The Faculty of Science Graduate Studies Committee (FSGSC) was established by Science Faculty Council in September 2011. The committee membership comprises the Dean of Science and five members representing at least four different departments. The Chair is not necessarily the Dean and is a voting member. Except in the case of the Dean, the term of office of the members shall be two years. Members serve on behalf of SFC, not as representatives of their departments or programs, and are encouraged to bring a Faculty-wide perspective. Each member of the FSGSC must also be a member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies, must hold a PhD degree or other terminal degree appropriate to the discipline and must be able to effectively instruct or supervise students registered in a specified graduate program.

The purpose of the FSGSC is to (i) determine criteria for which Science faculty can become a member of the Faculty of Graduate Studies; (ii) review applications from and recommend Faculty of Science members to the Faculty of Graduate Studies; (iii) review and approve criteria employed by all Science graduate program committees for admitting graduate students, ensuring the consistency and appropriateness of these criteria; (iv) review new graduate program proposals. In addition, the FSGSC will develop recommendations and policies, as needed, related to the Faculty of Science graduate degree programs.

Graduate degree program committees housed in the Faculty of Science report and make recommendations directly to the FSGSC. Consistent with Senate by-laws defining the roles of faculty councils, the FSGSC reports to Science Faculty Council (SFC) on all matters related to graduate program academics (e.g., curriculum revisions, new courses); as a matter of information, the FSGSC makes as-needed reports at SFC on other, non-academic graduate programming matters, including, for example, those related directly to research.

The current membership is:

• Dr. Nicholas Watier, Psychology, Committee Chair (to May 1, 2026)
• Dr. Shrinwantu Pal, Chemistry (to February 1, 2026)
• Dr. Christopher Malcolm, Geography & Environment (to February 1, 2026)
• Dr. Barry Madison, Biology (to June 30, 2024)
• Dr. Sheika Henry, ADES (to August 31, 2024)
• Dr. Chris LeMoine, Acting Dean of Science

Meetings

The committee will meet once each semester and as needed at the call of the Chair or at the request of at least two members.

Voting

Each member other than the Chair shall have one vote, and the Chair will vote only to break ties.  For the FSGSC to recommend a member of the Faculty of Science for membership in the Faculty of Graduate Studies, at least 50% (fifty percent) of the membership of the FSGSC must vote in favour of this recommendation.

Quorum

The quorum is met with 50% (fifty per cent) of the Committee members in attendance.

Distribution of Agenda, Minutes and Reporting

The Chair will circulate an agenda to the committee at least one week prior to meetings. The minutes will be distributed to the Committee members and Dean of Science. The Chair will provide a report on the activities of the committee to Science Faculty Council.