Purpose

McGill places great importance on the role of the Supervisory Committee (SC) in the training of graduate students. All Departments and Graduate Programs at McGill have a requirement for the appointment of and annual meetings of these committees. The SC is a resource for the graduate student to ensure every opportunity for success in the chosen academic program.

SC meetings must take place at least once every year and represent an opportunity for the student to present his or her work to a committee of faculty members who are from the same or related academic disciplines as the student. This presentation is followed by feedback from the committee members.

The main goal of the SC meetings is to provide constructive feedback to the student and the supervisor regarding the academic and scientific progress to date. Objective observations from academics that are familiar with, but not directly involved in the research being pursued have proven to be highly beneficial to a student鈥檚 overall progress.

All students have the ability to request an SC meeting whenever they feel it is necessary or would be beneficial and are strongly encouraged to do so. Annual meetings are a minimum requirement, but the committee can and should be convened as often as necessary.