Meet early with your Graduate Advisor

-Advisor's Expectations: It is important to ask your advisor what is expected of you. Some questions you might consider: How many hours should you work per week? When and where should you work? Does your advisor prefer you to have a collaborative (i.e., frequent contact with your advisor) or independent working nature? How often, and in what form (e.g., written, oral) should progress be communicated? Questions such as these will give you a clear understanding as to what your advisor expects of you, strengthening your working relationship.

-Meetings: Does your advisor prefer regularly scheduled meetings or "drop-in" meetings? When and where should such meetings take place?

-Thesis Timeline: When should certain portions of the thesis be completed?




Apply for scholarships in your program as soon as possible

It is in your best interest to limit the long-term cost of your graduate education as much as possible. Getting a scholarship and understanding the full range of available funding options for your graduate program is important for your career.

A scholarship at the beginning of your graduate study is particularly valuable. It can provide money so that you don't have to take time away from your studies to work. It is a mark of excellence that will facilitate your entire career. It defines you as an emerging scholar and can have significant positive impact on your confidence in attaining your graduate degree in a timely manner. It also can open doors for you to work with different researchers in the future. Scholarship application deadlines at the U of M come soon after you arrive. Therefore, you are more likely to be successful at winning a scholarship if you develop a careful strategy for scholarship application as soon as possible.

For more information on applying for scholarships, do the following:

• Discuss scholarship issues with your research advisor. You should raise questions about the procedures and deadlines for scholarship and graduate fellowship applications in your program. Be sure to find out about all awards for which you are eligible, and ask your advisor for advice about developing an effective scholarship application.
• Thoroughly review the Faculty of Graduate Studies Funding and Awards website. The website gives details about the range of financial assistance available for graduate students including academic merit-based and need-based funds.




Think about research topics as soon as you begin your graduate studies

In some programs, the graduate advisor will assign your general research topic, although you may have some opportunity to choose specific projects within the topic area. Other programs expect students to determine their own research topic in consultation with the research advisor. If your program expects students to choose their own research topics, be sure to select a topic that is both interesting to you and realistic in terms of the amount of time and resources it will require for completion. To aid in selection:





• Become familiar with the important research issues and topics in your discipline as evidenced by review of recent publications in the major journals in your field.
• Carefully review any research that has been recently published by your research advisor or others from your department.
• Develop a topic that has interested you throughout your undergraduate or graduate career.
• Review papers you have written for classes, looking for a pattern of interest.
• Look at class notes; professors may have pointed out potential research topics or commented on unanswered questions in the field.
• Record your research ideas in a diary or other reference source when you think of them.
• Think about the top three issues you would like to study, then turn them into questions.
• Discuss your research objectives with your research advisor and other faculty within your program.





Draft a timeline for the major stages of development and completion of your thesis or dissertation



Successful completion of research based graduate programs is primarily dependant upon effective communication between supervisor (advisor) and student. Beyond regular meetings between student and advisor, a useful tool is the timeline. This tool works on the adage “Plan Backward - Implement Forward”. Impediments to successful completion of a graduate program often arise from miscommunication (lack of information) and failure to communicate expectations. The timeline assists on both of these fronts. Students have expectations, as does the advisor, and the Faculty of Gradate Studies for that matter. Just like the best laid plans, expectations also change with time and information.

Although the actual timeline for completion of your graduate thesis or dissertation will be shaped, in part, by your progress and your program's formal requirements, you should begin to think about the process and contents of your thesis or dissertation as early as possible. After determining the topic for your research, there will be a number of stages of subsequent work to include in your timeline. These include:

1. Preparing your proposal
2. Conducting your research
3. Writing the thesis/dissertation document
4. Sharing the research outcomes with others

In preparing the timeline, try to estimate the amount of time and resources you will need to move through each stage. It is important to keep your proposed timeline sufficiently flexible in order to allow for uncertainties that may influence your progress toward completion.


Periodically sitting down and hashing out a timeline increases the likelihood of success. The starting point is the endpoint – either convocation or last date for thesis submission to graduate studies. Work backwards in time through various tasks and deadlines such as thesis revisions, ethics submissions, vacations, etc.





