downloaded here.

Regular Contact

You are expected to meet with your supervisor regularly to discuss your courses, research, and RA work. You should also keep your other committee members informed of your progress. At the beginning of each semester, find a time when you and your supervisor are both free to meet every week. Some supervisors prefer to be flexible and meet based on need. Prior to each meeting, prepare your agenda or any work you will discuss with your supervisor.

Your supervisor usually needs at least three days for documents 5-10 pages long, and more time for documents longer than that. Plan accordingly and send your material in a timely fashion. After each meeting, please send your supervisor a summary of your discussion, action items to be taken (with deadlines) and a plan for the next period.

Semesterly Report

For each semester, your supervisor should be informed about:

·       Your general plans

·       Courses you plan to take

·       Your research progress

·       Conferences you plan to attend and abstracts or papers you plan to submit. Note that you should never submit conference abstracts or research papers without your supervisor’s knowledge.

·       Research papers you plan to write or submit

·       Any external research collaboration you may have

·       Your funding situation

·       RAships not funded by your supervisor

·       TAships and other on-campus or off-campus jobs

·       Any other issue your supervisor should know about (e.g. if you plan to change supervisor)

Recommendation Letters

If you need letters of reference, make sure that you give your referees enough time to write and send in the references. Give one month’s notice for a full letter of recommendation and at least two weeks for short recommendations (a paragraph or two). Provide the following information and material to your referee:

·       Program description, application deadline, and contact information

·       Your updated CV

·       Your transcripts

·       Statement of intent or research proposal

Summary of your work under the instruction of your referee (e.g., courses and grades, research projects and papers, RA or TA work). 

Graduate Fellowships

You will receive a Graduate Fellowship if you were allotted one in your Admission Financial Offer letter. Apply for them at https://gradawards.sfu.ca/.  The first installment is in the Fall term and typically between $3,500 and $7,000. The deadline to apply varies year by year but often has a deadline between June and July. Any remaining Graduate Fellowship funds – should you have any – are dispersed in Spring, with applications due in the Fall term prior.

Despite what it will say on the Graduate Awards website, Graduate Fellowships are not actually a competition. If your letter states that you are to receive one, then you will get one. But you must apply, otherwise, you miss out on it entirely.

Please note that your supervisor will need to write a recommendation. Give them at least one week to do so.

Other types of awards

There are many other sources of funding. You should consider sources listed in on the Linguistics Department funding webpage.  funding. These awards vary, and include awards administered by SFU, the provincial government, and the Canada Council for the Arts. It also lists federal scholarships, SSHRC, NSERC, and CIHR.

Be sure to regulary visit these websites for updates and to ask other graduate students, the Chair of the Graduate Studies Committee, or your supervisor. Stay ahead of deadlines. Always be updating your CV and other materials. For more information about graduate awards, visit https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/awards-funding.html.

Teaching Assistantships

TA positions are usually available in the Department. Be sure to check the Employment section of the Linguistics Department website at https://www.sfu.ca/linguistics/employment.html. It is your responsibility to apply. Make sure that your TA commitment doesn’t conflict with classes you are taking or with your research. You should consult with your supervisor about how many hours you are going to take, and in which courses. Remember, your main concern should be your training and research. TAing should not interfere with that and ideally should complement it. For instance, you could TA a class related to your research, or one that you think you could teach in the future. Eligible students are also encouraged to apply for TA or Sessional positions available in various language programs.

Linguistics Department Teaching Assistant Priority Policy

Teaching assistant positions in the Department of Linguistics require academic training
and skills appropriate to the course in which the teaching assistant is to work. This normally
means a minimum of a) completion (or near completion) of a Bachelor’s degree in linguistics or an equivalent discipline, and b) competence in the sub-discipline of the course. Candidates may document this with a record of appropriate course work, research, and/or relevant experience.

Qualified candidates will have priority for appointment according to the following criteria,
ranked in order from highest priority to lowest:

1. Registered graduate students from within the department who have accumulated 25 or
   fewer base units (for M. A. students), or 40 or fewer base units (for Ph. D. students) in
   prior TA appointments.
2. Registered graduate students from within the department over the base unit limits
   noted in 1. above.
3. Registered graduate students from outside the department who have accumulated 25
   or fewer base units (for M. A. students), or 40 or fewer base units (for Ph. D. students)
   in prior TA appointments.
4. Registered graduate students from outside the department over the base unit limits
   noted in 3. above.
5. All other applicants (undergraduate or external applicants). Before undergraduate
   students and external applicants are offered positions, each qualified applicant in the
   priority categories 1-4 above must be offered at least four base units, unless the
   graduate student requests less.

