IDPhD IDPhD

Thesis and Defence

Completing your PhD thesis is the capstone of your PhD experience.  While we hope your thesis-writing experience is creative and rewarding, there are several details to keep track of along the way.  

Thesis proposal

There are no specific requirements for the thesis proposal  aside from the requirement to hold a proposal defence, since students are working in widely varying fields. The result of the proposal defence must be submitted to IDPhD via the Proposal Form.

The intent of the proposal is to ensure that all committee members are in agreement on the plan for the thesis and that any concerns are raised at this time and documented in writing so that the student is aware of required and/or suggested changes. It should be recognized that these plans may change due to unexpected events. It is also good practice for the student to anticipate and consider how to address potential setbacks.

It is recommended that the proposal consist of these steps:

  • Student submits a written outline of the planned thesis,
  • Student presents a brief summary of the work, followed by a questions from the committee members
  • The committee, jointly, writes up a review of the planned thesis, documenting any concerns. This review should be shared with the student and all members of the committee
  • The supervisor/student submits subits the Thesis Proposal Defence Completion Form (See Forms and Guides) to IDPhD

The outline, of the thesis, ideally, includes details such as:

  • Justification for the thesis topic or question (e.g. literature review)
  • Outline of essential elements of the method to be followed
  • Consideration of potential impacts of the research
  • Format for the thesis (e.g. paper based, manuscript based, etc.)
  • Timeline for production of each element of the thesis
  • Expected role of each committee member

Ethics Submission

All research involving humans must be approved by a Research Ethics Board. Research Ethics Board approval is required when conducting reserch with living people, with information provided by living people or with human biological materials (from living or deceased individuals). Information about Dalhousie Research ethics review process, application forms, and guidance can be found on the Research Ethics Website. 

If you are conducting research involving humans under the jurisdiction of the Horizon Health Network, IWK Health, or Nova Scotia Health, their research ethics board approval letters must be accompanied by a letter which identifies the project as student thesis research.

This tip sheet [PDF -191kb] provides practical information and tips on how to efficiently navigate the ethics review process.

Writing and Completing your Thesis

After a successful thesis proposal presentation, you will engage in the research and writing of your thesis. The PhD defence process at Dalhousie is entirely governed by processes and rules set out by the Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS). It is very important to review and thoroughly understand this process as you approach completion of your thesis. There are strict deadlines to follow. The description below is a general one and does not replace your review of FGS defence processes. All documents related to setting up the defence should be submitted to FGS through the IDPhD, after which they will be forwarded to FGS. The IDPhD office  will monitor your submission of required documents and assist you in completing all parts of setting up your defence.

Once complete, the thesis is sent to the FGS, where it will be checked for formatting. Your supervisor, along with your supervisory committee, will select three potential external examiners. The CV of the preferred examiner will be provided to idphd@dal.ca with the Request to Arrange Oral Defence of a Doctoral Thesis [PDF - 175KB] form. 

Please review this form before an external is selected to make sure that person meetgs FGS regulations.  Some exceptions may be permitted with a strong justification.  Consult Director.

The student must have no contact with the external.

FGS will receive the documents forwarded from the IDPhD and will make all final decisions related to the defence. FGS will either invite the proposed examiner to act in this role or alert the supervisor and IDPhD Director that the proposed examiner is unacceptable. Once an external examiner has been confirmed, FGS will contact the examiner and arrange the examination with the examiner, included finalizing the date and arrangements of the defence and sending your ready to examine thesis.

Writing a Manuscript/Paper-Based Thesis

It is perfectly acceptable and indeed desirable, if possible, to write your thesis as a series of papers/manuscripts, rather than as a single monograph. This is increasingly common and has the advantage of increasing your publications. There is little information on this option on the FGS website. See additional guidance below:

  1. Students can present a thesis chapter/paper at a conference. (If it IS published then, that should be a completed chapter for the thesis and referenced as such in the completed thesis).
  2. It is equally acceptable to present all or part of a thesis chapter at a conference and then include the final version in the thesis.
  3. A thesis can include a mixture of both published and submitted papers. When the whole thesis document is compiled, the student should identify which chapters have been published or submitted and the name of the journal.
  4. All Dalhousie graduate students MUST upload their thesis to the online repository before the student can be approved to graduate.
  5. Finally, note that some publishers will consider an uploaded thesis as a preexisting publication and refuse publication on that ground.
    If there is a part of the thesis that is in the process of being published at the time of the defence, or that is planned for publication, a student can request a HOLD (an Embargo) on publication for one year, to allow time to publish. The thesis still MUST be uploaded in order to graduate.
  6. See the FGS website for Dalhousie’s regulations regarding theses.

Thesis Defence

All doctoral theses must be examined in a public oral defence, to be conducted by an examining committee recommended by the department and approved by the FGS. You will not be permitted to proceed with the oral defence and examination until all of the following requirements have been met:

  • All required class work completed successfully. 
  • Comprehensive examination(s) passed.
  • Thesis title approved.
  • Examining Committee established.
  • The style and format of the thesis meets Dalhousie requirements and appropriate copies of the thesis have been submitted as per regulations and deadlines as per FGS regulations. Normally a candidate proceeds to the oral defence with the approval of the supervisor and Supervisory Committee. A candidate may proceed without the consent of the supervisor and committee but a signed declaration included on the Thesis Submission Form is required by the Faculty of Graduate Studies.

Important timelines, forms, and documents

The Theses and Defences (Net id login required) section of the Faculty of Graduate Studies SharePoint site includes information on formatting and submitting your thesis and preparing for a doctoral defence, as well as a list of thesis-related forms and documents.