1. Welcome to McGill University Department of Integrated Studies in Education PhD Orientation, Sept. 2014

2. Table of Contents Student Groups & Welcome Events Useful Links
DISE Doctoral Program
Co-Curricular Activities
Funding
Good Advice

3. 1. Student Groups & Welcome Events

4. PGSS (Post-Graduate Students’ Society)
For all graduate students, university-wide
organizes social events
provides financial advice
provides insurance coverage advice
is a route for participation in PGSS and university committees
has headquarters at Thomson House (second building downhill) with social spaces and dining facilities
provides student advocacy services
Contact:

5. PGSS Orientation Events
Tuesday, Sept. 2nd
Thomson House, 3650 McTavish
15:30-19:00: PGSS/McGill Orientation
19:00--: Graduate Student Meet and Greet Cocktail Event

6. EGSS (Education Graduate Students’ Society)
For graduate students in the Faculty of Education (DISE, ECP, KPE)
shares insights, expertise and fellowship
recognizes the collective voice of the graduate student body
supplies representatives for departmental committees
provides study spaces, a lounge in Rm. 631
provides travel awards
supports solidarity initiatives
organizes the annual Graduate Student Conference (March)
President: VACANT
DISE representative to EGSS: Ashley Demartini

7. 2. Useful Links

8. Common ABBREVIATIONS DISE = Dept. of Integrated Studies in Education
Note: this will soon be DESS: Dept. of Education, Schools & Society
ECP = Dept. of Educational & Counselling Psychology (Faculty of Ed.)
GPS = Graduate & Post-Doctoral Studies
GPD = Graduate Program Director
GPC = Graduate Program Coordinator & Graduate Program Committee
CAPS = Career Planning Service
TLS = Teaching & Learning Services
MINERVA = student online information system
myCourses = online Learning Management System

9. MCGILL Academic LINKS GPS policies: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps
Faculty of Education:
DISE:
Teaching & Learning Services:
Statistical Consulting Service:

10. MCGill Student Services
Service Point, Enrollment Services:
First Year Office:
CAPS Career Planning Service:
Student Legal Information Clinic:
International Students Office:
IT (Computer Help Desk):
Student Financial Aid:
Student Health Services
Counselling Centre Mental Health

11. Calendars of Key Dates KEY REGULATIONS
For registration, adding and dropping courses, class schedules…
KEY REGULATIONS
ULATIONS

12. 3. DISE Ph.D. Program

13. DISE GRADUATE STUDIES Chair of DISE Dr. Steve Jordan
PhD Graduate Program Director
Dr. Bronwen Low, Rm. 248 B/339
Graduate Program Coordinator:
Mr. Michael Larivière, Rm. 244
office hours 9-4 (4-5 with advance notice)
, telephone or show up!

14. Advising: Ask the GPC first about
Program requirements
Registration for courses
Grades (e.g. incompletes)
Change of program option
Changes of status between full-time and half-time
Leaves of absence; withdrawal
Thesis submission (deadlines, preparation and submission guidelines) (see below)
Michael Lariviere may be reached by , phone or office visit. Office Hours: 9:30am-4pm TWR, 10am-4pm MF; closed 1:00-2:15pm. By arrangement between 4-5pm.
Always follow up with a confirmation .

15. Academic Integrity Outreach Online Tutorial
Information on critical issues of academic integrity.
Intended to reduce the number of academic infractions.
On your MINERVA student menu for you to do.
At some point a hold will be put on registration if you have not done this.

16. Registration & Fees International /ROC / Quebec Status:
International students must be full-time
STATUS: full-time / half-time
you must be full-time to apply for external grants
RESIDENCY PERIOD: 2 years.
ADDITIONAL SESSION:
For the PhD program you pay a third year of full-time fees prior to additional session status, which has lower fees.
You must be registered for every single term from the time you first register until you graduate, including leaves or thesis-writing.

17. Ph.D. in Educational Studies Program Requirements
General information:
Options: Language Acquisition Program; Gender & Women’s Studies
Required Courses (8 credits)
Complementary Courses (3 credits)
Elective Courses (0-12 credits)
Candidacy Papers (formerly Comprehensive Examination) and oral defence
Thesis Proposal
Ethics review (if applicable)
Dissertation & Defence

18. Required Courses (8 credits)
First year: EDEC 700 (Fall) & 702 (Winter) Proseminar in Education 1 & 2
Second year: EDEC 703 Ph.D. Colloquium
EDEC 701 PhD Candidacy Papers (Comprehensive Exam)

