Ph.D. Candidacy Examination

Overview

All Ph.D. students are required to complete a Candidacy Exam (also known as the Comprehensive exam) before the end of Ph.D. 3 and may not be scheduled during the Summer without permission from the IPN administration. The Candidacy Exam is a McGill academic requirement and the outcome will be reflected on the student's academic transcript.

An M.Sc. student may be eligible to transfer to the Ph.D. program by taking the Candidacy Exam. More information about this is available here. 

Deadlines

Policy

Candidacy Exam Policy 2023

Procedures

1. The student must register for NEUR 700 in the semester they intend on taking the Ph.D. Candidacy Examination.
2. With the mentor hosting the meeting, the student must send an electronic calendar invitation on the McGill Exchange System to their supervisor, exam committee members (including external examiner & IPN mentor), with an invitation to the ipn [at] mcgill.ca. Please note an external examiner is McGill professor NOT in your current advisory committee. The student will then attach all examination-related documents to this calendar invite. The required documents two weeks prior to the exam are:
   1. Proposal Submission form
   2. Unofficial Transcript
   3. IPN Progress Reports to date
   4. Thesis Proposal
   5. Exam Poster (optional)

Documents

You can find the relevant forms here. 

Important Notes

Must be registered in

If you did not register for NEUR 700 during Add/Drop period, please inform the IPN office and then request a Late Registration (will entail a late registration fee).

PhD Candidacy Exam Deadline