Getting a Masters is all about Timing

How long does an MASc take to obtain?

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

Long story short, though I was in grad school from August 1995 until 2001, I didn’t get my Masters (MASc) because:

• Even though my advisor approved of it, my defense committee attending my Final (thesis defense preparation) seminar recommended two minor changes to my write-up and two others in the room that questioned me on the thesis topic, “Neural Networks for Real Time Control,” all agreed I was ready to go ahead and submit for publication after revision;
• My Final seminar occurred on Wednesday, August 29, 2001. I guess they figured I could complete the changes in less than two days and submit for publication before my eligibility for submission to graduate would end, i.e. the maximum enrollment duration of six (6) years that included the repetitive extensions by the engineering faculty and university that was costing me money;
• However, my advisor was kind enough to arrange a two week extension which would take me into middle of September 2001;
• I made the mistake of not completing before original deadline and accepted the chance to “stick it out” for an additional two weeks, though I did complete the revisions late evening September 10, 2001; and,
• As we all know, the “world abruptly fell…