Are you well?

Whether you are a student or a “normal” person, it is important to be in tune with your innards and outtards. Take this quiz to assess your wellbeing (I did!) and if your thetans, photons, or croutons are out of whack, take advantage of the resources at UBC to get in shape.

QP Timelines

This schedule should contain pretty much everything any of us want to know about QP timelines. Note that you should not ever submit a hard copy of your QP form, proposal, or final QP. All documents should be submitted in a digital format.

 

for December defence
for April defence
(Monday, Week 4 of Term 2; early February) Graduate Advisor arranges a QP committee for any 1st year

PhD student (or a provisional QP committee for any MA student intent on requesting transfer to PhD program), in consultation with the student, no later than this date

Monday, Week 9 of Term 2
(early March)
Monday, Week 3 of Term 1
(mid Sept)
Student emails initial draft of QP proposal to all committee members, cc-ing the Graduate Advisor.

NOTE: Student should have discussed proposal ideas with committee members earlier than this date, at least informally.

Monday, Week 13 of Term 2
(early Apr)
Monday, Week 7 of Term 1
(mid Oct)
Student sends email to Graduate Advisor and Graduate Secretary, cc-ing all committee members, confirming approval of QP proposal and attaching final proposal. Included in that email should be a concrete timeline (work plan) for the QP project as a whole.

Student submits digital copies of the QP proposal and the approval form to Graduate Secretary for filing, and circulates the approved proposal to department email list.

Apr–Aug Oct–Jan Student works on QP research project. During this period, regular corre­spondence and/or meetings with QP readers is expected.
Monday 12 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 3 of Term 1; mid Sept)
Monday 12 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 4 of Term 2; late Jan)
Student submits written draft of QP (at least a partial draft) to all committee members no later than this date.

Student meets with readers to clarify expectations regarding revision process (how many rounds of revisions to expect, turnaround time, etc.)

Monday 8 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 7 of Term 1; mid Oct)
Monday 8 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 8 of Term 2; late Feb)
Student sends email to Graduate Advisor (cc-ed to whole committee), declaring intent to defend in upcoming QP mini-conference.
Monday 6 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 9 of Term 1; late Oct)
Monday 6 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 10 of Term 2; mid March)
Student submits complete written draft of QP to all committee members no later than this date.
Monday 2 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 13 of Term 1; late Nov)
Monday 2 weeks before mini-conference
(Week 14 of Term 2; early April)
Student sends email to Graduate Advisor, cc-ing whole committee, confirming participation in QP mini-conference.
Tuesday 1 week before mini-conference
(Week 14 of Term 1; early Dec)
Tuesday 1 week before mini-conference
(Week 15 of Term 2; mid April)
Student submits defence draft of QP to all committee members
Tuesday 2 weeks after last class (Week 15 of Term 1; early/mid Dec) Tuesday 2 weeks after last class (Week 16 of Term 2; mid April) QP mini-conference
Tuesday 4 weeks after mini-conference
(early/mid Jan)
Tuesday 4 weeks after mini-conference
(mid May)
Student submits revised QP to committee for final approval.
Tuesday 5 weeks after mini-conference Tuesday 5 weeks after mini-conference Student submits to the Graduate Advisor a digital copy of the QP filing form (download from Department website or request from Graduate Advisor/Secretary), signed by all committee members, and a digital copy of the approved QP.

Student circulates approved QP to department email list.

2 weeks after filing of approved QP 2 weeks after filing of approved QP Student submits to the UBC Working Papers in Linguistics an electronic copy of the QP, formatted according to the UBCWPL style sheet.

NOTE: Recognizing that demands of particular research projects may place specific constraints on timelines that conflict with the official schedule, deviations from this deadline can be negotiated with the supervisory committee. Student should notify the Graduate Advisor of any such special arrangements by email (cc-ed to whole committee).

QP Expectations and Best Practices

Expectations Regarding the Timing of QP completion within PhD program

  • Other things being equal, QP1 is expected to be defended in the 1st or 2nd term of Year 2.
  • Other things being equal, QP2 is expected to be defended in the 2nd term of Year 2 or the 1st term of Year 3.
  • Note that the periods when a student is working on QP1 and QP2 will thus normally overlap.

Exceptional extenuating circumstances (e.g. relating to health or other emergencies) can justify holding an individual QP defence outside of the April/December mini-conference events.

Similarly, special circumstances may warrant QP1 and/or QP2 being completed later than in the terms specified above, subject to the approval of the supervisory committee and Graduate Advisor. In any case, both Qualifying Papers must have been completed no later than the 2nd term of Year 3. (Note that all other requirements for advancement to PhD candidacy must likewise have been met before the start of Year 4.)

Comments and feedback: best-practice guidelines

  • For any material submitted to readers or other committee members (e.g. proposals, full or partial drafts of papers), students should expect to receive comments on that material within 2 weeks.
  • Conversely, students should allow for up to 2 weeks before receiving comments from readers on any drafts or other material they intend to submit, and budget their time accordingly (e.g. with respect to the official deadlines on the QP schedule).

Scope of a Doctoral Dissertation

Passing along some information about changes to the Scope of a Doctoral Dissertation. The Public Scholars Initiative seems really interesting — I imagine many of you could be spinning your research in that direction.
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The Graduate Academic Policy Committee has approved updates to the section of the G+PS website “Scope of a Doctoral Dissertation”. Related sections have had minor adjustments in consequence. Please note that there are no major changes, and the scope and possibilities have been expanded, not limited.
 
