Section 2: FOE Information (to be completed by the Supervisor)

Section 3: FOE Committee Information (to be completed by the Supervisor)

 All members except the External Examiner must hold a current Graduate Faculty Membership (GFM) at the University of
Toronto. Please check with your department administrator to ensure this is the case. A proposed member without a GFM
may result in delays to the FOE, in the member not being permitted to participate, or both.
Quorum rules: 4 to 6 voting members must participate; 1 to 3 supervisory members may be voting members; at least 2 voting
members must not have supervised the thesis. (The restriction on number of remote participants is temporarily suspended.).

Section 4: External Examiner Information (to be completed by Supervisor)

SGS strictly enforces the criteria for appointment of the External Examiner:
• They must be external to the University, including affiliated teaching hospitals and their research institutes.
• They must be a recognized expert in the subject of the thesis, hold a rank of Associate or Full Professor (or
equivalent) at their home institution, and be experienced in successfully supervising doctoral candidates through to
defense. An External Examiner from outside the academic sector must possess the qualifications to be appointed to
an academic position at this level.
• They must be at arm’s length from the Supervisor and the Candidate; normally this will exclude anyone who:
o has ever served as masters or doctoral supervisor or supervisee of the Supervisor or Candidate,
o has served as External Examiner, within the previous two years, on a FOE Committee for another of this
Supervisor’s candidates or on a FOE committee which has substantive overlap with this Committee (where
“substantive overlap” typically means three or more voting members in common),
o has, within the previous six years, been a departmental colleague of the Supervisor or Candidate or has
collaborated on a research project, scholarly work, or publication, with either of them.
The External Examiner must not be sent the thesis until approved by both the Department Chair and SGS.

External Examiner’s Participation:
Note that OISE supports video conferencing via Zoom only. External Examiners who participate remotely and need
conferencing facilities or support must have access to these from their home institution.

Section 5: Approval of Supervisor and of Graduate Unit

Supervisor: by signing this form, you confirm that all members of the Supervisory Committee have read the thesis and have
determined that it is ready to defend at a FOE, and that unless identified as “Not Participating”, each member of the FOE
Committee has committed to being available to participate at the proposed date and time.

Department Chair: by signing this form, you approve the External Examiner (unless previously approved). You may attach
additional supporting documentation as appropriate (for example, a letter in support of an External Examiner from outside the
academic sector).

In rare cases, a candidate may insist on a doctoral final oral examination without the approval of the supervisor and graduate
unit. Such candidates should contact the Vice- Dean, Programs at the School of Graduate Studies. The Vice-Dean will make
arrangements for the examination in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator of the relevant graduate unit.

In rare cases, a candidate may insist on a doctoral final oral examination without the approval of the supervisor and graduate unit. Such candidates should contact the Vice- Dean, Programs at the School of Graduate Studies. The Vice-Dean will make arrangements for the examination in consultation with the Graduate Coordinator of the relevant graduate unit.