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Academic Responsibilities and Requirements

Note: This guide is designed for those enrolled in an electrical and computer engineering graduate program. However, this guide will also be useful for undergraduate researchers as well, as many of the same expectations apply.

As a graduate researcher in the Machine Intelligence and Human-Robot Interaction Laboratory, you are expected to uphold the values of intellectual curiosity, academic rigour, and professional integrity. The responsibilities outlined below are designed to guide your journey, whether you are pursuing a Master of Applied Science (MASc) or a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Queen's University.

Departmental and Program Guidelines

For official policies and detailed program information, consult:

These sites will contain information regarding:

  • Program-specific deadlines and milestones
  • Time-to-completion expectations
  • Comprehensive exam timelines
  • Course requirements and residency limits

Research Responsibilities

As a researcher, you have several responsibilities to ensure that your work is effective and relevant:

  • Literature Review: When conducting research in a topic area, you must read scholarly papers that allow you to survey the state-of-the-art and keep you appraised of what gaps exist in the current knowledge that you can try to fill with your research. If you're efficient, you can keep track of papers that you've read and compile them into a literature review that can be used for publications or a thesis chapter. It is recommended to read at least one paper a week at minimum.
  • Peer Review: You should participate in the academic review process when you're requested to review articles. As a general guideline, you should review four papers for every paper you submit for review to a conference or journal for publication. That is to say, review papers as much as possible. This not only allows you to see what others are doing in the field but will also expose you to academic writing to improve the quality of your own manuscripts.
  • Research Logbook: Keep an engineering notebook that keeps track of meetings, ideas, diagrams, etc. This is a record of all thesis-related work that you do on any given day. This will aid in thesis writing and patent support.

Academic and Research Integrity

In everything you do (courses, research, thesis, teaching, etc.), be sure you do so in a way that does not violate the University's policy on academic integrity. Academic integrity is non-negotiable. All research and coursework must follow the standards of honesty, rigour, and transparency. Avoid plagiarism, data fabrication, and other forms of academic misconduct. When in doubt, consult your supervisor. Even paraphrasing without appropriate citation can be misconduct; for example, even editorial changes to cited text may not be enough to avoid plagiarism (see "Literal and Intelligent Plagiarism: Students Beware!" for a good primer).

Academic integrity

If you think something you are doing may violate academic integrity, it probably does. Don't do it!

Cheating, fraud, plagiarism, data scrubbing, p-hacking, and other forms of bad academic behaviour may seem tempting when trying to get papers out the door so that you can graduate. However, remember that departures from academic integrity can and will follow you into your future career and make everyone involved look bad. Multiple examples of academic and research misconduct include well-documented cases of research fraud in Alzheimer's research, cancer research, and behavioural science that have had lasting reputational and scientific consequences.

These are just a few of the more recent incidents to occur. Wikipedia has a dynamic page listing scientific misconduct incidents. After browsing these articles, ask yourself: would you ever want to work with these researchers again? Would you ever trust these people? This is the danger of academic and research misconduct. Do not think about doing it.

Program-Specific Requirements

Master of Applied Science (MASc)

  • Duration: Typically completed in 2 years.
  • Coursework: Completion of 4 graduate-level courses and participation in seminars.
  • Thesis: Conduct original research culminating in a written thesis and oral defense.
  • Research Areas: Opportunities in biomedical and intelligent systems, communications and signal processing, computer and software engineering, microelectronics, electromagnetics, photonics, and power electronics.
  • Professional Development: Engage in departmental seminars (e.g., ELEC 891) and consider attending conferences to present your research.
  • Resources: ECE MASc Grad Map

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

  • Duration: Typically completed in 4 years.
  • Coursework: Completion of 4 graduate-level courses and participation in seminars.
  • Comprehensive Exam: Assess your breadth of knowledge in your research area.
  • Thesis Proposal: Develop and defend a research proposal outlining your intended research.
  • Dissertation: Conduct significant original research, culminating in a dissertation and oral defense.
  • Professional Development: Attend departmental seminars, present at major conferences, and consider internships or collaborative research opportunities.
  • Resources: ECE PhD Grad Map

Graduation Milestones

Milestone MASc PhD
Time to Completion ~2 years ~4 years
Coursework 4 graduate courses + seminars 4 graduate courses + seminars
Thesis/Dissertation Research thesis + defense Original research + dissertation + defense
Comprehensive Exam Not required Required
Proposal Defense Not required Required
Publications Encouraged Required
Conference Presentations Encouraged Required
Residency Requirement 2 years full-time 4 years full-time