Student Advising > Graduate > - Thesis Submission > Doctoral Thesis
DOCTORAL (DMA or PhD) Thesis
Steps to thesis submission:
Deadlines: Items may be submitted earlier than the deadlines below which simply refer to the last dates for submission in order to meet graduation requirements for the noted convocation.
Fees: Tuition fees end the last day of the calendar month in which you submit the final version of your dissertation. Student fees are paid until the end of the last term in which you are registered.
Blackout periods (August; mid-December to mid-January): Due to limited availability of external examiners, university examiners, and examination chairs, there are two blackout periods each year for Doctoral Exams (August, and mid-December to mid January). Examinations are normally not scheduled at these times. Candidates on extensions ending August 31 or December 31 must complete their examinations before the applicable blackout period.
- Advancement to Candidacy Form
Students must Advance to Candidacy with the first 36 months of their program. If this is not possible, an extension must be requested by the Supervisor/Graduate Advisor to Graduate Studies.
Upon completion of all coursework, including comprehensive exams and any 512 courses, Recommendation for Advancement to Candidacy form submitted to Graduate Studies by Research Supervisor. If your committee includes one or more senior instructor, adjunct professor or visiting professor, approval must be obtained immediately.
- DMA Lecture-Recitals [not applicable to Composition majors]
DMA Final Lecture-Recitals must be held prior to submission of the External Examiner copy of the dissertation. Recital times are booked with the Assistant to the Director in the School of Music main office. The student must arrange with the Control Booth staff, via the reception desk, to have the lecture-recital recorded on DVD. A copy of the DMA Lecture-Recital DVD must be handed in to Graduate Studies with the External Examiner copy of the dissertation, for forwarding to the External Examiner. Please note that the lecture-recital is the last recital to be held in the student’s program of study.
Note: If you are planning a March or April oral defense, book your lecture-recital date as soon as possible to ensure Recital Hall availability.
- Copyright Permissions
If any portions of your thesis require copyright permission, request it immediately (obtaining permission may take some time).
- External Examiner Form
Nomination of External Examiner for Doctoral Dissertation Form submitted by the Research Supervisor (also signed by MUSC graduate advisor or School Director) to the Doctoral Exams Team. External Examiner selected and approached for availability by Graduate Studies from list of three candidates submitted (if additional candidates or information is required, Graduate Studies contacts the Research Supervisor). Thesis is sent for evaluation by External Examiner who submits a written report to Graduate Studies which forwards a copy to your doctoral committee. Note: External Examiners have only your thesis title to rely on when deciding whether or not to participate on your Committee, so choose it carefully.
IMPORTANT: The Doctoral External Examiners Transport Fund. The fund will provide matching support to offset transport costs to and from UBC by an external examiner. It is expected that the supervisor and/or academic unit of the doctoral candidate will cover the balance of the external examiner’s travel expenses. The Faculty of Graduate Studies will reimburse half of the eligible transportation costs (to a maximum of $500 for travel within North America and $1,000 for travel from outside North America) directly to the Supervisor or academic unit that pays the initial expense. A policy and procedure document is available at http://www.grad.ubc.ca/current-students/final-doctoral-exam/tools-planning-doctoral-exam - for those wishing to access this fund. Contact rebecca.trainor(at)ubc.ca.
IMPORTANT: Graduate Studies WILL NOT begin the process of confirming an external examiner until they know the intended date of submission of the dissertation for external examination. As soon as you know your submission date, inform Graduate Studies (see Step 6).
Deadline for submission of External Examiner Form: June 1, 2012 for November 2012 graduation; August 10, 2012 for December 31, 2012 program end date; November 30, 2012 for May 2013 graduation; December 15, 2012 for April 30, 2012 program end date; April 5, 2013 for August 31, 2013 program End Date; May 31, 2013 for November 2013 graduation.
- Graduation
Apply for graduation.
Deadline: February 28th for May graduation; September 15th for November graduation.
- Notification of Planned Dissertation Submission Date
Graduate Studies WILL NOT begin the process of confirming an external examiner until they know the intended date of submission of the dissertation for external examination. As soon as you know your submission date, inform Doctoral Exams Team. At least eight weeks prior to submission of your thesis to Graduate Studies for evaluation by the External Examiner, the Research Supervisor or student must notify Doctoral Exams Team of the expected thesis submission date. Subsequently, if there is a delay in your anticipated submission date, you must keep Graduate Studies informed as they are in regular contact with your External Examiner advising him/her when to expect your thesis and ensuring they are still available to review your thesis.
Dissertation & Thesis Preparation:
In order to ensure that doctoral dissertations sent out to External Examiners and Exam Chairs meet UBC's formatting standards, doctoral students are required to bring their dissertations to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for a review prior to submitting their copies for the Examiners.
Thesis Basics (use links at left)
Formatting Requirements (use links at left)
Pre-Submission Review
Resources for Thesis Checking
- Dissertation Submission for Review by External Examiner
Refer to Submitting the Dissertation for up to date information.
Student submits to the Faculty of Graduate Studies the following:
a) Include your DMA Lecture-Recital DVD, as it is also forwarded to the External Examiner for review.
b) Two (2) cerlox bound copies (double-sided pages with a clear front cover) of dissertation approved by Research Supervisor for review by External Examiner.
