Thesis submission process
Step 2: Send your initial submission
Learn how to prepare, submit and defend your thesis successfully.
Master’s initial submission
Submit an electronic copy of your thesis to your Graduate Program Assistant for distribution to the examination committee by the deadlines indicated below. Please check with your department, they may have different regulations.
The defence is commonly scheduled within 2 to 5 weeks from your initial submission of your thesis. An oral defence of a master's thesis is not required by the School of Graduate Studies. Programs may elect to have an oral defence as a degree requirement (please see individual program entries in the Graduate Calendar).
The only submission that the Thesis Office reviews is your finalized thesis to Spectrum. Deposit of a thesis in Spectrum entails agreement to the terms of the Thesis Non-Exclusive Licence. Further information on this topic can be found at the Copyright Guide for Thesis preparation.
Doctoral initial submission
In consultation with your supervisor, you complete and submit the Doctoral thesis examining committee form and your External Examiner’s curriculum vitae to your Graduate Program Director. The examination date must be set a minimum of 6 weeks (not including university closure).
Once approved, the following documents are required for a complete initial submission and must be sent to the thesis office:
- Doctoral Thesis Examining Committee form
- Electronic copy of thesis in PDF/A (archival PDF format)
- Abstract (Word document)
- A copy of the candidate’s up-to-date CV
- A copy of the external examiner’s up-to-date CV