SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
MOTION:
"That Senate approve, and recommend approval
to the Board of Governors, the request to reduce
the minimum coursework requirements for the M.Sc.
in Physics to 18 hours, of which at least 14 must
be at the graduate level."
.
StMON
FRASER, IJNI
,
VERSIT
Y
-
S
To: Members of Senate
From: Office of the Deat
of Graduate Studi
Subject: Change in Physics M.Sc.
Requirements
Date: August 13, 1975
MOTION:
That Senate approve the request to reduce
the minimum coursework requirements for
the M.Sc. in Physics to 18 hours, of which
at least 14 must be at the graduate level.
S
This change was approved by the Senate Graduate Studies Committee
on August 11, 1975:
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.J-iin Tfliva1y
Dean of Graduate Studies.
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SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
To.
Senate Graduate Studies comm
From
.......... .MaI.ian
Mc..inn
.gi.strar.......Of fi.c.........................
Subject
M.Sc. Course Requirements•Physic.5
Date
........... July...28.,....1.9.7.5
.............................................................
The Executive Committee of the Senate Graduate Studies Committee
has recommended to the Senate Graduate Studies Committee that
the request to reduce the minimum coursework requirements for
the M.Sc. in Physics to
18
hours, of which at least 14 must be
at the graduate level be approved.
C
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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
MEMORANDUM
Jon Wheatley
.
, Dean
From ......
B.
....
P
..
.
Cla
ym
an ......ç.irman
Faculty of Science Graduate
Graduate Studies
Studies Committee
Subject
Physics M.Sc. Course Requinents
Date.... ....... Jun.10
.
, .19.75........................................
P.
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The Faculty of Science Graduate Studies Committee has unamimously
approved a reduction in the minimum coursework requirements for the
M.Sc. degree in Physics. The present 20 semester hours of graduate
courses would be reduced to 18 hours, of which at least 14 must be at
the graduate level.
The change is embodied in the following revised Calendar entry:
"The minimum requirement for the Master's degree consists of 18
semester hours of course credit of which at least 14 must be at the
graduate level."
Would you please place this matter before the Senate Graduate
Studies Committee?
B.P. Clayman
BPC / dg
End.
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SiMON FRASER UNIVERSLL
Y
MEMORANDUM
Physics Faculty
Graduate Course Requirements
Subject.
From
B.P.
Clayman, Chairman
Graduate Program Committee
March 24, 1975
Date..........................................................
I propose a reduction in the minimum course-work requirements for
the M.Sc. degree. The twenty hours now required is, I feel, excessive
and is demonstrably well out-of-line with current practice at most
Canadian universitites. It effectively prevents all but the brightest,
best-prepared students from completing their course-work in two semesters
as well as placing new students under a workload that some find
intolerable. Finally the heavy course requirements put us at a
•
distinct disadvantage in attracting new graduate students.
The reduction which I propose would change the calendar entry to
the following:
"The minimum requirement for the Master's degree consists of 18
semester hours of course credit of which at least 14 must be at the
graduate level."
The intention is that all students take the three core graduate
courses (Quantum Mechanics, E & M, and Statistical Mechanics) and the
student seminar. Most students would still take the graduate Solid
State course in addition. However, the proposed change allows more
flexibility in selection of the fourth course: it may also be a 400-
level undergraduate course taken to repair deficiencies in the student's
-2-
background, or it may be a course in some interdisciplinary area.
The reduction to 18 hours reduces the minumum course-work
requirement from 4 1/2 graduate courses to 4 courses of which 3 must
be at the graduate level. I believe that this is certainly adequate for
M.Sc. students. Ph.D. students are required to take at least 10
additional semester hours and any deficiencies perceived by their
supervisory committees can be remedied there.
I welcome any and all comments to this proposal. I shall call a
departmental meeting to discuss it and possibly act on it in about
three weeks.
Bruce P. Clayman
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