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# Thesis Proposal Template

This is a LaTeX template for thesis proposals in the Department
of Statistics at The University of British Columbia. The Department does
not have strict formatting requirements, so use of this template is optional,
but it is a convenient way to format your work.
This is a LaTeX template for thesis proposals in the Department of Statistics at
The University of British Columbia. The Department does not have strict
formatting requirements, so use of this template is optional, but it is a
convenient way to format your work.

This template was originally created by Alex Reinhart at Carnegie Mellon
University. It was modified by Daniel J. McDonald for use at UBC.
Expand All @@ -26,63 +26,128 @@ instructions inside.
> [Department website](https://www.stat.ubc.ca/comprehensive-exam) for official,
> most timely, information.
A student's comprehensive exam (in the Department of Statistics, this is the
A student's comprehensive exam (in the Department of Statistics, this is the
thesis proposal) is a critical opportunity for the faculty to guide and shape
the dissertation research. The proposal process succeeds when it leads the
student to a sound and detailed plan for the dissertation. The faculty should
provide the student with constructive criticism on proposed methods and approaches,
force the student to question assumptions, and challenge the student's perspective
on the problem. The proposal process described below has been devised with this
in mind. Students and supervisors should be aware that UBC recommends this happen
within 24 months of beginning the PhD (if not sooner) and requires a written
extension in order for the student to remain in the program if this has not
occurred within 36 months.

The Comprehensive Examination, which marks the passage to candidacy, should ensure
that students have not only acquired knowledge at the Ph.D. level, but have also
developed sufficient skills for thesis work. The student should have begun to develop
the skills we expect of our Ph.D. students: creativity, originality, independence,
ability to formulate and solve problems, the "little things"—finding and referencing
appropriate articles. In addition, the student should learn to communicate to the
statistical community, orally and in writing.

The acquisition of these skills—the transition from course-related problem solving to
research—is often a difficult one. We believe that the Comprehensive Exam should
serve an active role in facilitating this transition. The written research proposal
and the accompanying question period address this goal.
The process

The student should select a thesis supervisor following successful completion of the Stat 548 Qualifying Exams (if not earlier). The supervisor must be a member of the graduate faculty.
The student, in consultation with the supervisor, selects two or more additional faculty members to form the Committee. The Committee should be selected from the members of the graduate faculty who are best qualified to assist the student in conducting the research for the dissertation. The Committee has the responsibility of supervising the research, reading the proposal, and conducting the Comprehensive Examination.
The student is encouraged to meet with members of the Committee prior to the Comprehensive Exam to help formulate the research plan.
The student, in consultation with the Committee, prepares a rough draft of the Proposal Document and selects a date for the Comprehensive Exam. The body of this text is limited to 20 pages, excluding tables and figures. See the subsection The Proposal Document below. The Committee must be given the rough proposal document at least two weeks before the scheduled date of the Comprehensive Exam.
During the Comprehensive Exam, the student meets with the supervisor, at least one member of the Committee, and an Exam Chair in a scheduled, 2 hour session. The Chair’s participation should be arranged by the supervisor. The Chair may not be a member of the Committee.The chair is responsible for making sure that the examination is conducted in an orderly manner, for leading committee discussion of the proposal and the examination, and for reporting the committee's decision, in writing, to the Graduate Advisor and the Student Programs Coordinator.
The Exam begins with a 30 minute presentation by the student followed by questions and discussion. The purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to evaluate and guide the thesis proposal. The session concludes with an in-camera discussion among the Committee. The committee will decide the result (see below for possible outcomes).
The Chair will share a written report with the Graduate Advisor and Student Programs Coordinator. The Student Programs Coordinator will coordinate with the student to ensure that the relevant paperwork is filed with the G+PS.

