Advisory Committee
An advisory committee is established by the student in consultation with their supervisor(s). At least two other members are chosen for their expertise in an area related to the proposed research topic. Appropriate experts from outside the Neuroscience Program and Western University may be included.
The advisory committee: i) guides the scientific progress of the student and ensures that the objectives of the graduate program are met; ii) is responsible for making recommendations to the program committee for the transfer of master's students to the doctoral program; iii) is responsible for establishing the scope of the comprehensive assessment for PhD students, in consultation with the program committee; v) approves the thesis before it is submitted for examination to the Program in the case of MSc students or SGPS in the case of PhD students.
Within one month of entering the graduate program, students should submit names of their chosen advisors and their proposed thesis topic using the Advisory Committee Approval Form. The neuroscience program committee will approve the final advisory committee and a program representative will be assigned to chair the committee. The chair is responsible for completing the report form of the meeting and monitoring progress.
Each student meets with their advisory committee within the first term. Subsequently, each student meets with their committee at approximately six-month intervals; this schedule is particularly important for M.Sc. students because of the short duration of their training program. These meetings, which generally last for about 1 hour, focus on the proposed research, progress to date and future plans. Scheduling committee meetings at least every six months is a program progression requirement. These should be scheduled based on this six-month interval; not the completion of certain tasks or results based. Failure to hold regularly scheduled meetings can result in a discussion with the Director.
Meetings can be convened by the student, the supervisor, or any member of the advisory committee. In addition to these formal meetings, members of the committee can monitor the progress of the student by attending laboratory meetings at which students present reports on research. The supervisor and advisory committee members are also expected to attend presentations made by students in program seminars.
First Meeting
At least one week in advance of the meeting, the student must complete a Pre-Meeting Report. Using this form, the student will upload a brief thesis proposal (one page maximum) that includes a background, hypothesis, context, objectives and methodology.
Be prepared to give a 5-10 minute presentation.
It is expected that your first meeting is scheduled within your first term. At the end of the meeting, schedule your next one while you have your committee together.
Subsequent Meetings
At least one week in advance of the meeting, the student must complete a Pre-Meeting Report. Using this form, the student will upload a written report (no longer than ~5 pages), along with their previous meeting report and a Gantt chart. The report should highlight milestones reached since the last meeting. It might also focus more on the background, methods and anticipated results, rather than on actual results.
Progress report outline:
a. Abstract (200 words)
b. Introduction (500 words)
c. Results – just figures and legends
d. Discussion less than 500 words
Be prepared to give a 15-20 minute presentation
Final Meeting
The final meeting should be scheduled at least 3 months (MSc) or 4 months (PhD) prior to the anticipated defense date. If there is a firm deadline for completing the defense, we strongly recommend that the meeting is scheduled even further in advance, especially during peak times (ie. summer term). 90 minutes is recommended for the final meeting so there is sufficient time to discuss the examination committee, in addition to the regular meeting.
In preparing for this final meeting, follow the steps outlined in the “Subsequent Meetings” tab above. Also discuss potential examiner options with your supervisor(s) prior to the meeting. Listing ranked alternate examiners is strongly recommended. Information regarding preparation and steps towards a thesis exam is available on our website.
Thesis Reader: The role of the thesis reader is to give one last brief review of the thesis document prior to submission to SGPS. The thesis reader will not review the document at the same level as an examiner would. This step is highly recommended, but can be waived with the approval of your committee. Typically, the thesis reader is a member of the advisory committee, but this is not a requirement. The thesis reader should be contacted to discuss the time needed to review the document. This is an important step to ensure that suggested edits can be incorporated prior to SGPS submission.
Examiners: All examiners must be free of substantial conflict of interest from the student and/or supervisor. Refer to Senate Academic Policies Procedures section 1.9 Arm’s-Length Requirement for the Examination Board.
Program Examiners (2): Only one may be from the advisory committee (and must not be the thesis reader). A current list of our membership is available on our website.
University Examiner (1): Can NOT be from the supervisors’ home department
External Examiner – PhD only (1): Examiner must cannot be associated or affiliated with Western and must be at arm’s length from the supervisor. Refer to arm's length regulations above.
Comprehensive Assessment Meeting (PhD students only)
The student organizes a 1.5 hour comprehensive assessment meeting for the chalk talk and to receive feedback on exercises 1 & 2. Both exercises must be sent to the advisory committee at least one week in advance of the meeting.
Note: this is NOT to be combined with a regular advisory committee meeting. The chair will complete the Comprehensive Assessment Meeting Report at the end of the meeting to provide the student written feedback and confirm the exercises have been completed.
Students must complete all 3 exercises before enrolling in Neuroscience 9601: Grant Writing. It is expected that students complete their comprehensive assessment within the first 2 years of enrollment in the PhD program.
Full details regarding the comprehensive assessment are available online by clicking here.
Gantt Chart
A Gantt chart is commonly used in project management. It is a useful way of showing activities displayed against time and tracking project schedules. This allows you to see at a glance:
• What the various activities are
• When each activity begins and ends
• How long each activity is scheduled to last
• Where activities overlap with other activities, and by how much
• The start and end date of the whole project
It is highly recommended that all students create a Gantt chart for their research project. For new students, we suggest that you have a first version completed for your second advisory committee meeting.
This exercise is for planning purposes only. In the early stages of your project, these will be your best estimates. It will be expected that you update this information and provide a copy with each meeting report.
Online Resource:
Gantt Charting (https://osf.io/dnb5c/)
MSc to PhD transfer
Every member of the advisory committee has an important role to play. The roles and expectations of all members are outlined here.
- Roles and Expectations (PDF, 289KB)
At least one week in advance of a meeting, the student must complete a Pre-Meeting Report which includes a progress report, previous committee meeting report (if applicable) and a Gantt chart
After the meeting, the chair will complete the applicable report(s):
- Master's Advisory Committee Meeting Report
- PhD Advisory Committee Meeting Report
- Comprehensive Assessment Meeting Report (PhD only)
- Thesis Examiner report (MSc and PhD)
At each meeting progress will be reviewed. If a committee indicates that a student needs improvement on more than one occasion, a mandatory meeting will be scheduled with the Director of the program. A student that receives this rating on more than one occasion may be required to withdraw from the program.
**TIPS FOR SCHEDULING YOUR ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETINGS**
1. RECOMMENDED: Schedule the next meeting at the end of each meeting.
2. Schedule at least two months in advance.
3. Speak with supervisors first to determine their availability. This creates a more precise scheduling poll for committee members. Faculty receive a lot of meeting requests – be considerate and try to limit options to a maximum of 10 options.