If an assignment within a priority group requires a selection between applicants, the
department will give sub-priority to the graduate student without financial support from merit based scholarships or merit based fellowships. After that, the following criteria will determine priority, in the order given: 1) candidates with unfulfilled commitments for TA support as stated in their offer of admission from the Linguistics Department will be given priority over other applicants, and 2) candidates with a lesser amount of funding from other sources (scholarships and research assistantships) will be preferred over candidates with higher levels of funding.

If Teaching Assistant positions become available after the initially posted positions, the
department will notify all graduate students registered in the department via email. These
positions will be posted on the central posting website and shall remain open for at least two
working days prior to being awarded.
 
All positions are subject to budgetary approval.

Research Assistantships

Check with your supervisor or other faculty members in your research field about openings for RA positions.

Conference, travel, and research funding

Travel and/or conference funding is available through the Graduate Travel and Research Awards (TARA). There are typically four TARAs awarded each academic year at $500 each. These are awarded on a first come, first served basis. Apply for the TARA through the GA3 system at https://gradawards.sfu.ca/. Conditions apply. Visit the Linguistics section in the Internal and Donor Funded Awards page on the Graduate Studies website at for more information.

As a research lab or group member

If your supervisor runs a research lab or group you will be a member of that team. You are expected to actively participate in team activities, attend meetings, work collegially with fellow team members and comply with lab regulations.

As a research assistant (RA)

You are expected to follow general guidelines to assist your supervisor with their research. For example, they may ask you to help with recruiting and running research participants, or other research-related tasks such as to maintain computers and computer software, photocopy articles or order books, enter information on databases, etc. You are also encouraged to carry out independent research, within the research program that feeds into your thesis work. Regular contact with your supervisor should be maintained, ideally every week on a fixed day, or otherwise arranged.

Please note that a renewal of RA support may depend on funding availability, the student’s progress in the program, and the student’s satisfactory performance as an RA in the past. You should be aware that RAs are not employees of the university, but of the faculty member who hires them.

Research Ethics Approval

As researchers, you likely be required to obtain Research Ethics Approval. This process reviews the ethical acceptability of all research involving humans conducted within the jurisdiction or under the auspices of SFU. Any human research must be reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Board prior to the commencement of a project. Please visit SFU’s Research Ethics Board at https://www.sfu.ca/research/researcher-resources/ethics-human-research for details on the approval process.

Research Collaboration and Intellectual Property

You and your supervisor will likely work on projects and research together. In general, your thesis is your intellectual property, and you hold copywrite for material that is part of your thesis.

Should a publication by you require significant data, intellectual input, research resources, or lab facilities from your supervisor, your supervisor is expected to be included as a co-author on the publication. Similarly, should your supervisor use data or ideas derived from your research, you should expect to be included as a co-author. Research funded, supported or derived by your RAship should be guided by your supervisor. Typically, your supervisor will be leading author on publications from such research, and you will be included as co-author should you make sufficient intellectual contributions. In general, publication resulting from collaborative research will be co-authored, or authorship can be discussed as the need arises.

Intellectual property is defined by SFU policy, which you can consult online at https://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/research/r30-03.html.

You should also be familiar with SFU’s policy on academic dishonesty, and with general principles on academic conduct. If you are not sure about how to quote sources, or whether you need to obtain copyright for materials you use, ask.

You will likely prepare papers and abstracts to send to conferences, or even academic journals. Whereas you are free to do so, you are expected to have your supervisor look at your submissions before you send them anywhere. You supervisor can give you advice about whether your submission is at the appropriate level and satisfies academic standards. Keep in mind that, since you are a student of SFU Linguistics, the reputation of the department and your supervisor is also at stake if you submit work that is not satisfactory.

Role as a member of the Intellectual Community

In consultation with your supervisor, you are encouraged to:

·       Present your work at professional conferences (including student conferences)

·       Write up your work to submit as working papers, conference proceedings, and journal articles

·       Subscribe to relevant mailing lists and newsletters

·       Join professional organizations as a student member

This section lists all the steps students need to go from planning their defence to graduating. All steps and instructions can be found at the Graduate Studies website here.