The updates have been made to support the Public Scholars Initiative, which encourages diverse forms of collaborative scholarship and scholarly products.
 
The following pages have minor adjustments:
 
 

 

Upcoming Information Sessions

Submitting Your Thesis
Working on your thesis? This session will review the UBC formatting and submission requirements.
Tuesday, September 27 | 9:00 AM to 10:15 AM
For further information or to register, visit https://www.grad.ubc.ca/about-us/events/15454-submitting-your-thesis .  The direct registration link is https://community.grad.ubc.ca/gps/event/15454 .
 
Copyright for Your Thesis: How to Use Images and Other Material
Are there images or portions of published manuscripts you are planning to use in your thesis? Do you have concerns over how copyright laws could delay your thesis submission? Bring your theses or other work you need guidance on.
Tuesday, September 27 | 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
 
Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer
This workshop will help you gain an overall understanding of the field of intellectual property; understand the various stages and timelines in the process of obtaining a patent; utilize the resources available to conduct a prior-art search yourself; and participate in technology transfer processes.
Thursday, September 29 | 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM
 
 
Please visit the community.grad.ubc.ca forums for other graduate student opportunities including:
Tips and Tricks for Formatting your Thesis, Sept 21, 10:00 AM https://community.grad.ubc.ca/event/2794
Top 10 Tips for Getting Organized & Staying Productive, Sept 21, 1:00 PM https://community.grad.ubc.ca/event/2828
Multi-disciplinary Graduate Student Writing Community, Sept 26, 2:00 PM https://community.grad.ubc.ca/event/2830
Submit a proposal to present at the Student Leadership Conference in January https://community.grad.ubc.ca/forum/2868
Volunteer with the GSS as a commissioner https://community.grad.ubc.ca/forum/2856

 

Some International Mitacs Opportunities

Global Research Award (12- to 24- week research project abroad)
The Mitacs Globalink Research Award supports research collaborations between Canada and select partner countries. The award is open to graduate students in all disciplines. Select destinations are also open to senior undergraduates in all disciplines. Full details (including eligibility requirements and application materials) are available at: https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/globalink-research-award
Mitacs-JSPS Internship (10-week research project in Japan)
The Mitacs-JSPS Internship provides opportunities for graduate students in Canada to pursue collaborative research in Japan, allowing them to advance their own research while promoting scientific progress in both Japan and Canada. Full details (including eligibility requirements and application materials) are available at: https://www.mitacs.ca/en/programs/globalink/mitacs-jsps-internship
Deadline: Submit the completed proposal by email to apply@mitacs.ca by Wednesday, 9
November 2016, at 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time
Please contact Mitacs International at international@mitacs.ca if you have any questions regarding the application or eligibility requirements.

 

IODE War Memorial Scholarship

The IODE War Memorial Scholarships support PhD scholars whose research makes important contributions to Canada and the world in medicine, science, business, politics and academia. Applicants are judged on academic excellence and potential. Details are available online at: http://www.iode.ca/iode-war-memorial-scholarship-2017-application.html
Eligibility: Applicants must be Canadian citizens and in at least their second year of a doctoral program at a Canadian or Commonwealth university.
Deadlines:
  1. Letter of Intent by 01 October 2016
  2. Complete application by 01 November 2016
Please submit all correspondence and supporting documents on or before the specified deadline dates.
  • By email, to the IODE War Memorial Officer at WarMemorial@IODE.ca; or,
  • By post, to IODE Canada, 40 Orchard View Blvd. Suite 219, Toronto, ON, M4R 1B9

 

SSHRC/NSERC Information for Fall 2016

Resources:
Notes:
  • NSERC PGS applications and reference letters: Please email your graduate program deadline and, if possible, a list of students (first and last names) applying to your program to junnie.cheung@ubc.ca. On the next business day, we will upload the application materials and reference letters to your folder on Workspace.
  • SSHRC doctoral awards applications: SSHRC will accept printouts of UBC Academic History from SISC. For each applicant, please append one copy of the UBC transcript key to the SISC printout.

 

Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships

 

Trudeau Doctoral Scholarships
Value: $40,000 stipend plus $20,000 travel allowance per year, for up to 4 years
Applicant deadline: 11:59pm (Vancouver time) on Monday, 24 October 2016
Up to 15 Trudeau Scholarships are awarded each year to support doctoral students pursuing research related to one of its four founding themes: Human Rights and Dignity, Responsible Citizenship, Canada in the World, and People and their Natural Environment. Trudeau Scholars are highly gifted individuals who are actively engaged in their fields and expected to become leading national and international figures.
Eligibility
  • Candidates must be applying into the first year of a PhD at UBC, or be registered in the first or second year of a PhD at UBC.
  • Although priority will be given to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, up to one scholar in four per given year may be a foreign national registered full-time in a doctoral program at a Canadian institution. This applies in particular to students from emerging nations.
Applications are submitted via the Trudeau Foundation application portal:
Please note that there is no graduate program nomination process. The Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will convene an adjudication committee composed of UBC faculty members to review applications and select UBC’s nominees to the national competition.

 

Things to be interested in!

From our friends at Graduate Pathways to Success: