The guidelines presented in this document were prepared by the Committee on Graduate Students in consultation with academic staff, graduate students and cross-appointed staff of the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, in conjunction with the General Information, Regulations and Research Guidelines prepared by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University (see web site: http://coursecalendar.mcgill.ca/gsgeninfo/gigrad-1-1.html) The General Information, Regulations and Research Guidelines is the reference used by all staff and students concerning McGill University graduate study policies and procedures. It is given to students upon arrival at McGill. Please be aware of the calendar of dates at the beginning of the publication. Last revised: January 2014

School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition

Macdonald Campus of McGill University

M.Sc. (Thesis) Program in Human Nutrition

Graduate Student Guidelines

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SUPERVISION OF GRADUATE STUDENTS Each graduate student shall have a supervisory committee of at least two staff members. The supervisor or the co-supervisor must have an appointment in the School. In the case of students doing research with a supervisor who is not fully cross-appointed in the School, a co-supervisor must be named who has such an appointment. The committee shall ensure proper execution of the research project and shall be of assistance to the student in the selection of courses and in all matters pertaining to the student's program. The committee will serve as a resource for all aspects of the student's graduate program. Specifically, the supervisory committee must approve the written research proposal and course program of the student and conduct an annual review of the student's academic progress using the "Supervisory Committee Report on Graduate Student Progress Form" which is available through the Faculty of Graduate Studies. The form must be completed, signed by the student and each committee member, and placed in the student's file by the deadlines set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies depending on when your program commenced; typically end of first term in the program. A second yearly meeting may be requested by the Graduate Program Director (GPD) for special circumstances. Committee members will have the opportunity to provide input regarding thesis preparation. In consultation with the thesis supervisor, the student or member of the supervisory committee may arrange for a meeting at any time. Committee members who are not available for advising for an extended period of time (12 mo) will be replaced. If a supervisor is absent from the university for more than one month, and is not available to supervise the student, an alternate supervisor (usually another committee member) will be identified by mutual agreement with the student. A memo to this effect is to be submitted to the GPD. Roles of Graduate Student Supervisors 1. Be familiar with regulations and graduate student guidelines. 2. Help keep student informed of deadlines. 3. Provide avenues for applications for personal scholarship financial support. 4. Provide continuous supervision in research. 5. Support expenses related to research project. Thesis research costs are normally covered by research grants.

6. Direct publication activities on research projects. 7. Be available for committee meetings and the student's colloquium presentations (proposal presentation and

thesis results presentation). 8. Work with committee member(s) on behalf of the student. Roles for Graduate Student Committee Members 1. Be familiar with regulations and graduate student guidelines. 2. Provide expertise as needed on the research project and thesis preparation. 3. Be available for consultation with the student upon request. (However, the student should discuss issues

first with the supervisor.) 4. Be available for committee meetings; and where possible the student's thesis proposal presentation and

thesis results presentation. 5. Work with the committee on behalf of the student. Commitment to the Student When a graduate student is accepted for graduate studies in Human Nutrition, the commitment is recognized to provide a working environment and supervision for the student to enable completion of the program under the guidelines and regulations set by the University. It is the responsibility of the supervisor to ensure that a letter outlining financial commitment be issued to the student upon acceptance into the School. This commitment is conditional on the student's maintaining academic performance with respect to course work and fulfilling other

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obligations in a satisfactory fashion. Obligations of the Student The student is expected to display a norm of professional activity and to abide by the regulations of the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office. The expectation is that the research ideas and directions provided to the student by the supervisor are recognized to be the domain of the supervisor’s research and not taken elsewhere by the student without the supervisor’s permission. Students should anticipate the equivalent of a full-time work week to research activities to complete their thesis/dissertation in a reasonable time frame. It is the responsibility of the student to declare their professional commitments and employment that may impact on their research direction, time and financial situation. It should also be noted that assistantships, University scholarships and scholarships from outside sources normally limit their financial support to one year for a M.Sc. candidate. In consultation with the research supervisor, the student may be requested to participate in up to 12 hours per week (In order to maintain full-time status, a graduate student should not work more than 180 hours per term over 15 weeks with 12 hours per week) of research or teaching activities in exchange for financial compensation, in addition to their grant thesis research. This will be discussed and reported in the annual progress report. For further information refer to: http://www.mcgill.ca/study/2012-

2013/university_regulations_and_resources/graduate/gps_gi_guidelines_and_policies_guideline_on_hours_of_work. In addition to giving School research colloquium presentations (Human Nutrition Colloquium), it is expected that draft(s) of a paper(s) for publication will be presented to the student's supervisor before the student leaves the program. Successful completion of a M.Sc. degree in Human Nutrition generally takes two years. Students are expected to maintain a presence in the research environment as defined by the supervisory committee. Unless approved by the GPD, the use of McGill letterhead and envelopes in correspondence by graduate students is prohibited. Academic Integrity Students are reminded that it is their responsibility to inform themselves about the meaning and consequences of cheating and plagiarism. See the student guide and other useful information at www.mcgill.ca/integrity. Presentations and Publications All students are encouraged to make presentations, participate in conferences and submit manuscripts to journals, particularly toward the end of the period of research training and while writing up their results, to present the results of their research in a public forum, both for constructive feedback and enrichment. Advantages of such activities include greater self-confidence, a better perspective on the quality and meaning of their research, and more visibility in the job market. Students sometimes do not realize that colleagues may be more interested in the wider aspects of the project and its impact on the whole body of knowledge than in their raw results

1. Under the

guidance of their supervisor, it is recommended that each student write and submit one or two articles and to make at least one conference presentation during their graduate studies. 1Graduate Studies: A Practical Guide 8 Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, 1992.

Research Ethics To protect students and staff, all original research data must be kept at McGill as the data are collected. Regular backups of data etc., to be kept in a separate location, are essential in case of fire/floods etc. The thesis supervisor(s) and co-supervisors will have direct access to it. Copies may be made at the discretion of the supervisor/co-supervisors or the student for work at home or in other locations but must adhere to ethical guidelines. It is to be recognized that McGill and staff members are legally responsible to funding agencies for ethical conduct of research, and the completion and publication of research findings. Students are strongly advised to discuss the disposition of research findings in publications with their supervisor or co-supervisors early in the research process. In multicentre research collaborations or industrially funded projects students are urged to clarify their ability to publish from their research activities. The rights and responsibilities of each in this process are to be mutually defined and agreed upon. Students should be aware that animal and human experimentation require approval by the respective human

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and animal ethics committee and often training workshops prior to laboratory or animal research. Deadlines apply to some human ethics committees and the approval process may take 1 to 2 mo to complete. The following questions were designed for a suitable framework in which students and professors can interact with a good measure of predictable success

1:

1. Have you assessed your financial needs during your studies and do you have a financial contingency plan? 2. Do you have a written commitment from your supervisor which specifies what financial support you will

receive during your studies, for what purposes, over what period of time, and in return for what services? 3. Have you made a plan for your research which includes achievable milestones and a timetable for achieving

these milestones? This may apply to course work or the research project. 4. Have you discussed your research plan with your supervisor and agreed on the milestones and a timetable? 5. Are you keeping systematic records of your work and results, and are you able to answer questions about the

milestones achieved? 6. What progress have you made towards your degree in the last few months? 7. Have you written a draft of any portion of your thesis for which you have completed the research, and are

there tables, figures or other matters which you could prepare at this time? 8. Have you discussed your research results and draft with others, and do they find your written work clear and

articulate? 9. What is your timetable for completing the remaining phases of your research and for writing up your thesis? 10. What are the remaining requirements for your degree (required courses, 4 thesis research courses) and

when do you expect to graduate? 11. Identify with your supervisor the external evaluator for your thesis and ensure all conflict of interest

guidelines are adhered to. 1Graduate Studies: A Practical Guide 8 Canadian Association for Graduate Studies, 1992.

Vacations and Leaves of Absence According to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office, all graduate students are entitled to vacation leave equivalent to the university holidays, plus an additional 15 working days in the year. The holidays that the university is closed, between Christmas and New Year’s, are considered University holidays and are not part of the 15 entitled vacation days. Vacations for graduate students are to be arranged with and approved by the student's thesis supervisor or co-supervisors. They should be arranged so as not to interfere with the student's research, requirements of the student's supervisor or the student's teaching assistantship obligations to the program. It is expected that students will work during the summers on their program. A leave of absence may be granted, on a term by term basis, by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office for health reasons, maternity or parenting. Students must make the request as follows: Go to www.mcgill.ca/students/records/forms

Scroll down to “Students in Graduate Programs”

Select “Request for Leave”

Complete the form and press submit

To complete this request for maternity, parental or sick leave, a medical note must be scanned and sent electronically to Lise.Grant@mcgill.ca

Your request will be forwarded to your supervisor for approval and then forwarded to Enrolment Services for final approval.

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Students who have been granted such leave will have to register for the term(s) in question. A status of “leave

of absence” will display on the student’s record during the specified period of the authorized leave. In order to

return to full-time studies after a leave of absence for health reasons, a medical letter is required stating that

the student is fit to return to their studies. No tuition fees will be charged for the duration of the authorized

leave. You should consult the website at http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/progress/leave-vacation for full

details about a leave of absence at McGill.

Since full-time students do not contribute to the McGill benefits plan, no maternity or sick leave is guaranteed by the University. Some scholarships such as CIHR or NSERC support maternity leaves; additional paperwork requirements are outlined on their websites. Cases of absence due to illness or family emergency must be reported to the student's supervisor. If a student is absent due to prolonged illness, consideration for continued financial support would be given on an individual basis. Unsatisfactory Performance In the case of unsatisfactory student progress, a letter will be sent to the student from the supervisor describing the areas of unsatisfactory performance. The supervisor will call a supervisory committee meeting within two weeks of the letter being sent to discuss the student’s situation. The student is expected to attend this meeting. The committee will decide the further course of action. The committee will consider the student’s circumstances, and the committee may or may not issue an unsatisfactory report. If the student receives an unsatisfactory report and is placed on probation, the supervisory committee will recommend to the student a course of action to obtain a satisfactory report. The options chosen by the committee might include: (a) arbitrating or mediating between the student and supervisor, (b) in case of unsatisfactory progress, remedial work may be recommended. At any point of the process of evaluation, if the student disagrees with the evaluation of the supervisory committee, the student can discuss the evaluation with the GPD. A decision will be made by the committee on the timing of re-evaluation of the student’s performance. The student will be re-evaluated by the supervisor. In the event the student disagrees with the evaluation, another supervisory committee meeting will be convened. If the problem is not resolved, it will then be brought to the Committee on Graduate Students which will make a recommendation to the GPD. The GPD will then either decide on the matter or take it to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office for advisement.

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PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS In addition to the general requirements set out by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office, the following program requirements, which include the completion of an acceptable thesis based on the candidate's research, have been established for the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition. Residency Requirements Full-Time: M.Sc. graduate students must be registered for a minimum of 12 credits per semester to be considered full-time. Students should register for the majority of their course work in the required three terms which is the minimum residency requirement. Any additional courses taken to meet degree requirements can be registered for in additional sessions. Human Nutrition M.Sc. Thesis I-IV thesis courses have no term restrictions and can be taken in fall, winter or summer semesters. A pass or P grade for these courses will automatically be assigned by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office only when the final version of the thesis is accepted. Note: Full-time status (12 credits) is usually required for students receiving scholarships and for international students. It is your responsibility to check with your scholarship agency. Half-Time: Graduate students must be registered for a minimum of six credits per semester, and should complete their course work in the required six terms. Half-time students are strongly recommended to stay close to the six credit requirement, and cannot exceed 11 credits per semester. Two half-time terms equal one full-time term in the counting system. Students must have an even number of half-terms to switch from half-time to full-time status. The only part-time status recognized by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office is "half-time" status. M.Sc. Requirements The student is expected to complete a Graduate level statistics course, a Research Methods course, two other graduate level courses and two Seminar courses. The student is expected to complete the written proposal and present their M.Sc. proposal during their first year as a M.Sc. student. Additional Sessions: Students who have not completed their degree requirements during the residency period are to register in additional session(s) following the completion of the equivalent three full-time terms. Additional session is usually used for completion of thesis work, although courses may be taken; the student has to be registered until the thesis is accepted by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office. M.Sc. THESIS PROGRAM OVERVIEW Student and supervisor identify the supervisory committee member. Student and supervisory committee meet to discuss course selection and the research project. Student submits completed and signed Student Progress Report form to the Graduate and Postdoctoral studies office on the Macdonald campus. Student prepares a thesis proposal and submits it to the supervisory committee for comments. A thesis proposal is a written document comprising a brief review of the literature in the area of study, research objectives and approach as well as methodology, which must be prepared in consultation with your supervisor. Typically this is a 10-page document, double-spaced, excluding references, tables and figures. Supervisors set the thesis proposal colloquium date with the coordinator of the series the semester before they plan to present. Student submits the revised written proposal and abstract to the graduate program coordinator at least

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7 days prior to seminar date. The abstract is distributed. Student presents the thesis proposal. Evaluation forms are distributed for attendees to complete and are collected copies are sent to the student and supervisor. The supervisor an if possible committee member(s) are expected to attend and subsequently discuss performance in the next committee meeting including documentation on the progress report. Supervisory committee meets at least once per year to evaluate program and prepare the annual Student Progress Report form for submission by the student. Students in MSc III are required to meet with their committee and outline a “Plan of Action Towards Submission” every 6 months. The student also presents the thesis results at the colloquium series; an abstract must be submitted to the graduate program coordinator of the colloquium at least 7 days prior to the seminar date. Evaluation forms are also used and copies of the comments sent to the student and supervisor for review. The Thesis Preparation and Submission Process Students who have disputes with their supervisor and supervisory committee regarding the extent of their research activities are encouraged to contact the Committee on Graduate Students, Chair of Graduate Student Matters, to help resolve their differences. Please see the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office website: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/thesis/guidelines/ for complete details to follow for thesis formatting and submission and the list of required thesis submission forms. Prior to submission the student submits a supervisor-approved draft of the thesis to the supervisory committee. Two weeks after receiving the thesis draft the supervisory committee members return comments to the student. Prior to submitting the thesis for external review, all members of the supervisory committee must have read the thesis. The thesis supervisor signs the thesis submission form and is responsible for the integration of thesis committee member(s) comments prior to submission. Within one week of the appropriate thesis submission deadline the student must submit all required forms to the Director of the School for review to assure that the Thesis Office Guidelines have been followed and for signatures to the Nomination of Examiners form. The student then makes the first (initial) submission of their thesis (electronically) for evaluation, along with the Thesis Evaluation form to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office.

The Thesis Office solicits evaluation reports from the external examiner. Once the examiner’s report is received by the Thesis Office, they will forward it to the student and supervisor by e-mail. By the deadline specified on information sent to the supervisor, the student makes corrections to the thesis based on the comments of the external examiner. The student must then submit their final thesis by E-Thesis. Full details about E-Thesis final submission can be found at http://www.mcgill.ca/gps. The thesis supervisor(s) approve the final submission electronically.

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COURSE REQUIREMENTS The minimum credit requirement for the Master's degree is 45 credits. The courses are comprised of 31 credits for the research thesis (Human Nutrition M.Sc. Thesis I-IV), two credits for required seminar courses, and four one-term courses (3 credits each). Additional courses may be required at the discretion of the supervisory committee. During the first semester of study each student should start to prepare the written thesis protocol including introduction, rationale, hypothesis and methods (approximately 10 pages) which should be distributed to committee members. Thesis committee members need to approve the written protocol prior to the student presenting their thesis proposal seminar, presented as part of the Human Nutrition Colloquium. The Thesis Proposal presentation is normally completed in the second semester of the M.Sc. program. All students are required to regularly attend the Human Nutrition Colloquium of the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition. The M.Sc. thesis results seminar is also presented as part of the Human Nutrition Colloquium. The minimal course work includes the following: 1. Graduate level statistics (3 credits), 2. A research methods course (3 credits): NUTR602, NUTR604, or NUTR606. 3. Two additional graduate level courses must be completed; please peruse Minerva for Students - Class

Schedules for the complete list of graduate course offered each semester. Students wishing to take a special topics course (NUTR608 or NUTR609) must complete a "Permission Form for Special Topics Courses" (attached) and obtain a course outline from the professor prior to registration. Only two Special Topics courses are permitted in a degree program. These courses are not to replace any aspect of the research project.

4. Two seminar courses: NUTR695 and NUTR696. These are one credit each. 5. Be sure to register for the M.Sc. Thesis I-IV research courses: NUTR680, NUTR681, NUTR682 and NUTR683. A partial list of available courses is found below. All are 3 credit courses.

Offered through the School NUTR501 Nutrition in Developing Countries

NUTR503 Bioenergetics and the Lifespan NUTR511 Nutrition and Behaviour NUTR512 Herbs, Foods and Phytochemicals

NUTR545 Clinical Nutrition 2 NUTR551 Analysis of Nutrition Data

NUTR602 Advanced Nutritional Status Assessment NUTR604 Integrated Metabolic Research NUTR606 Research Methods in Human Nutrition NUTR608 Special Topics I/ Global Food security and Nutrition NUTR609 Special Topics II NUTR610 Maternal and Child Nutrition

Offered through the Department of Animal Science and Mathematics ANSC551 Carbohydrate and Lipid Metabolism ANSC552 Protein Metabolism and Nutrition ANSC635 Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition AEMA610 Statistical Methods II

Offered through the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics EPIB507 Biostatistics for Health Professionals (offered in Fall and Summer semesters)

Undergraduate Course Registration: If an undergraduate course is required for your graduate degree or combined M.Sc./Graduate Diploma in RD Credentialing, you must go to www.mcgill.ca/students/ records/forms and do the

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following: select “Request for Registration/Course Change” select “Register for an undergraduate (below 500 level) course” Press submit

Once the form is submitted, it will be forwarded automatically to Lise Grant, who will get final approval from your supervisor and, if approved, send it on to the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office to have you registered in the undergraduate course. Failures: Students must pass all courses at the level for which they were registered in that course. Within one month of failing a course, the student must decide with their advisory committee a remedial course of action: to take a supplemental exam (if available), to retake the course the next time it is offered or to take an alternate equivalent course. The request must be submitted to the Chair of the Committee of Graduate Students within that month for final approval by the Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office. If the student fails the remedial activity or a second course during their program, they will automatically be required to withdraw from the program. This pertains to all courses (graduate or undergraduate) required for the degree. A failed undergraduate course taken, but not required for the graduate degree does not affect the graduate degree as it is considered as an extra course and must be designated as such during registration. A passing mark for a non-required undergraduate level course is a C (55-59%). Passing grade for required undergraduate courses is a B- (65%). Credit Exemptions for Courses: "Credit Exemption Forms" should be submitted at the time of admission into a program for any course credits or exemptions granted at the time of admission. Courses taken by a student in 'Special', or any other program prior to the student's current program are not automatically credited to the student's current program. A recommendation must be submitted to credit any course taken prior to the student's current program. Note that language courses cannot be credited to graduate degrees, but students may be requested to register for language courses as part of their program as extra courses. Courses taken as a qualifying student may not be credited to a graduate program.

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REGISTRATION For full instructions of how and when to register, go to http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/registration/ Be sure you have:

For newly admitted students: Review your acceptance package and return all documents requested therein to Lise Grant in the Faculty Graduate Studies, Room MS2-074.

Be sure to review the registration schedule at www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/registration/dates

Register on MINERVA. Minerva is McGill's web-based information system. It allows students to register and make course changes on the web. Please read the instructions in every section carefully before registering, including all menu items in the left sidebar of the page. Please see important information about registration below.

Verify your address, telephone number, courses and fees on MINERVA.

Please note that students who are on Time Limitation or who have outstanding holds or fees and fines from previous terms will not have access to registration or course changes. Please also note that successful completion of registration is contingent upon acceptable academic standing in the previous session. All students should check their registration status on MINERVA at the end of August or beginning of September. If a student’s registration has been inactivated for any reason, the registration will automatically be reactivated and the student will not have to re-register if all outstanding fee balances have been paid and all registration restrictions are cleared. For more information about what is “Time Limitation” go to www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/progress/time-limitation.

Additional Minerva Registration Information: Please note that graduate students must register for the Registration Confirmation course “REGN RCGR” in both the Fall and Winter sessions immediate ly, in addition to any other regular courses, in order to initiate the registration for each session, please follow the following instructions: Instructions to register for Fall:

Access MINERVA and Login Choose the term you wish to register (i.e. September 20XX). Click “Submit Term”. Go to “Subject” and choose in the pick list “REGN Registration”. Click on this one and press “submit” at the bottom of the screen. You will now see a list different programs. Choose “REGN RCGR”. Press submit.

Instructions to register for Winter: (students must register for both semesters before August 14

th, yearly)

Follow the same steps as above Choose “REGN RCGR”. Press submit.

Whether or not you are taking courses, you must register for the Fall and Winter terms (you would only register for the summer term if you wish to finish your M.Sc. quickly (within one year) and you need to have the summer term serve as your last term of residence). For students doing their project or field work outside of Canada, please remember to register while you are away. This is a very common mistake and will cost you additional fees and make it more complicated to return to Canada, re: visa (CAQ forms), etc. All students who have accessed MINERVA to register must officially withdraw from the University if they decide not to attend the session(s) for which they have registered (see Section 6.5 of the Graduate and Postdoctoral

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Studies AGeneral Information, Regulations and Research Guidelines" booklet). Otherwise they will be liable for all resulting tuition and other fees. Summer terms of residence can be used to complete graduate student residency requirements upon request. Students must register for a minimum of 12 credits for a period of 13 weeks of full-time study from May 1 to August 31. Returning students will not receive the Fee Information Booklet. The text of the Fee Information Booklet as well as fee tables and other important information is available on the internet at http://www.mcgill.ca/student-accounts/tuition-charges/fallwinter-term-tuition-and-fees/graduate-fees. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS Keeping in Touch If you are going away for any length of time (i.e., in the field, conference, vacation), you are asked to provide the supervisor(s) the dates (to and from) and your contact telephone numbers. You should register on MINERVA when traveling for research in the field and ensure you have appropriate travel insurance coverage. For returning students, if you move - whether you are graduating or not - and for new students who are newly settled in Montréal, please update your address on MINERVA and inform the Graduate Program Coordinator by email. Otherwise important correspondence from this office and Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Office cannot be forwarded to you. Student Records Please note that graduate students are required to submit copies of the following on an ongoing basis to the Graduate Program Coordinator:

submitted abstracts (including seminar abstracts)

popular and scientific articles you have authored or coauthored

posters presented and conferences attended

applications for funds (including external McGill agencies)

announcements of awarding of funds. If there are any changes in the composition of your committee (including adding or changing members) or a change in supervisor or co-supervisors, please inform the program coordinator. Conflicts of Interest Should students feel they have a dispute with their supervisor, they should arrange for a meeting with the supervisory committee to discuss the issue. Should the student have concerns after discussing the issue at hand with the supervisory committee, they should consult the professor in change of the MSc program. Should there be a conflict of interest the GPD should be consulted, or failing that the Director of the School.

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International Students All International students are required to participate in the University’s compulsory International Student Health Insurance plan. Please visit the International Student Services web page at http://www.mcgill.ca/internationalstudents/ click on “Health Insurance” for enrolment procedures and deadlines, or call 514-398-4349 or email: International.Students@mcgill.ca. Recommended English Courses The following three courses are highly recommended for graduate students wishing to function more effectively in English and academic writing during their graduate studies. 1. ESLN640 Fundamentals of Academic Writing. (Primarily for graduate students new to McGill). This

course focuses on developing students’ ability to produce clear and cohesive academic writing. You will learn structures commonly used in graduate-level academic writing along with strategies for vocabulary building so that you can express complex ideas. Other areas to be covered: efficient reading of academic articles; self-editing; and mechanics.

2. ESLN650 Pronunciation and Communication for Graduate Students. Focus is on developing

pronunciation and communication skills so that students may function effectively in academic settings, such as at seminars and conferences. Instruction deals primarily with the aspects of pronunciation that most affect intelligibility, and with the use of verbal and non-verbal techniques for effective communication. Assessment is based on audio- and video-recorded assignments that deal with each student’s own academic discipline.

3. ESLN690 Writing for graduate students. Primarily for students (non-native speakers of English) at the thesis levels with advanced English skills. Students develop skills for shaping their work according to the criteria of the audiences, purposes, organization and styles of their particular field. Students acquire skills that allow them to become better writers of all genres of writing, better self-editors and editors of others, and better collaborative writers.

For more information: Director Humanistic Studies Program, McGill University, Stephen Leacock Building, Room 309, 855 Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, QC, H3A 2T7. Tel.: 398-3320; fax: 398-5449.

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GUIDELINES CONCERNING THESIS Different universities and different disciplines may accord different status to the thesis as part of the requirements for the M.Sc. degree. We offer the following guidance for M.Sc. theses in human nutrition. Scope: The Master's thesis should be comparable to the substance of a full-length article in a peer-reviewed journal, but of more detail and greater length. The thesis should deal with a well-defined problem, contain sufficient review of previous work, contain a detailed description of methods used, offer sufficient analysis of data and draw logical conclusions which should be shown in the context of the original problem. The thesis document should consist of 80 to 100 pages double-spaced including tables and bibliography, but may vary in length depending upon subject matter. The thesis must be organized and the material presented according to the McGill University thesis guidelines. The purpose of the Master's thesis is to demonstrate that the student can execute a research study with Faculty supervision and assistance. It is not expected that it should necessarily demonstrate originality of concept or of conclusions; rather, the originality may be in the area of application of existing methods or theories, or in a comparison of existing methods or theories. Complete Thesis Submission Guidelines can be found at: http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/thesis/guidelines Defense: The supervisor is to reserve the time/date of your thesis defense during the Human Nutrition Colloquium time slot with the professor in charge of colloquium. FORMS Progress Report form can be found at http://www.mcgill.ca/dietetics/programs/graduate/forms/. The deadline for all students is set by the Faculty of Graduate Studies; typically for new students this report is due end of the first term. Permission Form for Special Topics Courses is attached.

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PERMISSION FORM FOR SPECIAL TOPICS COURSES

A course outline must be submitted with this form in order for the request to be approved.

Student: Course number: Course title: Course instructor: Time course will be held:

Justification: Please indicate why the Special Topics designation is required and how the course fits into the student's graduate program in nutrition. Please list all graduate courses so one can see how specific Special Topics fits into graduate course requirements and why no other course at McGill meets this need. Is the course fulfilling any graduate course requirements? Structure of course: Please comment on whether lecture or independent study (no other students in course), number of contact hours per week, etc. Course description (requires detailed course outline with reading lists attached). Evaluation criteria (Be very specific).

Name

Signatures

Date

Supervisor:

Co-supervisor:

Instructor:

Approved: ___________________________________ Date: _________________________ Director