MA Coursework Timeline

Detailed instructions can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

1.      6-8 months before you intend to graduate, go into your student account at goSFU and check your Academic Progress Report. Use this report to ensure that you have or will meet all course requirements for your program.

2.      In your final term, apply to graduate in goSFU. Instructions can be found here.  Check the deadline to apply for graduation by referring to the latest Dates and Deadlines calendar on the Graduate Studies website.  If for any reason your defence does not proceed as planned, it is easy to withdraw an application to graduate. It is not easy to graduate after the deadline.

3.      Once Graduate Studies has received and processed the Credential Recommendation from the department, you will be able to download a credential completion letter in goSFU until you receive your Senate letter.  

4.      Three weeks before convocation, confirm your attendance in goSFU. Instructions are found here.  If you do not attend convocation, your parchment can be picked up at the Graduate Studies department in the week after the ceremonies. Parchments not picked up by the end of the month will be mailed to your address. Make sure that your address in goSFU is up to date.

 

MA Project Timeline

Detailed instructions can be found on the Graduate Studies website.

1.      6-8 months before you intend to graduate, go into your student account at goSFU and check your Academic Progress Report. Use this report to ensure that you have or will meet all course requirements for your program.

2.      In your final term, apply to graduate.

3.      Defend your project to your committee.

4.      Once Graduate Studies has received and processed the Credential Recommendation from the department, you will be able to download a credential completion letter in goSFU until you receive your Senate letter.  

5.      Three weeks before convocation, confirm your attendance in goSFU. Instructions are found here.  If you do not attend convocation, your parchment can be picked up at the Graduate Studies department in the week after the ceremonies. Parchments not picked up by the end of the month will be mailed to your address. Make sure that your address in goSFU is up to date.

MA Thesis Timeline: From Defence Planning to Graduation

Timeline for MA Thesis completion and graduation can be found on the Graduate Studies website at https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/graduate-students/completing-graduation/masters-degree/thesis.html.

6.      Download the thesis template from the SFU library, even before you start writing.

7.      6-8 months before you intend to defend, present to your supervisor and committee with an outline of your thesis and notify them of when you intend to defend.

8.      6-8 months before your defence date, check your Academic Progress Report in goSFU to ensure you have met all or will meet all course requirements for your program.

9.      8-10 weeks before you intend to defend, consult with your supervisor and committee to ensure that they have all read your thesis and agree that you are ready for defence.

10.  At least 9 weeks before defense, email the Graduate Secretary at linggsec@sfu.ca  your:

A.      Abstract

B.      Research Ethics Approval letter (if applicable)

            This gives them enough time to gather signatures and submit the paperwork to  Graduate Studies, who in turn can disperse forms to the committee.

11.  6 weeks before the defence, book a room for the defence with the Graduate Secretary. Bookings are typically for three hours.

12.  4-6 weeks before you defend, apply to graduate in goSFU. Instructions can be found here.  Check the deadline to apply for graduation by referring to the latest Dates and Deadlines calendar on the Graduate Studies website.  If for any reason your defence does not proceed as planned, it is easy to withdraw an application to graduate. It is not easy to graduate after the deadline.

13.  15 days before defence, email the Graduate Secretary with a PDF version of the thesis.

14.  2 weeks before defence, request a room booking from the Graduate Secretary for a trial run. The Graduate Secretary can invite the student body to attend and anyone else you wish to have present.

15.  Defend your thesis or project.

16.  Revisions are usually required. Complete them to the satisfaction of your supervisor.

17.  Receive the Results and Degree Recommendations (RAD) form from the Graduate Secretary.

18.  Submit to the library using your RAD form. Check the library website for deadlines[LG1]  and carefully read all instructions on thesis submission to the library. Typically students must submit their thesis to the library the term before their convocation. For instance, if you plan to convocated in October, you would have until the end of August to submit your thesis.

19.  After successful defence and library submission, you should:

a.       Remove personal items from your office

b.      Return graduate mailbox keys, textbooks, or supplies belonging to the department.

c.       Return any office keys or fobs issued by Access Control.

d.      Optional: Print and bind your own thesis should you wish to have a hardcopy. Ordering instructions are available at https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/life-community/guide/document-solutions.html.

20.  Three weeks before convocation, confirm your attendance in goSFU. Instructions are found here.  If you do not attend convocation, your parchment can be picked up at the Graduate Studies department in the week after the ceremonies. Parchments not picked up by the end of the month will be mailed to your address. Make sure that your address in goSFU is up to date.

