The Ph.D. Seminar (CHEM*7950) is a credit requirement.Students must complete this requirement within six months of entry into the Ph.D. program.It is about a 30 - 40 minute presentation, and is usually based on the thesis research topic.As with the M.Sc. seminar, the goal is not the presentation of new data, but an explanation of the thesis research area which should be geared to a general audience of chemists.At the conclusion of the open discussion period following your seminar presentation, you will hold your first annual Supervisory/Advisory Committee meeting to informally present and discuss the progress made in your research project. Please note it is a University policy that all Ph.D. students are required to hold a Supervisory/Advisory Committee meeting once a year.
Summary of Course Requirements
Submit Power Point Presentation Slides to Advisory Committee and Seminar Coordinator 1 working day before your seminar.
Prepare and present a formal seminar of approximately 30-40 minutes followed by a question period.
attend and participate at other course seminars
Schedule and complete the Doctoral Comprehensive/Qualifying Examination
Evaluation
An evaluation committee consisting of the Supervisor, the Advisory Committe and the Seminar Coordinator will grade the oral presentation. At Guelph, the Seminar Coordinator also chairs the Seminar.
The evaluation committee will grade the seminar based on the following criteria:
preparation, content and organization
presentation, speech and grammar
the student’s understanding of material
the student’s ability to handle discussion
Students will be assigned a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory grade based on the committee’s evaluation.
Booking the Doctoral Comprehensive/Qualifying Examination
Immediately following the CHEM*7950 seminar presentation, the students’ Ph.D. Advisory Committee will define the topics to be covered in the Ph.D. Oral Comprehensive/Qualifying Examination. The PhD Comprehensive/Qualifying Examination will be scheduled to occur within six (6) to twelve (12) weeks of the CHEM*7950 presentation, but must take place in the second term. Attendance of the student at this meeting to discuss exam topics is at the discretion of the Advisory Committee.
The students’ Advisory Committee will make recommendations for the three (3) Examining Committee members (normally constituted to include representation from both campuses of the Centre and one of whom may be a non-Center member). The Examining Committee will normally include some or all of the advisory committee, but will not include the students' supervisor.
The Advisory Committee is requested to provide their recommendation for the examining committee membership for the Ph.D. Comprehensive/Qualifying Examination, the defined topics to be covered in the oral examination and the possible agreed meeting date. A form is provided to the Supervisor of the student as part of the CHEM*7950 Seminar paperwork, to fill in the recommended committee members, topics and examination time. This form will be forwarded to the GWC2 Administrative Assistant for processing.
The three (3) examiners will provide three (3) questions each. The student will choose six (6) questions to answer (two from each topic). The student will be allowed to review the questions for 30 minutes prior to the start time of the examination. The total time booking for an exam will be approximately two (2) hours.
Register in CHEM*7950 (Ph.D. Seminar) and UNIV*7500 (Research/Writing) for your second semester. UNIV*7000 (Doctoral Qualifying Exam) will be added to your transcript after the successful completion.
Please email the GWC2 Adminsitrative Assistant at gwc@uoguelph.ca to tentatively book the link room to present CHEM*7950 and to hold your first Advisory Committee meeting.
Confirm the availability of your Supervisor, Advisory Committee and the Seminar Coordinator for the date and time that you have selected.
Send an email to your Supervisor, Advisory Committee, Seminar Coordinator and Graduate Program Assistant confirming the title, date and time of your seminar and committee meeting.
Prepare your oral and power point presentation(s). When preparing the power point presentation, please ensure that there are two slides per page and saved in a pdf format.
24 hours before the start of your seminar presentation, please email your powerpoint slides to your Supervisor, Advisory Committee and the Seminar Coordinator.
Present at CHEM*7950.
Schedule your UNIV*7000 Doctoral Qualifying Exam to be held 6 weeks after your CHEM*7950 seminar.
Confirm your Doctoral Qualifying Exam (UNIV*7000) with the GWC2 Administrative Assistant, your Advisory Committe Members (your Advisor is not permitted to attend this exam) and the GWC2 Director.
Attend the other CHEM*7940/7950 Seminars. If you are unable to attend you must notify your Course Coordinator ahead of time.
Course Organization and Administration
The CHEM*7950 will be coordinated by Dr. Mario Monteiro and by the Graduate Program Assistant Further information and advice on any aspects of these requirements may be obtained from either of them.
(GWC)2 Seminar Award
To reward strong performances in seminar presentations, a prize of $200 is awarded annually on each campus of the Centre for the best Masters and Doctoral seminar
