Before presenting the dissertation or thesis students must undergo a Qualification Exam which requires the presentation, to a board of 3 or 4 specialists, of a manuscript contemplating part or all of the data from the student’s research project. Ideally, this exam should occur at least 3 months before the presentation of the Master Thesis (i.e., 21 months after its initiation) and 6 months before the PhD thesis (i.e., 42 months after its initiation).
The board of specialists, who will be indicated by the Supervisor, will have to be approved by the Program Committee at least one month before the exam.
The date of the exam will be marked according to the availability of the board members. The manuscript must be sent to those on the board at least 10 days before the exam.
The exam is composed of two main parts: oral presentation (20-40 min) of the manuscript; discussion with each board member about the research findings. Students who fail this exam will have an opportunity to be submitted to another exam in the following 30 days.
The Qualification Exam can also function as an opportunity to selected MSc students to be transferred to a PhD student position. In this case, information regarding the reasons for this request must be made clear to the board members when the exam is marked and during the presentation.