PhD Thesis Timeline: From Defence Planning to Graduation

Timeline for PhD Thesis completion and graduation can be found on the Graduate Studies website at https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/graduate-students/completing-graduation/doctoral-degree/oral-examination.html.

1.      Download the thesis template from the SFU library, even before you start writing.

2.      6-8 months before you intend to defend, present to your supervisor and committee with an outline of your thesis and notify them of when you intend to defend.

3.      6-8 months before your defence date, check your Academic Progress Report in goSFU to ensure you have met all or will meet all course requirements for your program.

4.      8-10 weeks before you intend to defend, consult with your supervisor and committee to ensure that they have all read your thesis and agree that you are ready for defence.

5.      At least 9 weeks before defense, email the Graduate Secretary at linggsec@sfu.ca  your:

a.       Defence-ready thesis in PDF format

b.      Research Ethics Approval letter (if applicable)

            This gives them enough time to gather signatures and submit the paperwork to  Graduate Studies, who in turn can disperse forms to the committee.

6.      6 weeks before the defence, book a room for the defence with the Graduate Secretary. Bookings are typically for four hours.

21.  4-6 weeks before you defend, apply to graduate in goSFU. Instructions can be found here.  Check the deadline to apply for graduation by referring to the latest Dates and Deadlines calendar on the Graduate Studies website.  If for any reason your defence does not proceed as planned, it is easy to withdraw an application to graduate. It is not easy to graduate after the deadline.

7.       Check the deadline to apply for graduation by referring to the latest Dates and Deadlines calendar on the Graduate Studies website.  If for any reason your defence does not proceed as planned, it is easy to withdraw an application to graduate. It is not easy to graduate after the deadline.

8.      15 days before defence, email the Graduate Secretary with a PDF version of the thesis.

9.      2 weeks before defence, request a room booking from the Graduate Secretary for a trial run. The Graduate Secretary can invite the student body to attend and anyone else you wish to have present.

10.  Defend your thesis or project.

11.  Revisions are usually required. Complete them to the satisfaction of your supervisor.

12.  Receive the Results and Degree Recommendations (RAD) form from the Graduate Secretary.

13.  Submit to the library using your RAD form. Check the library website for deadlines[LG2]  and carefully read all instructions on thesis submission to the library. Typically students must submit their thesis to the library the term before their convocation. For instance, if you plan to convocated in October, you would have until the end of August to submit your thesis.

14.  After successful defence and library submission, you should:

a.       Remove personal items from your office

b.      Return graduate mailbox keys, textbooks, or supplies belonging to the department.

c.       Return any office keys or fobs issued by Access Control.

d.      Optional: Print and bind your own thesis should you wish to have a hardcopy. Ordering instructions are available at https://www.sfu.ca/gradstudies/life-community/guide/document-solutions.html.

Three weeks before convocation, confirm your attendance in goSFU. Instructions are found here.  If you do not attend convocation, your parchment can be picked up at the Graduate Studies department in the week after the ceremonies. Parchments not picked up by the end of the month will be mailed to your address. Make sure that your address in goSFU is up to date.

After Graduation

Start preparing for life after graduation early on. Find out about job opportunities. This will allow you to take courses suited to particular careers, and to get the right credentials to apply for jobs or for further graduate study.

If you are in the PhD program and want to be in academia after you graduate, try to get some teaching experience. Attend seminars on teaching and attend conferences whenever possible. Make sure you have some publications and conference presentations before you graduate and find out about how to apply for academic jobs. 

The Graduate Studies website provides a selection of forms that are frequently used by Linguistics graduate students at SFU.

Use this link to download forms to:

• Audit a course
• Apply for a Western Deans Agreement course
• Apply to take a course at another institution for credit outside of the Western Deans Agreement
• Request a leave of absence
• Request an extention to completion time limit
• Request a reactivation
• Request to transfer credits into your current program
• Withdraw voluntarily from the university
• Appeal an unsatisfactory evaluation
• Approval of a supervisory committee. 
• Add or remove members on a supervisory committee
• Request to postpone thesis publication
• Update legal name change
• Order a replacement parchment
• Authorize release of your personal information or documents to another person or business

The link also provides instructions on how to:

• Obtain a confirmation of enrollment letter
• Generate a program completion letter
• Request a student account refund
• Order a transcript