The proposal document
The proposal document should (1) state the basic problem clearly and succinctly, (2) review relevant literature, (3) provide some demonstration of competence to carry out the research plan, (4) propose specific steps that could be taken to complete the research, and (5) provide a tentative timeline for the successful completion of these steps. These fundamental elements should be clearly evident in the
written document. It is usually most convenient to have section headings that identify these components.

Item (3) is the most difficult to formalize. The proposal should occur early in the research process, hence it is not necessary that the student obtain particular results before proposing. On the other hand, it is necessary that the student demonstrates that serious efforts have been made to launch the project. For instance, this section might describe efforts made that failed to solve the problem, provided the student can explain how these efforts helped to illuminate how the problem might be solved. Items (4) and (5) should not be considered binding on the student. Rather, they should demonstrate that the student has carefully thought through the work necessary to complete
the research as proposed.

The document should be produced in LaTeX, with an 11- or 12-point font, in a style similar to the
LaTeX document style “article” with single spacing and 1-inch margins. Its length must not exceed 20 pages, together with at most an additional 2–3 pages of references and 5 pages of figures and tables. Citations and the list of references should be done according to the style of a standard statistical journal such as the Canadian Journal of Statistics and must be implemented in BibTeX. Derivations and proofs should be included only as they are necessary to explain the work being proposed. Appendices or further documents may be used for additional derivations or auxiliary results, but the main document should be understandable on its own.

Appendix: Additional details
Criteria for evaluation and adjudication
​​After the oral exam, the Examining Committee should make two decisions, one for the oral exam and one for the thesis proposal (in a way similar to PhD thesis defense).
provide the student with constructive criticism on proposed methods and
approaches, force the student to question assumptions, and challenge the
student's perspective on the problem. The proposal process described below has
been devised with this in mind. Students and supervisors should be aware that
UBC recommends this happen within 24 months of beginning the PhD (if not sooner)
and requires a written extension in order for the student to remain in the
program if this has not occurred within 36 months.

The Comprehensive Examination, which marks the passage to candidacy, should
ensure that students have not only acquired knowledge at the Ph.D. level, but
have also developed sufficient skills for thesis work. The student should have
begun to develop the skills we expect of our Ph.D. students: creativity,
originality, independence, ability to formulate and solve problems, the "little
things"—finding and referencing appropriate articles. In addition, the student
should learn to communicate to the statistical community, orally and in writing.

The acquisition of these skills—the transition from course-related problem
solving to research—is often a difficult one. We believe that the Comprehensive
Exam should serve an active role in facilitating this transition. The written
research proposal and the accompanying question period address this goal.

### The process

1. The student should select a thesis supervisor following successful completion
of the Stat 548 Qualifying Exams (if not earlier). The supervisor must be a
member of the graduate faculty.
1. The student, in consultation with the supervisor, selects two or more
additional faculty members to form the Committee. The Committee should be
selected from the members of the graduate faculty who are best qualified to
assist the student in conducting the research for the dissertation. The
Committee has the responsibility of supervising the research, reading the
proposal, and conducting the Comprehensive Examination.
1. The student is encouraged to meet with members of the Committee prior to the
Comprehensive Exam to help formulate the research plan.
1. The student, in consultation with the Committee, prepares a rough draft of
the Proposal Document and selects a date for the Comprehensive Exam. The body of
this text is limited to 20 pages, excluding tables and figures. See the
subsection "The Proposal Document" below. The Committee must be given the rough
proposal document at least **two weeks** before the scheduled date of the
Comprehensive Exam.
1. During the Comprehensive Exam, the student meets with the supervisor, at
least one member of the Committee, and an Exam Chair in a scheduled, 2 hour
session. The Chair’s participation should be arranged by the supervisor. The
Chair **may not** be a member of the Committee. The chair is responsible for
making sure that the examination is conducted in an orderly manner, for
leading committee discussion of the proposal and the examination, and for
reporting the committee's decision, in writing, to the Graduate Advisor and
the Student Programs Coordinator.
1. The Exam begins with a 30 minute presentation by the student followed by
questions and discussion. The purpose of this meeting is for the Committee to
evaluate and guide the thesis proposal. The session concludes with an in-camera
discussion among the Committee. The committee will decide the result (see below
for possible outcomes).
1. The Chair will share a written report with the Graduate Advisor and Student
Programs Coordinator. The Student Programs Coordinator will coordinate with the
student to ensure that the relevant paperwork is filed with the G+PS.