Forming your thesis advisory committee

All Master's students who are in a two-year thesis program should have formed a thesis advisory committee by the end of the first year. Typically, the committee will contain at least three faculty members from the student's department, including the primary research advisor.

All Ph.D. students should consult with their research supervisor about proper procedures for forming the dissertation committee. The committee should have at least three faculty members (including the advisor). 

When forming a committee, choose members who are:

• Interested in and knowledgeable about your dissertation topic.
• In agreement with your research plan and procedures.
• Available for consultation during your intended period of research.

Once you have formed your committee, it is important to take advantage of the expertise and advice of your committee members. Schedule regular meetings with your entire advisory committee - at least once a year (in fact, the Faculty of Graduate Studies requires you to meet with your committee once per year and submit an annual progress report). Have a clear purpose for each meeting, and communicate the agenda in advance. Act as a "junior colleague" - ask questions, advance ideas, and show interest and support for shared goals.




Work with your advisor to develop the ideas and procedures for your thesis/dissertation proposal

Many graduate programs require students to develop a formal thesis proposal and have it approved by the advisory committee. Check to see if your program has this requirement. If so, follow the steps below.

• Begin writing drafts of your thesis/dissertation proposal as soon as possible.
• Circulate drafts of the proposal to your supervisor for feedback.
• Present the completed proposal to your advisory committee for feedback on the research plan. In many programs, you are required to schedule a formal committee meeting to review and accept the thesis proposal. Check with your advisor to see if this applies to you. However, even if a formal meeting is not required, it is a good idea to meet with your committee to make sure that they support the proposed plan before you begin the work. Use your committee to help strengthen your research.

When writing the proposal, you should include the following key elements:

• Identification of gaps in the literature.
• An outline of questions you plan to address in your thesis.
• A strong research design or theoretical framework for your study.
• A description of the topics you plan to cover in each chapter of your thesis.
• Speculation of potential results of your study.
• A discussion of the importance of the study to the field.

For more information on writing proposals, see the following books available through the U of M libraries:


Bruce, F. J., Bork, C. E., & Carstens, S. P. (1979). The proposal cookbook: A step by step guide to dissertation and thesis proposal writing. Naples, Fla: Action Research Associates.

Gardner, D. C., & Beatty, G. J. (1980). Dissertation proposal guidebook: How to prepare a research proposal and get it accepted. Springfield, Ill: Thomas.





Complete and submit your ethical review application

If your research involves animals, fish, or invertebrates, visit the University of Manitoba's Office of Research Services Animal Care website to become aware of your animal care responsibilities as a graduate student. This site contains information on animal user training courses/seminars and wet labs, animal use protocol and course registration forms, and compliance guidelines.


Does your research involve bacteria, viruses, plasmids, recombinant DNA, animal tissues, radioactive materials, or other biohazards? If yes, visit the
U of M Biosafety Program website. Here you will find information on biosafety training sessions (dates and registration), and resources such as the U of M Biosafety Guide.


If your research involves human subjects, human tissue, human stem cells, or data collected on human subjects, visit the U of M Human Ethics website to familiarize yourself with the various Research Ethics Boards (REBs) and procedures for obtaining REB approval prior to commencing your research. This website also contains the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS) and an on-line TCPS tutorial. The University of Manitoba's policy involving Human subjects can be found here.

Ask your advisor to explain to you the standard procedures in your department for obtaining ethical approval for animals, humans, or biosafety. Your advisor will offer advice on the proper procedures for completing and submitting the ethical review application and providing appropriate attachments. Work collaboratively with your advisor to assure that your application accurately reflects your ultimate research goals. You may also ask your advisor for permission to review applications that have been submitted by him/her or his/her students for additional guidance. Your advisor will be listed on the ethics application as Principal Investigator. You will be listed as co-investigator. Faculty advisors are ultimately accountable for the ethics of research conducted by their graduate students.

After you have submitted your application, you should expect the ethical review process to take at least 5 or 6 weeks and note that incomplete or sub-standard applications take longer. When your ethical application comes under formal review, you should stay in close contact with your research advisor in case the Committee or Board requests changes to your application. Discuss all changes with your advisor.