19. Complementary Courses (min. 3 credits)
Consult with your supervisor to choose at least one of these courses.
EDEC 705 – Advanced Research Design
EDEC 706 – Textual Approaches to Research
EDEC 707 – Interpretive Inquiry
EDSL 630 – Qualitative / Ethnographic Methods
EDEM 692 – Qualitative Research Methods

20. Elective courses (0-12 credits)
You are encouraged to take as many courses as you can in your first two years; this will help you in preparing your candidacy papers and your thesis proposal.
Elective courses are determined in consultation with your supervisor and Doctoral Advisory Committee. Common elective courses taken by our Ph.D. students include:
EDEM 690 Research Methods: Philosophy and Practice
EDEM 630 Qualitative/Ethnographic Methods
Students needing to take graduate courses in statistics will select from courses such as:
EDPE 575 Educational Measurement
EDPE 676 Intermediate Statistics
EDPE 682 Univariate/Multivariate Analysis

21. Milestones & Time Limitations
Entering with an MA degree, you are “PhD 2”, in your first year of the doctoral program. Entering without an MA degree, you are “PhD 1”, in your first year of the doctoral program.
You have 6 years to finish your PhD degree, i.e. PhD 2 – PhD 7, or PhD 1 – PhD 6.
You are expected to finish your coursework in the first two years. (Statistics courses are often taken later.)
You are expected to defend your Candidacy Papers by the end of the summer of your second year.
Progress Reports, signed by student and supervisor(s), are required by the end of September for all students, annually. Forms are on the DISE graduate Ph.D. site.

22. MILESTONES / SCHEDULE YEAR COURSES OTHER 1 Professional Seminar
Various courses 2
Professional Colloquium
Candidacy Papers 3
Thesis Proposal, Ethical Review, Data Collection 4
Data Collection, Writing 5
Writing 6
Writing, Submission

23. Why time limitations?
Train students to define objectives and meet them proficiently and efficiently.
Our resources are limited.
government funding for PhD students is given only in the first 3.4 years of program
limited number and availability of faculty supervisors
funding sources are increasingly competitive and scarce
Your resources are limited.
Balancing act with family, finances, health and work

24. Candidacy Papers (formerly Comprehensive Examinations)
Not comprehensive, not exams, but to determine that you are ready for dissertation research dise/students/graduate.
Two or three questions, agreed on by student and committee.
In regard to your research question(s), one paper is typically “What do we know about this?” (literature review) and the other “How will I find out?” (methodology).
You consult with supervisor while developing your responses.
Register with Graduate Program Coordinator for the term in which you expect to defend them.
You must defend your papers orally and pass ethical review (if applicable) before data collection.

25. Candidacy Papers & Milestones
You are expected to defend your CP by the end of your second year (i.e. August 31).
If you successfully defend by this deadline, you receive an ABDUL ($2,000). This “All But Dissertation” award is incentive and reward for timely completion. If you do not, you won’t receive it.
If you do not pass this milestone at the designated time, you may request an extension of one semester (i.e. Fall) citing unforeseen and extraordinary circumstances. This will require the assent of the doctoral advisory committee, the GPD and the Chair.
If the extension deadline is not met; you will receive an Unsatisfactory progress report and a new date will be set for an interim progress report.

26. PROGRESS REPORTS
These are mandated by GPS and help us ensure that you are keeping on track.
The first report form is a contract for the coming academic year, due by the end of September 2013.
Subsequent report forms are due by the end of June each year.
Progress is attested to by both student and supervisor(s).
If a progress report is unsatisfactory, another progress report will be due 3-6 months later (determined by student, supervisor and GPD).
Two unsatisfactory progress reports mean that the student might be asked to withdraw from the program.
Forms are available on the DISE Graduate website. DO NOT use GPS forms.

27. LEAVES OF ABSENCE
Different types of leave, usually family, medical or employment; all require documentation.
Note: There is no longer any “non-resident leave”
Grants and student visas do not continue during a leave.
You must be officially registered as on leave. Do not simply disappear; you may end up not finishing, or owing lots of back fees.
Stop the clock rather than grind to a halt!

28. THESIS SUBMISSION Submission Dates
Note: “Initial thesis submission” refers to official submission to Thesis Office of entire thesis as the beginning of the official examination process.
When you are getting close to submission, sit down with the GPC and go over the steps.
Plan with adequate time for review, getting signatures, etc. Do not cut the deadlines too closely!
Thesis Evaluation Status: applies to fees when the thesis evaluation process crosses two terms.

