MSc (Thesis) Students must comply with the School of Graduate Studies regulations and successfully complete the minimum course requirements of:

1. Four graduate half courses

2. Complete and defend a research thesis

*Additional courses may be required of a student by his/her supervisory committee or may be selected by the student in consultation with the supervisory committee.

1. Required Courses

Complete, with at least a B- standing, a minimum of four graduate half courses:

• An approved Research Methods Course (e.g. RS *707);
  
• An approved Data Analysis course (e.g RS *714)
  
• RS *700; and
  
• An additional approved course (e.g. RS*701, *702, *703, *704, *711, *712)

NOTE: The student's supervisory committee may require students to take additional courses

NOTE: Students may choose additional courses, which may be taken once approved by the student's supervisory committee

NOTE: REQUIRED COURSE FOR ALL GRADUATE STUDENTS
All graduate students, including part-time students, must complete
1) SGS 101 - Academic Research Integrity and Ethics and
2) SGS 201 - Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) on-line training module
A graduate student may not obtain a graduate degree at McMaster without having passed these courses.

2. Thesis Research and Defense

The research proposal, research, and thesis will be supervised by the thesis committee. The topic of research will depend on the interests of the students and the expertise of the supervisor.  There are opportunities for research in a broad range of topics that apply to rehabilitation science.  Students will prepare a research proposal on an approved rehabilitation science issue, conduct the research, prepare a written thesis, and defend the thesis at a final oral examination.

Supervisory committee meetings are required every six months and all thesis students are required to complete an education plan with research proposal.

Time to completion:

Full-time students should normally take 2 years to complete the program.

For part-time students, the expected duration of the program is 3 years.

MSc (Thesis-Based) Transfer to the PhD

Exceptional students enrolled in the McMaster MSc thesis option in the Rehabilitation Science Program could apply to transfer to the PhD after meeting all the course requirements of the MSc and demonstrating adequate research potential as determined by the student’s supervisory committee (see 'Procedure for Transfer from Thesis-Based MSc To PhD In Rehabilitation Science Program' in RS Student Handbook)

What steps need to be taken to initiate this process?

The process is initiated by the supervisor and supervisory committee after the student has successfully completed the 4 required courses (as discussed above) with an A- average, normally within the first year.  Generally, the transfer process is initiated after 12 months and before 18 months of study. In the case of part-time thesis students, the period will be extended to 24 and 36 months respectively.

The student must also submit a Transfer Report to the Transfer Committee. This report must include a description of the reasons for requesting a transfer, a progress report containing a description of the research to date, and a PhD thesis proposal.