Your supervisor is an essential individual who will provide you with guidance and support. You may also have more than one supervisor which is called a co-supervisor. Your graduate program exists within your Graduate Academic Unit (GAU) which is usually aligned with your academic department (for example, Mechanical Engineering or English). In addition to having a supervisor, many GAUs also require masters and/or doctoral students to have a Supervisory Committee who are a resource to provide additional expertise and convene occasionally to ensure appropriate progress through a student’s degree.
Each GAU has a Director of Graduate Studies (except for non-departmentalized Faculties such as Education, Kinesiology and Computer Science which have Associate/Assistant Deans) who are responsible for managing all aspects of their graduate programs and for advising students on academic matters. Some specific responsibilities of the Director are as follows.
Ensure a graduate-level learning environment
Assist faculty members in monitoring the progress of students throughout the graduate program
Provide students with information on their program and their progress through it
Advise students how to resolve problems that may arise during their program
Ensure the submission of an annual progress report for each student
Facilitate timely completion of the degree and quality of the work
Coordinate graduate admissions
The Director is also the liaison with the School of Graduate Studies. Any issues that may require consultation with the School of Graduate Studies should be first brought to the Director for those programs that one assigned, or the Associate Dean for those programs without a Director.
Many GAUs also have a Graduate Committee that provides a consultative body to assist the Director. Each GAU has a Graduate Administrative Assistant that serves as a resource for the Director and provides graduate students with advice and support on administrative issues.