### The proposal document
The proposal document should (1) state the basic problem clearly and succinctly,
(2) review relevant literature, (3) provide some demonstration of competence to
carry out the research plan, (4) propose specific steps that could be taken to
complete the research, and (5) provide a tentative timeline for the successful
completion of these steps. These fundamental elements should be clearly evident
in the written document. It is usually most convenient to have section headings
that identify these components.

Item (3) is the most difficult to formalize. The proposal should occur early in
the research process, hence it is not necessary that the student obtain
particular results before proposing. On the other hand, it is necessary that the
student demonstrates that serious efforts have been made to launch the project.
For instance, this section might describe efforts made that failed to solve the
problem, provided the student can explain how these efforts helped to illuminate
how the problem might be solved. Items (4) and (5) should not be considered
binding on the student. Rather, they should demonstrate that the student has
carefully thought through the work necessary to complete the research as
proposed.

The document should be produced in LaTeX, with an 11- or 12-point font, in a
style similar to the LaTeX document style “article” with single spacing and
1-inch margins. Its length must not exceed 20 pages, together with at most an
additional 2–3 pages of references and 5 pages of figures and tables. Citations
and the list of references should be done according to the style of a standard
statistical journal such as the Canadian Journal of Statistics and must be
implemented in BibTeX. Derivations and proofs should be included only as they
are necessary to explain the work being proposed. Appendices or further
documents may be used for additional derivations or auxiliary results, but the
main document should be understandable on its own.

### Appendix: Additional details

#### Criteria for evaluation and adjudication

​​After the oral exam, the Examining Committee should make two decisions, one
for the oral exam and one for the thesis proposal (in a way similar to PhD
thesis defense).

Options for the oral part of the exam are:
unconditional pass
re-take as soon as possible, preferably within 2 weeks
fail (e.g., due to unsatisfactory responses in the question period)

* unconditional pass
* re-take as soon as possible, preferably within 2 weeks
* fail (e.g., due to unsatisfactory responses in the question period)

Options for the thesis proposal are:
unconditional pass
re-write portions of thesis proposal, with a retake of oral exam
re-write portions of thesis proposal, without a retake of oral exam (this option if only writing improvement is needed)
fail
The Comprehensive Exam is graded as a pass only if the Examining Committee unanimously recommends a pass for both the oral exam and the thesis proposal. Admission to PhD candidacy comes after the Comprehensive Exam is passed. A PhD supervisory committee should be formed after a thesis proposal is accepted.
Changing the proposed research
Beyond allowable deviations in (4) and (5) of the proposal document, it is possible that a PhD candidate may wish to change his/her thesis topic and/or thesis supervisor. In these cases, the candidate may be asked to defend a new thesis proposal.

* unconditional pass
* re-write portions of thesis proposal, with a retake of oral exam
* re-write portions of thesis proposal, without a retake of oral exam (this
option if only writing improvement is needed)
* fail

The Comprehensive Exam is graded as a pass only if the Examining Committee
unanimously recommends a pass for both the oral exam and the thesis proposal.
Admission to PhD candidacy comes after the Comprehensive Exam is passed. A PhD
supervisory committee should be formed after a thesis proposal is accepted.

#### Changing the proposed research

Beyond allowable deviations in (4) and (5) of the proposal document, it is
possible that a PhD candidate may wish to change his/her thesis topic and/or
thesis supervisor. In these cases, the candidate may be asked to defend a new
thesis proposal.

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