Supervisor's Corner

The INS Supervisory Committee & Resources form is required for students’ admission to the program.

*Co-supervision arrangements may be created when two individuals exercise the degree of supervision and support of a supervisor. When a co-supervision arrangement is created, all documentation must be approved by both co-supervisors. Please review Graduate General Regulation 1.6.5 for more information.

Students may also apply for internal awards, although receiving an offer is not guaranteed.

• Master’s students typically complete a minimum of 6 courses and are expected to complete all course work within three terms from the start of the program. View the Master’s Program Timeline form.
  • Enrollment in INS 898 (Master's Thesis) is mandatory every term after completion of coursework.   
    
• PhD students typically complete a minimum of 4 courses are expected to complete all course work within five terms from the start of the program. View the PhD Program Timeline form.
  • Enrollment in INS 890 (Comprehensive Examination) is required no later than the sixth term of study.
    
  • Enrollment in INS 899 (PhD Thesis) is mandatory every term after completion of the Comprehensive Exam.
    
• Courses must be taken in at least two academic units outside of INS.
• If plans for a student shift, an updated Program Timeline must be approved by the supervisor and submitted to INS for approval.
• Undergraduate level courses may not be counted towards degree requirements, unless they have been previously approved for study at the graduate level. More Information is available in the Faculty + Staff pages.
• Audit courses may not be counted twoards degree requirements.
  
• All Directed Readings Courses must be taken under INS. View more information about Directed Readings below.

• Download a Directed Readings form.
  
• Directed Readings course proposals should be sent to ins@sfu.ca at least three weeks prior to the start of the term. Requests made after the start of term may delay access to awards and University facilities.
• Directed Readings courses must be agreed upon by the student and the instructor.
• A sample of the Directed Readings course proposal is available for your reference.

• PhD students are required to enroll in INS 890 (Comprehensive Examinations) no later than the sixth term of their program.
• After completing the comprehensive examination, students are required to enroll in INS 899 (PhD Thesis) for the remainder of their program.

Please note:

• Download instructions for completing the Graduate Progress Report (GPR)
  
• Once a Graduate Progress Report is generated for a student, it is expected that the report be fully completed within six weeks.
• All INS students are required to maintain a CGPA of 3.5 with a minimum letter grade of B in each course. Failure to meet the minimum CGPA is evidence of unsatisfactory progress and the matter will be considered by the Graduate Program Chair.
• In cases of unsatisfactory progress, the supervisory committee must make a written report to the Graduate Program Chair, and provide a copy to the student. The Graduate Program Chair will review the report, deciding on a further course of action in accordance with Graduate General Regulation 1.8.2.
• Completion of the program is expected in 6 terms for master’s students and 12 terms for PhD students.
• Maximum completion time is 9 terms for master’s students and 18 terms for PhD students. Time taken for medical, compassionate, and parental leaves will not be counted towards this limit. Please view more information about leaves of absence below.

• See GGR 1.5
  
• Students who are working on their thesis receive an IP (in progress). Students who have completed their thesis receive an S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory).
• Students who are working on their comprehensive exam receive an IP (in progress). Students who have completed their comprehensive exam receive an S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory).
• Students who fail to complete the required work in a course by the end of the term will receive a grade of 'N' or incomplete. N grades are equivalent to 0 grade points and will be counted towards the student’s CGPA.
• Where circumstances warrant an extension to allow a student additional time to complete the course requirements, the course instructor may defer the grade, in which case, the student receives a DE. All course work for such deferrals must be completed and the course grade must be submitted by the last day of the first month of the next term. Failure to submit the revised grade by the deadline will result in a grade of ‘N’.
• For courses take noutside of INS, grade submission is under the responsibility of the course instructor.

• Visit Graduate General Regulation 1.4.5
  
• Typically, a leave of absence begins on the first day of an academic term and a request is due before the term begins.
• During a leave of absence, students normally should not use any of the University’s facilities or resources, or undertake academic or research work related to their program.
• Students may take up to three terms of medical leave per medical condition, or up to three terms of compassionate leave per compassionate reason.
• Students may take a parental leave for up to three terms for each childbirth or adoption.
• Personal leaves can be taken for any reason not covered by the reasons above for up to three terms throughout the length of the program.
• The time taken for medical, compassionate, and parental leaves will not be counted towards the maximum time allowed for program completion. The maximum time limit will be adjusted accordingly.
• The time taken for personal leaves will be counted towards the maximum time allowed for program completion.

• Visit GGR 1.9 and GGR 1.10
  
• Students are responsible for contacting the INS Program Assistant to inform the proposed defence date at least 8 weeks prior to that date.
• It is the supervisor’s responsibility to contact and select a potential external examiner.
• The supervisor must submit the Examining Committee form to INS at least 8 weeks prior to the proposed defence date for doctoral theses and at least 6 weeks prior to the proposed defence date for master’s theses.
• All members of the student’s supervisory committee will be part of the thesis examining committee.
• The thesis must be ready for distribution at least 6 weeks prior to the defence date.l
• It is recommended that the defence date be at least two weeks prior to the library submission deadline to allow time for revision.
• The decision of the examining committee on the level of classification of thesis examination is by simple majority vote. Please note that in INS, this classification may not be at a higher level than that recommended by the external examiner, in conformity with Graduate General Regulation 1.10.2.
• After the defence the Examining Committee must sign the Results, Approval & Degree Recommendation (RAD) form.
• Once thesis revisions have been completed by the student, the supervisor must sign the RAD form, submit it to INS, and send a copy to the student.