To be in good academic standing, students must comply with the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies as well as the degree regulations and program requirements for each degree program and make satisfactory progress towards degree completion, as measured by the general standards of the School of Graduate Studies or by the specific standards of the IMS. Failure to maintain good academic standing may result in various sanctions, including ineligibility for student stipend and fellowships, and even termination of the program.
The IMS standards for maintaining good academic standing include:
Full time Studies
IMS students must maintain full-time registration at the University. They must not work more than 10 hours a week of employment outside their degree program. Students are expected to be actively engaged in their degree program for at least 14 out of 17 weeks in each term. Off campus study is not encouraged. Students who plan to be absent from the University for extended periods (more than 3 weeks in a term) will require written permission from the IMS.
Timely Completion of Graduate Requirements
Students must meet with their supervisor regularly and have a PAC meeting at least every six months. Courses are expected to be completed early in the degree program and every effort should be made to complete the degree program within the time period recommended in the timeline to degree completion.
Satisfactory Completion of Graduate Courses
Every course taken for graduate credit must have a grade of at least "B-"and a cumulative grade of "B" must be maintained by IMS students. Students who do not meet these standards may be asked to withdraw from the IMS program, repeat the relevant course, or take an alternative course recommended by the IMS and approved by the School of Graduate Studies.
Successful Progress Reports
Formal meetings of the student, supervisor and committee must be held at least twice a year or every 6 months to review the student's research proposal and monitor progress. If in each of two consecutive meetings, a student's supervisory committee reports that the student's progress is unsatisfactory, the graduate unit may recommend termination of registration. A student who encounters difficulties arranging PAC meetings should consult the graduate coordinator in advance of the relevant deadline for doing so. A student who fails to meet with the supervisory committee in a given year will be considered to have received an unsatisfactory progress report from the committee.
Achieve Candidacy
PhD students will be required to meet PhD Candidacy requirements by the end of year 3 of the degree program.