Breathe - You are not alone

The chosen project must spark your interest and enthusiasm. A master’s degree project mainly aims at the acquisition of research skills and, to a certain extent, the development of knowledge.

The doctoral project is an original research project, for which it is assumed that you master the research methods. This project mainly aims at the development of knowledge.

Although your research project may constitute an extension of previous work, it must be designed so as to be complete in itself. Time and thought must be put into the definition of a project; this way it will sustain the trainee researcher’s motivation and pleasure of learning throughout the life of the project.

All research projects must be approved by the Ethics Committee or Comité d’éthique à la recherche de l’Université Laval (in French only). Even if the proposed study is part of an already approved larger study, this committee must confirm that the approval of the larger project indeed covers your part, so that the Committee’s approval may be added to your student file. It is important to note that, at the initial submission of your master’s or doctoral thesis, the approval of the ethics committee is required to set the evaluation process in motion.

The relationship you maintain with your research supervisor is an important factor of success and motivation. You certainly have carefully chosen your director, according to what you knew of his or her research interests. Later on however, are things going to your satisfaction?

Researchers are extremely busy persons, very much in demand in the academic world, often at the national and international levels. They also want to work with productive student collaborators, capable of taking initiatives.

The best way to start a relationship with one’s supervisor is to establish your mutual expectations and to plan how you are going to work together. The Vice-deanship of research and graduate studies of the Faculty of Medicine provides students with a Training plan for graduate studies (including a form) that we strongly urge you to fill at the start of your studies. 

If the research subject requires complementary expertise, it is possible to be assigned a co-supervisor, who must also be entitled to codirect theses.

Moreover, the Faculty has issued a Policy for the supervision of graduate students that states the rights and responsibilities of research supervisors, as well as those of the students. You may consult it to assess whether your relationship is working well, and find possible solutions to your problems.

Politique d'encadrement des étudiants aux cycles supérieurs (in French only)

Management of studies mainly falls under the responsibility of the program director and of the studies management agent assigned to your program at the Faculty of Medicine. However, enrolment in certain activities of your program may require authorization by your research director.

Absolutely : all consultations and information requests addressed to the DAE are confidential. Confidentiality is indeed crucial if you are to feel comfortable to come and see us. We do not keep files at the DAE, only personal notes as a memory aid. From an administrative point of view, the DAE falls directly under the responsibility of the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, without any link to other administrative or academic bodies of the Faculty or University. Thus, a consultation cannot influence your academic record in any way. Moreover, each DAE member will meet you as a professor, which means they do not have to open a professional file (as a health professional would).

It is important not to ignore the adaptation requirements brought on by a radical change of living environment. Coping with daily life, getting to know a new culture, and establishing a social and support network are part of the normal adaptation to a major life change like moving to a new country. Any adaptation period requires that you take care of yourself and give yourself the means to get through this period successfully.

Do you know that many resources are available to newcomers? Here are the main ones :

• Université Laval has a Bureau de la vie étudiante that welcomes and supports foreign students. You may also benefit from individual meetings in which you may ask questions about adaptation to your new environment, either with or without an appointment. Check the International Student's Handbook.
• The Office of Student Affairs (Direction de l'aide aux étudiantes et étudiants; DAE) of the Faculty of Medicine provides a counsellor who may help trainee researchers overcome difficulties they are facing.
• The peer helpers of the RÉAGIR network are also there to help you adapt : reagir@fmed.ulaval.ca.

Secretariat of the Direction de l'aide aux étudiantes et étudiants (Office of Student Affairs)
418 656-2131, ext. 403459
dae@fmed.ulaval.ca
In person : Room 2445
Ferdinand-Vandry Building
Monday to Friday, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., and from 13:00 to 16:30 p.m.

You may also contact directly the counsellor assigned to graduate studies :
Louis Trudel, erg, Ph. D.
Professor affiliated to the Direction de l'aide aux étudiantes et étudiants
418 656-2131, ext. 3169
louis.trudel@rea.ulaval.ca

Being able to talk with your colleagues or with friends constitutes a factor of success and well-being during your academic journey. Poorly understanding French or English may certainly give you headaches during the first months of your stay. Learning a new language is time-consuming, so why not choose pleasant activities to do so : meeting friends, watching television, interactive computer work, etc. A number of free Web sites provide self-teaching methods to learn a language. For example, Transparent Language : word of the day will send you a sentence a day, including the right pronunciation. So take the time to learn the language of the country. Please note that consultations at the DAE are done either in French or in English.

The École de langues de l’Université Laval offers French classes that are exempt from the extra charge for foreign students. Look for courses formulated like this :

• FLE-xxxx (French as a foreign language)
• FLS-xxxx (French as a second language)

Education systems vary from country to country. In Canada, in order to undertake a doctorate, you must first have completed a master’s degree. In North America, a master’s degree prepares the student to master the research methods. The major steps of scientific research are generally the following : definition of a problem, critical review of knowledge about this issue, formulation of the research aim and objectives, planning of the research protocol (variables to be studied, target population and samples, means of data collecting, data analysis, timeline), field or laboratory work, data analysis and results, discussion of the results, strengths and limits of the study, conclusion and recommendations. Your Ph. D. director will thus expect to be supervising a trainee already possessing these skills and knowledge.

However, training in other countries does not necessarily prepare one to entirely master research methods. Certain programs indeed put more focus on laboratory work and, sometimes, programs considered equivalent to a master’s degree in other countries do not meet expectations of North American programs. In such a case, it is important that you catch up at the start of your training. You may do so either by yourself (on the Internet or with a methodological handbook), by taking one or a few classes on the research methods and on statistics, by asking your research director to give you formative feedback at each step in the development of the project, etc. You must discuss your training plan with your supervisor in order to be able to complete your research project.

You will find on the library’s site a list of resources on research methods. Bibliothèque de l’Université Laval : Documents d’aide à la rédaction, méthodes de recherche (in French only)