Explanation of grading in MES and PhD programs at the Faculty of
Environmental Studies, York University
Graduate programs in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York
University employ a “Pass/Unsatisfactory” grading system. Qualitative
evaluations together with a “P” or “U” designation track the progress of
students in courses and independent work as they progress through their
program. The rigour of the program exists at the level of an individualized
plan of study that is developed in consultation with a faculty advisor. At
the Masters level, students progress through the program as they create an
initial plan of study (MES I), gain expertise in their chosen field and
develop a research proposal (MESII), and then carry out that research by
writing an in-depth research paper/project/thesis that is then subject to an
oral examination (MES III). Completion of courses is therefore not the
path through the program, but rather it is a completed plan of study and
achievement of the learning objectives laid out in the plan that provide the
basis of success in the program.
Similarly, in the PhD Program, students move through the development of
an initial Program Plan, to the outlining of two to three comprehensive
areas, which are approved, then examined, by Advising Committees. This
is followed by the development of a Dissertation Proposal and its
examination by a Supervisory Committee, and then, of course, the final
dissertation exam. There is only one required course in the PhD program
and that is the initial PhD Seminar that launches a student’s program.
Each graduate student’s file (dossier) is therefore made up of two sections:
1) The left side of a student’s file provides a transcript of courses the student
has taken (up to four courses a term over 6 terms, with the later terms
made up largely of individualized research with their research supervisor).
Along with the assignment of a Pass or Unsatisfactory grade, each course
evaluation of the student contains a qualitative analysis of the student’s
performance in the course submitted by the Course Director, including a
discussion of the performance (e.g., in seminars or in the field) and written
output of the student over the term.
2) The right side of the file contains reports and assessments of the evolving
iterations of the developing plan of study (MES) and program plans (PhD)
which are revised each term. The faculty advisor provides a written
evaluation of each meeting with the student as well as comments on each
version of the plan of study and program plans, as well as the research
proposal, as it is developed. The final document in this folio is the report
on the oral defense of the major paper/dissertation.
Explanation of Dossier Grade Assessment
The Awards and Academic Review Committee consists of three faculty
members who are members of both the faculty in Environmental Studies
and are also appointed to the Faculty of Graduate Studies at York
University. It is the responsibility of this committee to assign a letter grade
to a student’s file that will then become part of the qualifying criteria for
purposes such as application for external scholarships (such as the Ontario
Graduate Scholarship and Social Sciences and Humanities Research
Council of Canada Scholarships).
Committee members assess both the students’ performance in their course
work based on the qualitative evaluations supplied by course directors, as
well as in the development of their plans of study/program plans as
reported by the student’s advisor.
This grade corresponds to the grading system employed by the Faculty of
Graduate Studies at York University as outlined in the FGS calendar:
A+
A
AB+
B
C
F
I
Exceptional
Excellent
High
Highly Satisfactory
Satisfactory
Conditional
Failure
Incomplete
The assigned letter grade will be considered, for the purposes of GPA
calculations and eligibility assessments, as the equivalent of 2 full credit
courses per year of study. Therefore, a student who has completed one full
year of FES courses will have the grade counted as 2 full courses, a
student with 2 years of FES study will have the grade counted as 4 full
courses and so on.