Note: It is suggested that seven (7) copies (including the two (2) noted above for External Examiner) be made of your dissertation for dissemination to your committee since the Research Supervisor, committee members and External Examiner must all have identical copies (Remember: External Examiners may refer to certain page nos. in their written report). This version may be double-sided but final thesis submitted after oral exam must be single-sided.
c) Electronic version of the dissertation (PDF) submitted via email to the Doctoral Exams Team as an attachment.
d) Graduate Program Approval of Doctoral Dissertation for External Examination departmental memo signed by MUSC Graduate Advisor (or Director of School) - speed chart no. DDDA.
e) Dissertation Review Sheet or printout of e-mail confirming that the formatting of the dissertation has been reviewed and approved by the Faculty of Graduate studies. Refer to item 7 above.
Deadline: August 3, 2012 for November 2012 graduation; October 12, 2012 for December 31, 2012 program end date; January 25, 2013 for May 2013 graduation; February 15, 2013 for April 30th program end date; May 24, 2013 for August 31, 2013 program end date; August 2, 2013 for November 2013 graduation.
- Exam Committee, Date, & Programme
Refer to University Examiners for up to date information.
a) Two (2) University Examiners (at least one from outside students/supervisor's graduate program) confirmed by Research Supervisor. Approval of University Examiners for Doctoral Dissertation Form submitted by Research Supervisor to Graduate Studies a minimum of four weeks prior to the scheduled Final Oral Defence.
b) Availability for three proposed exam dates and times for all exam committee members (Supervisory Committee, University Examiners and External Examiner if DMA thesis) confirmed by Research Supervisor to the student who then books the exam by e-mailing Jenn Fletcher, Doctoral Exam Coordinator at Graduate Studies at jennifer.fletcher(at)ubc.ca as per Scheduling the Final Oral Defence
The last day for final doctoral oral examinations in time for November 2012 graduation is October 5, 2012; December 14, 2012 for December 31, 2012 program end date; April 5, 2013 for May 2013 graduation; April 19, 2013 for April 30, 2013 program end date; July 31, 2013 for August 31, 2013 program end date; October 5, 2013 for November 2013 graduation.
Note: when scheduling your doctoral exam, leave enough days after the exam to make any required revisions before the last date by which you must submit your FINAL thesis. Also, many doctoral exams take place in April. Submit your exam date requests early to get the date you want.
c) Student completes draft Programme template, submits to Research Supervisor for approval, then e-mails to doctoral(at)interchange.ubc.ca. Template: http://www.grad.ubc.ca/forms/examination-programme
d) Copies of dissertation distributed to Examining Committee members by Research Supervisor or student.
Deadline for all above: four weeks prior to confirmed exam date.
One week prior to exam date
a) External Examiner's report and final exam Programme received via e-mail by Research Supervisor and Examining Committee from Graduate Studies.
b) Student prepares the Doctoral Dissertation Approval Form to be brought to the final exam. To save time, Committee members may want to sign it there.
- After your exam
a) Chair of exam submits Chair's Report Form to Graduate Studies noting category of changes required.
b) Student completes any required revisions to dissertation then submits to Supervisor (and Exam Committee members, if applicable) for final approval.
c) If your thesis is Category #1 or #2, you have up to one month after the date of defense to submit your thesis to Graduate Studies. If your thesis is Category #3 or #4, you have up to six months after the date of the initial defense to submit your thesis to Graduate Studies. Submitting the final version of your dissertation
Student submits the following documents to Graduate Studies:
a) A signed Doctoral Dissertation Approval Form. Fax or PDF scan accepted - original signatures not required. For theses in Categories 2 or 3, the student's Research Supervisor must also sign Section 2 of the Thesis Approval Form to confirm that all necessary revisions have been completed. This confirmation is not required for Category 1 theses.
b) DMA students must electronically submit the final version of their written dissertation. In addition, they must submit to Graduate Studies, in person or by mail: one copy of the Paper Submission Cover Sheet; along with, except for Composition majors, one copy of their DMA Lecture-Recital DVD. Only the Dean of Graduate Studies may approve an exception to electronic submission if circumstances warrant it (please contact Max Read [max.read(at)ubc.ca], Thesis Co-ordinator, at Graduate Studies well in advance of submission to request approval).
c) The DMA portfolio has four components:
-- the DMA thesis
-- a DVD recording of the candidate's lecture-recital
-- copies of programmes for all of the candidate's required performances, and;
-- a selection of recordings, between 50 and 75 minutes in total length, representing the candidate's achievements in the required performances.
d) PhD students must submit the final version of their dissertation electronically. Submit all other completed forms to Graduate Studies, in person or by mail.
e) Completed UBC Thesis License Agreement.
f) Completed Library and Archives Canada Non-Exclusive Licence Form. Original signature of student required.
g) If applicable, a completed Request for Approval to Withhold a Thesis from the Public Domain Form.
h) If applicable, a completed Permission to Use Copyrighted Material for Doctoral Form
i) If applicable, a completed Bibliography of Theses Related to BC Form.
j) If you would like your thesis withheld from publication, review the guidelines and instructions (application form).
Deadline: October 19, 2012 for November 2012 graduation; January 2, 2013 for December 31, 2012 program end date; April 19, 2013 for May 2013 graduation; April 30, 2013 for April 30, 2013 program end date; August 30, 2013 for August 31, 2013 program end date; October 18, 2013 for November 2013 graduation.