29. Official Thesis Submission Deadlines
Initial Submission
(affects fees)
Final Submission
(affects grad-uation date, not flexible)
Additional Session
Thesis Evaluation
Graduation
Apr 16 – Aug 15
Aug 16 – Dec 15
Summer
Fall
February
Dec 16 – Apr 15
Winter
June
October

30. 4. Co-curricular Activities

31. CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Workshops, talks, seminars and presentations:
Practical help in learning specific skills, from reference formatting to grant-writing.
Opportunities for informal learning about educational activities and research in a wide variety of areas with students, faculty and educators.
Keep track of your attendance on the Co-curricular Activities Report sheet (on DISE website)

32. Practical Help SKILLSETS (GPS &TLS)
myRESEARCH (in the Education Library)
ABCs of the PhD (Faculty of Education)
DISE PhD Collaborative (Peer Support) Group
Grant-Writing Support (DISE, GPS and SKILLSETS) see below

33. Speaker Series
DISE TALKS! Students, faculty and visitors talking about their work and projects.
“Globalization, Education and Change”: inter-disciplinary perspectives from local and international scholars and educators.
“Meet the Neighbours”: experiences in community education, research, knowledge production and social change with community educators, organizers and practitioners

34. 5. Funding Support

35. DISE FUNDING DISE Graduate Excellence Entrance Awards
$5,000 to all PhD 1 and 2 students entering in F13
DISE Graduate Excellence International Fee Differential
$10,000 for PhD students paying international fees
Research Assistantships
Given on entrance or later to work on a funded research project.
RA positions are posted on CAPS and must be applied for.
RA group is unionized, with a collective agreement.
Teaching Assistantships
TA positions are posted on CAPS, and must be applied for.
TA group is unionized; there is a collective agreement and a priority pool.
Degree requirements vary for levels of courses.

36. GREATS: DISE TRAVEL awards
Helps fund cost of conferences at which you are presenting.
Awards for are $500 for North America and $800 elsewhere. Conferences in Montreal are usually $250.
Preference given to those applicants who did not receive an award the previous year
Application details s to be found on the form at
Deadlines:
May 1 (for travel from April 1 to June 30)
July 1 (for travel from July 1 August 31)
September 1 (for travel from September 1 to December 31)
January 1 (for travel from Jan 1 to March 31)

37. Graduate Travel Fellowships:
Awards for travel NOT to conferences, e.g. research site, data collection, special summer course
Amount of individual awards depends on number of applicants.
Preference given to those applicants who did not receive an award the previous year
Same application deadlines as for GREAT award
Form also found on DISE website
EGSS Travel Fellowships:
$250 (N.Am.) or $500 (outside N.Am.) for conference presentation
number of awards as funding permits
deadlines to apply on EGSS website

38. DISE and Faculty Awards
Notifications of award deadlines will be sent to you by .
DISE Awards: 1 PhD and 1 MA award each; application dates in Winter
Community Engagement Award
Educator Practitioner-Researcher Award
Innovative Dissemination of Research Award
Faculty of Education Awards:
A variety of awards of varying amounts
Two application sessions, in Fall and Winter terms.
EGSS Fellowships: two $500 MA awards and two $1,000 PhD awards.
Based on research and professional excellence, and need.
Deadline usually in April.

39. GRANTS: external
Information on external and internal grants and awards: SSHRC: [must go through Dept.] FQRSC: Although forms change slightly from year to year, the basic sections remain the same. You can get a head-start on your drafts by using the most recent forms on these sites.

40. Grant-Writing SUPPORT: Start now!
DISE Sessions:
Grant Writing Workshop (offered by Prof. Zanazanian), August 25th, 2014).
Grant Writing Boot Camp Part 1 Sept. 12, 1-3:30 pm, rm 233
Grant Writing Boot Camp Part 1 Sept. 19, 1-2:30 pm, rm 233
GPS: tips on preparing applications at
SKILLSETS: Webinar: Applying for a SSHRC doctoral award Sept. 9, 2014, register online at
Would you fund it?/ Would you fund it now? See website for dates
WATCH YOUR FOR TIMES AND PLACES! REGISTER EARLY!

41. 6. Good Advice!

42. Words to the Wise…
Communicate with us only via your official McGill student address. Always include your student number.
Pay attention to your messages.
Check your advising transcript regularly on MINERVA
Check your physical mailbox, 2nd floor inner corridor, often.
Make sure your current coordinates and bank account information are up-to-date on MINERVA.
Register on time. Respect deadlines. Allow time for signatures. Allow time for unforeseen unknowns.
Double-check conflicting advice!
You must be officially registered for ALL semesters, even on leave. Do not disappear.
Use the assistance available before you really need it.
Take advantage of McGill and community resources. They are for YOU!